Easy Pistachio Bundt Cake Recipe with Pudding

As much as I love a homemade cake recipe, it’s also fun to spruce up a boxed cake mix and make a delicious, easy cake! This cake recipe has been one of our family favorites for years. It was passed down to us and has been made over and over again. 

I highly recommend this cake if you’re in a pinch and need an easy dessert recipe to impress your guests. It’s perfect for many occasions and can be served year-round. The green color and nutty flavor make this cake perfect for special occasions like St. Patrick’s Day or Christmas! 

You can make this semi-homemade cake in a bundt pan, as a layer cake, or as a pistachio sheet cake. I top it with instant pistachio pudding mix frosting and real pistachios.

Also, try my pistachio muffins too!

Why You’ll Love This Cake

• It has a sweet, nutty flavor of pistachios. These super nuts aren’t just healthy and add delicious flavor to cakes and other desserts.
• There’s no denying that boxed cakes are always super moist. When you add your own twist, they taste homemade, and anyone can make them. No baking experience is required!
• The perfect cake for entertaining and can be served year-round.

Shopping List and Ingredient Notes

Here are all of the ingredients you need to make this cake. If you prefer to jump to the recipe, scroll to the bottom of the post, where you’ll find the measurements. 

The full recipe is in the recipe card below.

Yellow Box Cake Mix – A classic yellow boxed cake is perfect for this recipe. One great thing about a boxed cake is that it’s hard to mess it up! It makes this a really moist pistachio cake.

Pistachio Pudding Mix – This boxed pudding gives the cake a green color and pistachio flavor.

Soda Water – Acts as a leavening agent in this cake recipe. It helps the cake rise even more and adds moisture.

Eggs – Use large eggs when making this recipe. The eggs add structure and moisture to the recipe.

Vegetable Oil – This is what makes the cake super moist and fluffy. You can use vegetable oil or canola oil. 

Almond Extract – Gives the cake a delicious nutty flavor and enhances the other flavors in the recipe. Swap for vanilla extract if you don’t have almond extract.

Expert Tips and Recipe Variations 

• This recipe can be used with boxed vanilla cake, white cake, or yellow cake mixes, but I prefer the yellow cake mix.

• Use instant pudding for this recipe. There is no need to add extra food coloring; the coloring comes from the pistachio pudding.

• Make this cake in a bundt pan, sheet pan, or two 8×8 round pans. If you top it with powdered sugar, a bundt pan looks the prettiest. I like a sheet pan for an easy cake with a layer of fluffy frosting, and cream cheese frosting looks beautiful for a layered cake.

• Make this cake organic using an organic boxed cake and all organic ingredients. The only ingredient that won’t be organic is the pistachio pudding mix.

How To Store 

Store this pistachio cake in an airtight container. It can be stored covered at room temperature for up to three days or refrigerated for five days.

Freeze the pistachio cake for up to 1 month by wrapping up individual slices and storing them in the freezer.

Remember that if you make a pistachio bundt cake with whipped cream frosting, you must ensure that we make the frosting with heavy cream, especially if we plan to freeze our pistachio cake. 

It’s best to freeze the cake unfrosted and then add the frosting when ready to serve. However, sometimes you’re freezing leftovers, so you must freeze with the frosting. 

Do defrost; let the cake sit in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter for a few hours.

More Cake Recipes You’ll Love

If you enjoy this cake, try more of our favorite cake recipes!

• Chocolate Ganache Bundt Cake
• Blueberry Bundt Cake
• The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe
• Classic Yellow Birthday Cake
• Lavender Cake 
• Old Fashioned Apple Cake
• Ricotta Cake Recipe with Orange