Pistachio bread is a lovely, festive dessert bread that makes a perfect gift for teachers, neighbors, friends, and family! It’s an easy Christmas treat you can enjoy without a lot of work!
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Well, it’s officially Christmas around here! It may only be mid-November, but we pulled out our decorations yesterday and decked the halls.
I usually try to wait until the weekend before Thanksgiving, but I couldn’t hold out that long this year. 🙂 I always say, Christmas only comes once a year, so why not enjoy it as long as we can? 🎄
At any rate, it wouldn’t be the Christmas season without baking and enjoying lots of holiday treats! Chief among those is this pistachio bread. Or as my children have dubbed it, “Grinch bread.” 😂
They love the fun, bright green color of the bread (what other holiday dessert boats such a hue? Well, I guess all of our favorite pistachio pudding dessert recipes do–such as pistachio pudding cookies, pistachio ice cream, pistachio ooey gooey butter cake, pistachio whoopie pies, pistachio banana bread, and pistachio cream pie!!) and think it is just so fun. And so delicious!
They gobble this stuff up faster than I can make it.
I love how simple it is to make this pistachio bread during the busy holiday season–it’s basically a doctored up cake mix, so you know it’s quick and easy.
Top it with some sprinkles for more color contrast, and your holiday dessert is ready to go!
Now, obviously, making this pistachio bread is not limited to the holidays–it could certainly be enjoyed year round! I just think the pretty color makes it the perfect Christmas treat!
And even though my kids call it Grinch bread, you won’t feel anything like the Grinch when spreading Christmas cheer with this tasty bread!
How to Make Pistachio Bread
First, you’ll start with a box of yellow cake mix. Add in three boxes of instant pistachio pudding, some hot water, vegetable oil, and eggs.
Need a recipe that doesn’t use cake mix? Try my from-scratch pistachio bread with cranberries instead!
The pudding mix will give the bread a good bit of green color, but if you want to brighten it up a bit, you can add a few drops of green food coloring.
Mix all of that together until it’s smooth and well-combined. Pour it into greased loaf pans and add some fun sprinkles on top if you want to take the festive factor up a notch.
Bake the pans for about 35-45 minutes (the time will depend on the size and type of your pans) until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
More Delicious Holiday Recipes You’ll Love:
- Festive Cranberry Streusel Pie
- Creamy Speculoos Tiramisu Pudding
- Homemade Peppermint Swirl Marshmallows
- Amazing Gingerbread with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Notes and Adaptations for Pistachio Bread
- This bread makes a really fun, inexpensive, edible gift. Think teachers, neighbors, friends, coworkers, etc. (Obviously, just don’t give it to anyone with a nut allergy in their household). You can bake these in foil loaf pans, either full-size or mini-size, wrap with cellophane and a pretty bow or fun gift tag, and deliver Christmas cheer! Looking for another homemade gift idea? Try these stove top candied almonds and homemade peppermint swirl marshmallows!
- If baking in mini loaf pans, I recommend you fill them no more than halfway full, and start checking on them after 25 minutes of baking, because they will bake a little faster. Check on them every 5 minutes until the toothpick comes out clean.
- These freeze well! Wrap cooled, individual loaves tightly with plastic wrap and pop in the freezer until you need them. This is a great way to simplify your holiday baking, because you can make them ahead of time, or you can pull one out if you have unexpected holiday company!
- The green food coloring and sprinkles are optional, but I like the enhanced colors.
- Add in more pistachios if desired. You can certainly add some chopped pistachios to the batter if you’d like!
Recommended Equipment
- Electric stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- Standard loaf pans (9″x5″ or 8.5″x4″) or mini loaf pans
Pistachio Bread for the Holidays
Pistachio bread is a lovely, festive dessert bread that makes a perfect gift for teachers, neighbors, friends, and family! It's an easy Christmas treat you can enjoy without a lot of work!
