This chocolate pistachio bundt cake is a blend of rich chocolate flavors and earthy goodness in every bite. If you love pistachios then you're in for a real treat!

We love pistachios around here, and chocolate is always a winner too, so combining them both into one chocolate pistachio bundt cake was an obvious recipe for success.
This decadent dessert offers the perfect blend of rich chocolate and subtle nutty pistachios. Whether you're planning a special occasion or simply craving a slice of heaven, this recipe is here to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Plus, the impressive bundt cake presentation makes it an excellent choice for sharing with friends and family.
If you still have pistachios leftover, don't forget to check out this Pistachio Banana Bread!
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🍯 Why This Recipe Works
- Easy to make. Making this pistachio marble cake is incredibly easy thanks to boxed mixes lending us a helping hand but the end results are still fabulous and impressive.
- It's delicious! This pistachio marble cake didn't last long around my house as everyone kept going back for another slice.
- Great for any occasion. Serve it up for any occasion or serve it up for St Patrick's Day because the green coloration adds a festive touch to the holiday.
🥘 Ingredients
Ingredient Notes:
Cake mixes- You'll need a box of chocolate cake mix and a box of yellow cake mix too.
Boxed instant puddings- You will need a box of chocolate flavored instant pudding as well as pistachio flavored instant pudding. Do not prepare according to the box. We only want the dry stuff.
Green food coloring- For a stronger green color, you can add in green food coloring. I recommend gel based food coloring because it's got a stronger hue.
Glaze- For the simple glaze on top of the cake, you will need powdered sugar, milk, and pistachios.
For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.
🧾 Substitutions
There really isn't much that can be substituted thanks to the simple recipe ingredient list but here are a few things you can do differently.
Cake mixes. You can use ANY chocolate-flavored cake mix of the same size. This includes devil's food cake, chocolate, or another chocolate variation. You can also use a white cake mix instead of a yellow cake mix.
Milk or water. While the cake mix box suggests using water, we prefer to use milk in our recipe for the added richness it imparts to the cakes, both in taste and texture. However, if you prefer, you can certainly stick with using water as directed.
Chocolate chips. For a fun little variation, if desired, you can stir in one cup of chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips to the chocolate cake batter.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease and lightly flour inside of 10 or 12 cup bundt pan. Set aside.
Step 2: In one bowl combine all of the ingredients for the chocolate cake batter, until smooth.
Step 3: In another bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the pistachio cake batter until smooth and desired green color is achieved.
Step 4: Scoop the batter from one bowl and place it into the bundt pan (about 2 cups). Make a small layer at the bottom of the pan and spread it out evenly.
Step 5: Follow up with another small layer of the other cake flavor. Repeat until the bundt pan is ¾ of the way full.
Step 6: Use a long wooden skewer or a butter knife to swirl throughout the cake for a marble look. *This step is optional.
Step 7: You will have batter left over. Use that to make 6-8 cupcakes (they bake for about 25-30 minutes).
Step 8: Bake cake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
Step 9: Place onto a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto the rack and removing the pan. Let cool completely.
Step 10: Once cooled, prepare the glaze by whisking together the ingredients until smooth.
Step 11: Drizzle or spoon glaze over the cake. Garnish with pistachios.
Step 12: Let rest for about 5 minutes for the glaze to set before slicing and serving.
🍴 Recipe Tips
Leftover cake batter
When making the pistachio bundt cake with cake mix you'll need to know that there will be leftover cake batter. You can use this leftover batter to make about 6-8 muffins by filling greased muffin cups ¾ of the way full and then baking them for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
Layering order
By layering the batter in the bundt pan we get the cool swirling look that you see in my photos. Whichever color of batter you place into the bundt pan first will become the outer layer. I chose pistachio but you can just as easily use chocolate instead.
Tips for greasing the bundt pan
If you layer your cake batter to have chocolate on the outside, grease the bundt pan and dust it with cocoa powder instead of white flour. This will help it to blend in better with the cake once it's been removed from the pan so that there aren't white streaks on your cake.
💭 FAQs
You can keep this cake well covered or stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Note that the pistachios on the glaze will cause the glaze to have some discoloration after the first day so if you're making this cake in advance, don't add the glaze until almost ready to serve.
Yes, you can freeze this cake after it has been baked and cooled completely. If you do this, then make sure to not add the glaze until ready to serve. Wrap your cooled cake in plastic wrap and place it into an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw on the counter for a few hours until no longer too firm to slice through. Add glaze and serve.
You should allow your bundt cake to cool for at least 10 minutes before flipping it onto a wire rack. This will help the cake to finish the cooking process and start to cool, thereby naturally retracting away from the sides of the pan. This makes it a lot easier to remove the cake without breakage as well.
❤️ More Delicious Cake Recipes
If you tried this Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cake, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate cake batter
- 1 box (15.25oz) Chocolate cake mix ($1.00)
- 1 box (3.4oz) Instant pudding box chocolate flavor ($0.98)
- 1 ¼ cup Milk ($0.24)
- 3 large Eggs ($0.24)
- ½ cup Vegetable oil ($0.24)
Pistachio cake batter
- 1 box (15.25oz) Yellow cake mix ($1.00)
- 1 box (3.4oz) Instant pudding mix pistachio flavor ($0.98)
- 1 cup Milk ($0.19)
- 3 large Eggs ($0.24)
- ½ cup Vegetable oil ($0.24)
- 3-5 drops Green food coloring *optional ($0.05)
Glaze
- 1 ½ cup Powdered sugar ($0.35)
- 2 Tablespoons Milk ($0.02)
- 3 Tablespoons Pistachios, roughly chopped ($1.19)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease and lightly flour inside of 10 or 12 cup bundt pan. Set aside.
- In one bowl combine all of the ingredients for the chocolate cake batter, until smooth.
- In another bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the pistachio cake batter until smooth and desired green color is achieved.
- Scoop the batter from one bowl and place it into the bundt pan (about 2 cups). Make a small layer at the bottom of the pan and spread it out evenly.
- Follow up with another small layer of the other cake flavor. Repeat until the bundt pan is ¾ of the way full.
- Use a long wooden skewer or a butter knife to swirl throughout the cake for a marble look. *This step is optional.
- You will have batter left over. Use that to make 6-8 cupcakes (they bake for about 25-30 minutes).
- Bake cake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
- Place onto a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto the rack and removing the pan. Let cool completely.
- Once cooled, prepare glaze by whisking together the ingredients until smooth.
- Drizzle or spoon glaze over the cake. Garnish with pistachios.
- Let rest about 5 minutes for the glaze to set before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Use leftover cake batter for 6-8 muffins in greased cups.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Bottom layer decides outer color. Place your choice on the outside.
- For chocolate outside, put it at the bottom. Grease the pan, dust with cocoa powder. If using pistachio as an outside batter, dust with flour.
- Cool cake for 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack.
- Store in an airtight container for a week at room temperature.
- Don't add pistachios on the glaze ahead if making the cake in advance.
- Freeze unglazed cake wrapped in plastic in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw before adding the glaze and serving.
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