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Starbucks dropped a new Chocolate Pistachio Loaf, and I was instantly obsessed. The pistachio flavor and that rich chocolate swirl had me determined to make my own version so I could skip the drive thru and bake it anytime.
Why This Copycat is a Keeper!
- Secret Ingredient! The pistachio instant pudding mix. It contains modified food starch, which helps keep this bread super moist.
- Chocolate + Pistachio: If you’ve been tempted by the Dubai chocolate craze, this loaf hits that same vibe in an easy, quickbread form.
- Save Time & Money: You can make this delicious Starbucks loaf at home whenever the craving hits.
Chocolate Pistachio Loaf Ingredients
- Use room temperature ingredients. This will ensure that the ingredients incorporate well and bake evenly.
- Food Coloring: The pudding mix turns the batter light green. For a deeper Starbucks style color, add a drop or two of food coloring.
- Hot water and cocoa. Mix the cocoa with hot water. This will ensure the cocoa mixture is smooth and lump free and will bloom the cocoa, enhancing the chocolate flavor.
- Almond Extract: This helps enhance the pistachio flavor.
Starbucks Chocolate Pistachio Loaf Recipe
I was super excited when I saw Starbucks new spring menu had this chocolate pistachio loaf on it! I snagged it and worked on a recipe for you guys! It is spot on and totally worth baking! You also need to try my Starbucks Lemon Loaf and Gingerbread Loaf.
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, 1 box instant pistachio pudding, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix: In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, cream together softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Add almond extract and buttermilk and beat until combined.
- Combine: Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until just combined.
- Chocolate Swirl Mixture: Remove 1 cup of the batter and place in a small bowl. Mix cocoa powder with hot water until smooth. Pour the cocoa mixture into the 1 cup of batter and mix until it is just combined.
- Layer: Add ⅓ of the pistachio batter to the pan, then dollop on half the chocolate batter. Repeat with another ⅓ pistachio and the remaining chocolate batter, then top with the last ⅓ pistachio. Swirl with a knife in a zigzag, rotate the pan 90°, and zigzag once more.
- Bake: Top the batter with chopped pistachios, then bake for 55-60 minutes. Or until the top of the loaf springs back when pressed, or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Alyssa’s Pro Tip
Loaf Pan: If you don’t have a 9 x 5-inch pan, you can use two 8 x 4-inch loaf pans.
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Chocolate Pistachio Loaf
Moist pistachio loaf with a rich chocolate swirl in every slice. This Starbucks copycat tastes just like the real deal, maybe even better!
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 (3.4-ounce) box instant pistachio pudding
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup hot water
- ¼ cup chopped pistachios
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1 (3.4-ounce) box instant pistachio pudding, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ¾ teaspoon salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, cream together 1 cup softened butter and 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add 4 large eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Add ½ teaspoon almond extract and ½ cup buttermilk and beat until combined.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until just combined.
- Remove 1 cup of the batter and place it in a small bowl. Mix ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder with ¼ cup hot water until smooth. Pour the cocoa mixture into the 1 cup of batter and mix until it is just combined.
- Alternate the two batters in the loaf pan, starting with the pistachio batter. Add ⅓ of the batter to the bottom of the pan. Dollop half of the chocolate batter on top. Repeat with another ⅓ of the pistachio batter. Dollop the remaining half of the chocolate batter on top. Finally, add the remaining ⅓ of the pistachio batter. Use a knife or skewer to swirl the batter together by dragging the knife through the pan in a zig-zag motion. Turn the pan 90 degrees and repeat.
- Top the batter with ¼ cup chopped pistachios and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed and a toothpick comes out clean.
Video
Notes
Storage & Make Ahead Instructions
- Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Freeze whole or sliced for up to 3 months.
- Make ahead: Assemble the batter in the loaf pan, cover, and refrigerate until ready to bake, up to 24 hrs. Add about 5 minutes to the bake time.
Nutrition
Calories: 4340kcalCarbohydrates: 535gProtein: 64gFat: 228gSaturated Fat: 129gPolyunsaturated Fat: 16gMonounsaturated Fat: 65gTrans Fat: 8gCholesterol: 1245mgSodium: 5442mgPotassium: 1389mgFiber: 17gSugar: 349gVitamin A: 7085IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 649mgIron: 19mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!
Supberb, Thank You
This is an addendum to my previous comment, since I forgot to give it a star rating. Also, I left out a word; meant to say that THIS recipe has the taste and texture more like a quick bread. (Starbucks more like a cake.)
Thanks Angie! I really appreciate any and all feedback! I’m so glad you liked it!
This bread is delicious! My friend told me about the Starbucks version, which I tried, and then I looked to see if I could find a similar recipe online. I made this and then did a side-by-side comparison, and I think this is actually better! The Starbucks loaf tastes very cakey, sweeter, while has the flavor and texture more like a quick bread. Plus, the Starbucks version has much less pistachio on top. I followed the recipe to the letter, and the only thing I had to do differently was bake it longer. You have to test quick breads with a toothpick in the center. If the bread starts being too brown before the center is done, cover it with foil and keep baking. Thank you for this terrific recipe! A new taste treat!
