Cheesecake-Stuffed Pistachio Bread

This simple & easy Cheesecake-Stuffed Pistachio Bread is flavorful, moist, and sweet! With distinct pistachio flavor, a ribbon of cheesecake through the center, and a thick layer of tangy cream cheese icing, this Cheesecake-Stuffed Pistachio Bread can be breakfast or dessert!

My Grandma’s Pistachio Bread recipe madeover with a cheesecake theme! This bread is so fun because it’s very dessert-like. It definitely passes as dessert – similar to a bundt cake – but it’s also still great as a sweet bread to accompany holiday dinners or  weekend brunch.

Perfect for pretty much any occasion, and not bad to look at too (isn’t it pretty?). Like all my other Pistachio Bread recipes, it’s very simple! It starts with a cake mix, and only requires a few ingredients.

Doctored-up cake mix recipes are some of my favorite. Sometimes, especially when I’m feeling lazy or I’m in a time-crunch, I want a recipe that provides a shortcut, and I always get good results with cake mix recipes.

You can whip this Cheesecake-Stuffed Pistachio Bread up pretty fast – only about 15 minutes of prep. The reward is high for such a simple recipe though! You’ll love how the ribbon of sweet, creamy cheesecake complements the mild pistachio flavor of the ultra-moist bread. They just go really nicely together.

And the cream cheese icing on top is irresistible. I couldn’t get enough of it. It was so creamy and luscious. It’s not dissimilar to cream cheese frosting except that it’s a bit less sweet, it’s not ‘fluffy’ like a frosting, and it’s much creamier. The cream cheese flavor is stronger too because it’s not overwhelmed by as much sugar as you’d find in frosting.

Anyway, I heart it. A lot.

I think this Cheesecake-Stuffed Pistachio Bread could work really well as a springtime recipe, perhaps Easter, but I love this for fall and Christmastime too. Since we make my Grandma’s classic Pistachio Bread for basically every holiday, this Cheesecake-Stuffed Pistachio Bread version still feels appropriate this time of year as well.

Grandma’s Pistachio Bread is an amazing canvas for lots of other variations, so I’ve made these Pistachio Bread Cinnamon Streusel Muffins, this Triple Chocolate Pistachio Bread, and this Maraschino Cherry Pistachio Bread with Cherry Glaze using her recipe.

I’ve used my Grandma’s Pistachio Bread to create a bunch of bundt cakes too. It’s proved to be an excellent bundt cake base, so check out some of the popular adaptations here: Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze, Oreo Bundt Cake, and German Chocolate Bundt Cake.

I’ve got loads of other ones too, and actually, they’re altogether in this collection of Easy Bundt Cake Recipes!

Cheesecake-Stuffed Pistachio Bread

Sarah

This simple & easy Cheesecake-Stuffed Pistachio Bread is so soft, moist, and sweet! Serve it as breakfast or dessert. With a ribbon of cheesecake through the center, a thick layer of tangy cream cheese icing, and a sprinkling of salted pistachios, this Cheesecake-Stuffed Pistachio Bread features a killer combo of ingredients.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Total Time 1 hr 5 mins

Course Bread

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

For bread:

• 1 box white cake mix
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream reduced-fat is fine
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3.4 oz. box instant pistachio pudding mix
• 1/2 cup chopped salted pistachios

For filling:

• 8 oz. cream cheese softened, reduced-fat is fine
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg

For icing:

• 4 oz. cream cheese softened
• 4 tbsp. butter softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 - 4 tbsp. heavy cream
• 3 tbsp. chopped salted pistachios optional garnish

Instructions

 

For bread:

• In a large bowl, stir together cake mix, eggs, sour cream, oil, pudding mix, and chopped pistachios. Mixture will be very thick.
• Spread half of it into a well-greased tube pan or bundt.
• In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
• Add egg, and beat until smooth.
• Spoon the cheesecake mixture over the batter in the pan, avoiding the edges as much as possible. The cheesecake mixture will definitely creep to the edges, not a big deal, but avoid it where you can.
• Spoon remaining batter over the cheesecake mixture, being careful not to disrupt the cheesecake mixture too much.
• With a knife, swirl lightly. Just a few swirls once around.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until edges are golden, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
• Cool for 10 minutes, run a knife around the edges to loosen, and invert onto a serving platter. Do not cool longer in the pan - bread will stick. 
• Cool completely.
• Meanwhile, prepare icing.

For icing:

• In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy.
• Beat in vanilla.
• Add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.
• Add cream, one tablespoon at a time, as needed, to achieve a consistency that is thicker than a glaze, and thinner than a frosting. It should be creamy and easy to spread, but not runny or drizzly.
• Spread over bread. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios, if desired. I personally forgot to save some for garnish so I just sprinkled a few white chocolate curls on top. 🙂

Notes

I sometimes prefer this bread upside down. Because the 'top' is usually pretty brown (not burned, but browned), I like to have the bottom be the top, but this is just a matter of preference. Totally up to you!

Keyword cheesecake bread, cheesecake pistachio bread, cheesecake stuffed pistachio bread, pistachio bread