Pistachio Bread

Nothing screams Christmas quite like this Pistachio Bread. The perfect combination of green & red colors makes a festive sweet bread that's topped with an irresistable almond glaze. 

Shortcut Ingredients

This Pistachio Bread could not be easier to whip together using boxed yellow cake mix and pistachio pudding mix. The addition of sour cream and 4 eggs creates a rich and moist bread. The pop of color and sweetness of the maraschino cherry pieces adds great flavor, and an easy glaze made of powdered sugar, milk & almond extract finishes everything off perfectly. 

Pistachio Bread Recipe

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease the bottom and sides of 2 small loaf pans. My loaf pans are 8x4 inches and just over 2 inches tall. This recipe makes just enough for 2 small loaves, which is a perfect scenario to keep one and give one away!

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake and pudding mixes. Add eggs, oil, water and sour cream, beating well after each addition. At this point if you are wanting a more deep green color, mix in a couple drops of green food coloring. This is totally optional.  Next, work on getting your cherries ready. A 10 oz. jar of maraschino cherries gives you just enough for this recipe. I like to cut them in half to get more cherry pieces throughout the batter. Lay the cut cherry pieces out on a piece of paper towel and pat dry. You want to get as much of the liquid off as you can so the red juice doesn't discolor your green pistachio bread. Gently fold the cherries into the batter until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the 2 loaf pans. Bake on the middle rack for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before removing from pans. 

When the bread loaves are completely cooled, it's time to finish them off with a sweet almond glaze. I think almond is a totally underrated flavor and a nice change of pace from typical vanilla. In a small bowl combine powdered sugar, milk and almond extract. Whisk together and check consistency. You want the glaze thin enough to pour onto the bread, but thick enough to create a nice frosting layer. Add more milk to reach your desired consistency. Pour icing over the top of each bread loaf and allow it to drip down the sides. Think of them as icicles! Let the icing completely dry before covering.

Be sure to add this Pistachio Bread to your holiday baking list! 

Other holiday treats:

Honey Cinnamon Candied Almonds

Molasses Cookies

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5 from 2 votes

Pistachio Bread

The perfect combination of green & red colors makes a festive sweet bread that's topped with an irresistable almond glaze. 

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cherry bread, pistachio bread, sweet bread

Servings: 2 small loaves

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. yellow cake mix
• 1 3.4 oz. box instant pistachio pudding
• 4 eggs
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1 cup sour cream
• ¾ cup maraschino cherries halved
• green food coloring optional

Almond Glaze

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2-2 ½ tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. almond extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly grease bottom and sides of 2 small loaf pans.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine cake and pudding mix. Add eggs, oil, water and sour cream. Beat until smooth.
• Drain cherries and pat dry with paper towel. Cut in half & gently fold in cherry pieces. Pour batter equally into 2 loaf pans.
• Bake 35-40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before removing from loaf pans.
• When the bread loaves are cool, whisk together icing ingredients. Drizzle icing over the top of each bread loaf and allow to drip down the sides. Let the icing dry before covering.

Notes

• Add a few drops of green food coloring to make the bread a brighter green color.
• You want the icing to be thin enough to pour over the bread, but thick enough to give a nice frosting layer to the bread. Add 2 tablespoons of milk at first, and slowly add any to reach the desired consistency. 
  • Leave loaves on wire rack and place a sheet pan underneath to catch any icing that drips down. Saves on clean up!