I’ve made two loaves and they came out great. I did bake about 10 minutes extra but I use my cake tester to make sure they are done and lay aluminum foil on top of loaf if getting too brown. Will definitely make again.
Yay! I’m so glad it turned out! Sounds like you’re a pro!
Mine always takes about 5-10 extra minutes, but is almost perfect otherwise!!
Is there an alternative to buttermilk? Too expensive just for a recipe. Thanks
Here’s my recipe for making your own buttermilk! It’s so easy. Let me know how it turns out!
Was so excited to try this and I should have known better… too much batter for 9×5 pan but I followed the recipe! It should be 2- 9×5 pans or 1 bigger pan. Super disappointing but I’ll try again w a bigger pan.
So sorry to hear your loaf didn’t turn out! This is the exact pan I used if it helps! You are welcome to use two pans if you prefer, the loaves won’t be as high, but it will still work!
Do you cover the batter with foil once placed in the oven, because about five minutes in my pistachios on top started burning? Should I add them closer to the end?
My thought would be to wait 20ish minutes until a crust has formed, then add a foil tent over the top to prevent them from burning. Also make sure the bread is on a rack positioned in the lower half of the oven, so it’s not too close to the heat on top.
I tried this last night and was very excited to try it this morning, and to share with a friend who loves pistachio. When I sliced into it, the middle did not bake and was gooey. I used the correct size pan and measured all the ingredients carefully. Can you tell me what I did wrong? It looked beautiful coming out of the oven. I baked it at 350 like the recipe said for the 55-60 minutes. should I have put it on the lower rack rather than the middle one? Please let me know as the end pieces were cooked and tasted wonderful. I would like to make this again and have it turn out successfully.
Thank you for trying this recipe, I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out. True oven temperatures can vary depending on the oven, my guess is that your oven bakes slightly cooler even when set at 350. Also the type of pan you use can affect the bake time. Metal pans bake faster than glass or ceramic. It probably just needed 5 or so more minutes in the oven. I always like to use a toothpick to test the doneness of my baked goods. If you stick it in the very middle of the loaf, the toothpick should come out clean. Hope this helps!
Just discovered/ate this at Starbucks and sought out a recipe to try. Yours was the most interesting to me due to the pastachio pudding (which really did help the end flavor as well). Very soft interior. Overall, a terrific recipe!! I baked mine with a darker pan so the exterior was more baked than I would prefer which influenced the overall flavor so I’ll change that up. The instructions were helpful, however, I would make some modifications to them so others don’t need to read the comments to discover: (1) I used salted butter but the recipe doesn’t indicate which to use (salted vs. unsalted) (2) Did you bake convection or not for your timing and temp? (3) I would mix the cocoa and hot water early in the process to permit it time to cool before adding to the batter later. (4) Someone else in the comments asked and the response was that either salted, lightly salted, or unsalted pastachios will work for the top. All of these points incorporated into the recipe will be helpful to future attempts by others. Regarding the chocolate swirl, I was hoping mine would be more evenly distributed throughout the loaf by doing the zig zag each way as inicated in the recipe. There was a deliniation of the top and bottom 1/3 of where the chocolate was added so be sure to do your zig zags closer together perhaps and more aggressively to promote better distribution of the chocolate.
Thanks for all your comments! I will adjust the butter to say salted, that is what I used! Regarding the swirling, I used a knife to really swirl it in. It explains how I did that in the recipe card. I used lightly salted pistachios, but any kind will work. I can specify that as well, but any pistachio will work depending on preference. I did not bake the bread on convention if that helps!
Hello
is there a way to make our own pistachio pudding if not available in stores?
Many thanks!
If you can’t find pistachio pudding mix, substitute a box of vanilla instant pudding mix and add 1/4–1/2 teaspoon almond or amaretto extract. And maybe add some green food coloring if you want that green pistachio look. Good luck!
I took my daughter to Starbucks and we shared a piece of this bread. The next day I found your recipe and we tried. It turned out amazing! Just like Starbucks! My daughter has had me make it 2 more times since then! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
That’s awesome! So glad you found my recipe! Keep it on repeat!
Well- I made this recipe and so far the jury is still out . It has been in the oven for ten minutes longer than the recipe states and the center is till raw . So frustrating. As soon as I read the recipe I had doubts but I made it anyway. 2 sticks of butter and 4 eggs for a teeny loaf cake , should have known !!!! Stay tuned for an updated review
Hi Jenn, did you use a 9×5″ pan?
You say to take out 1 cup batter and add the smooth cocoa into 1/2 cup of batter. What do you do with the other 1/2 cup? I think it’s a typo bc my chocolate was a very dense ribbon and not like the batter in the rest of the loaf. Please advise.
It should be 1 cup batter, not 1/2 cup. Thanks for letting me know!
Salted or unsalted pistachios?
I used salted but either work!
I’ve pinned this for later. Thank you for the share.
It’s so good!