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 3 3.4-oz boxes instant pistachio pudding mix
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 4 eggs
- 2-3 drops green food coloring (optional)
- holiday sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Grease two 9"x5" loaf pans (or 6 foil mini pans or desired combination thereof) and preheat oven to 350F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer), combine dry cake mix, dry pudding mixes, hot water, vegetable oil, eggs, and food coloring (if using). Beat on low speed for about 30 seconds, then increase speed to medium and continue beating for about two minutes.
- Divide batter among prepared pans. If desired, top with holiday sprinkles.
- Bake for about 35-45 minutes for full-size pans, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If using mini pans, begin checking on them at about 25 minutes, then continue checking every five minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool before serving.
Notes
- This bread makes a really fun, inexpensive, edible gift. Think teachers, neighbors, friends, coworkers, etc. (Obviously, just don't give it to anyone with a nut allergy in their household). You can bake these in foil loaf pans, either full-size or mini-size, wrap with cellophane and a pretty bow or fun gift tag, and deliver Christmas cheer!
- If baking in mini loaf pans, I recommend you fill the pans no more than halfway full, and start checking on them after 25 minutes of baking, because they will bake a little faster. Check on them every 5 minutes until the toothpick comes out clean.
- These freeze well! Wrap cooled, individual loaves tightly with plastic wrap and pop in the freezer until you need them. This is a great way to simplify your holiday baking, because you can make them ahead of time, or you can pull one out if you have unexpected holiday company!
- The green food coloring and sprinkles are optional, but I like the enhanced colors.
Adapted from Moritz Fine Designs
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Is the amount of pudding (3 boxes) correct? I make another flavor of bread this exact recipe except I only use 1 box pudding.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’m going to bake some as soon as I hear from you.
Thank you!
Hi Daryl! Yes, I do use three small boxes of pudding in this recipe. You could probably decrease it to 2 boxes if you wanted, but I think using only one box in this case would make the pistachio flavor much less prominent. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! 🙂
Can you use sugar free pudding?
Hi Laura! I haven’t tried sugar free pudding, but as far as I can guess, I think it would work fine! I’d love to know how it turns out if you give it a try! 🙂
I baked mine in mini loaf pans. Filled them a little over half full. They smelled fabulous but rose up over the top like a mushroom cloud. I had intended them for gifts but will evidently be munching on them myself. But will share with family. Besides, I forgot to put sprinkles on them to make them look festive.
Hi Nancy! I’m sorry they overflowed the mini pans! At least you got a snack out of it! 🙂 Filling them a little less full should take care of it next time (about halfway full or a little less). It should be enough batter for about six mini-loaves for the standard miniature pans. I’ll make a note of this in the recipe to clarify!
This is the 3rd year making this at Christmas! I have 1 granddaughter who loves it so much that I make one for her and another for her family! It has become a little tradition between the two of us!
Hi Beverly! Thanks so much for your sweet comment–I love hearing that this has become a special tradition of creating cherished memories for you and your granddaughter! 🙂
Mixing this up right now and will add a cup of mini chocolate morsels. I’ll let you know how that turns out!
Yum! Chocolate is always a good idea, in my book! 🙂 Enjoy!
Made these two weeks ago and left one wrapped in my fridge. Just had a piece this morning and it was still very moist and delicious. Great recipe. Can you use a white cake mix instead of yellow if that is what is on hand.
Hi Mary! I love that you saved some in the fridge for later so you could enjoy a tasty treat after Christmas! I haven’t personally tried it with white cake mix, but I think it should work just fine. Enjoy, and Happy New Year! 🙂
Hello Chrysti. I made this recipe with the mini loaf pan last Christmas and they were a hit. I now have a request to make them birthday cupcakes. Would you suggest any tweaks in this recipe for cupcakes?
Hi Cindy! I’m so glad to hear the mini loaves were a hit over the holidays! I haven’t tested this recipe as cupcakes, but I think you may need to decrease the amount of pudding mix to make sure the cupcakes don’t collapse or sink in the middle. I think one box of pudding would probably be the safest bet. Since you’ll be using less pudding mix, I’d probably decrease the oil to 1/3 cup and also use just 3 eggs instead of 4. Then bake according to the times and temperature listed on the cake mix box. I hope that helps–I’d love to know how they turn out for you! 🙂