Pistachio Ooey Gooey Bars are a simple yet delicious twist on the classic dessert!

Pistachio ooey gooey butter cake square being held by a woman's hand

Pistachio ooey gooey butter cake bars are a delightful variation of the southern favorite!

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If you’ve ever had ooey gooey butter cake, you already know how delicious these bars of goodness are.

The consistency is similar to a chess pie, with a cookie-like base topped with a soft custard-type filling.

Originally popularized by Paula Deen, this classic southern dessert is a favorite, and for good reason.

But did you know you can make other flavor varieties?

After making red velvet ooey gooey bars, I knew I needed to try my hand at pistachio ooey gooey butter cake.

The result was a fantastically delicious treat!

pistachio butter cake served on a white plate with cherry compote and vanilla ice cream

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Varieties

The basic recipe for ooey gooey butter cake makes use of a cake mix. This means the dessert is super easy to make, without a ton of ingredients.

While you can change the flavor of cake mix to change the flavor of bars, I knew I would need to use instant pistachio pudding mix to get the flavor I wanted for this variety.

It worked out really well, creating delicious pistachio bars that have a lovely green hue–perfect for special occasions, like Christmas or St. Patrick’s Day, or even Easter or Earth Day!

Not only that, but if you need a good dessert for a crowd, this treat makes a fantastic potluck dessert option!

a woman's hand holding a square of pistachio ooey gooey butter cake

More Amazing Pistachio Desserts:

How to Make Pistachio Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

This easy yet delicious dessert is a crowd-pleasing favorite, complete with a pretty green color!

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Yellow cake mix
Instant pistachio pudding mix
Eggs
Butter
Cream cheese
Powdered sugar
Almond extract
Optional: Cherry pie filling and vanilla ice cream for serving

How to Make it:

(Full printable recipe card is available below)

Create the base. To start, you’ll combine a yellow cake mix with some pistachio flavored dry pudding mix, an egg, and some melted butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed until incorporated.

Press dough into the bottom of a greased pan to form a crust, which will become the bottom layer of the dessert.

Create the pudding layer. Next, combine softened cream cheese, more eggs, more pistachio pudding mix, and powdered sugar in a large bowl.

Adding a bit of almond extract boosts the pistachio flavor. Use your electric mixer to beat together on medium speed.

Pour the cream cheese layer over the bottom layer. Pop it into a preheated oven and bake until it’s ever-so-slightly golden brown on top.

The result is a cookie-like crust on the bottom that’s topped with a dreamy ooey gooey layer on top!

How to Serve Pistachio Butter Cake

These bars can be served completely cooled, or you can enjoy them slightly warm.

Either way is delicious, but the texture will be a little different depending on the temperature. They’ll be more “set” if you let them cool.

If you want to dress them up a little bit, you can serve with some canned cherry pie filling on the side, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Cherries and pistachios go so well together, so this is an easy way to make a festive and impressive dessert.

ooey gooey pistachio butter cake bar served with cherries and ice cream

How to Store Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

I have stored these both at room temperature and in the refrigerator. Either way, they should be tightly covered with plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container.

When storing them at room temperature, they should be good for 1-2 days.

If you’re keeping them in the refrigerator, they should be good for 4-6 days.

Notes and Adaptations:

These bars are pretty rich, so you can get at least 30 servings from this pan, since smaller bars are still very satisfying.
You can serve these plain or alongside cherry pie filling and vanilla ice cream.

Recommended Equipment:

Yield: 30 Servings

Pistachio Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

Name: Pistachio Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 30
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 15.25-oz yellow cake mix; 3 3.4-oz boxes instant pistachio pudding mix, divided; 4 eggs, divided; 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted; 8-oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature; 1 lb (about 3 3/4 cups) powdered sugar; 1/4 teaspoon almond extract; Optional: Cherry pie filling and vanilla ice cream for serving

Pistachio ooey gooey butter cake is a delicious dessert that can be served as bars or alongside cherries and ice cream.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

15.25-oz yellow cake mix
3 3.4-oz boxes instant pistachio pudding mix, divided
4 eggs, divided
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted
8-oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 lb (about 3 3/4 cups) powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Optional: Cherry pie filling and vanilla ice cream for serving

Instructions

Grease a 9x13" baking dish and preheat oven to 350F.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together yellow cake mix and 2 boxes of the pistachio pudding mix. Add in 1 egg and melted butter, stirring to form a stiff batter.
Press the batter into the bottom of the greased pan, creating an even layer on the bottom of the pan.
In a separate large mixing bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), combine cream cheese, remaining 3 eggs, remaining box of pistachio pudding, and powdered sugar. Use an electric mixer to beat well until smooth.
Pour mixture over the pressed batter in the baking dish.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the edges are done but the center is still jiggly.
Remove from oven and allow to cool before cutting.

Notes

These bars are pretty rich, so smaller bars are still very satisfying.
You can serve these plain or alongside cherry pie filling and vanilla ice cream.
I have stored these bars both at room temperature and in the refrigerator. If storing tightly covered at room temperature, they should be good for 1-2 days. If storing in the refrigerator, they should be good for 4-6 days.

Pistachio Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

Pistachio Ooey Gooey Bars are a simple yet delicious twist on the classic dessert!