Easy pistachio lemon bread: all the Spring feels you want
If you love lemon, this bright happy breakfast bread, tender from yogurt and just the right amount of sweetness with a bold two-tone look made by stirring pistachios in half the batter will make your day.
| Active time | Total time | Yield | Difficulty |
| 10 min | 1 hr | 12 slices | Easy |
Banana bread is easily the breakfast bread with the highest demand in my house, but there are days that my kids are hoping for something a little different. That’s where this lemon bread comes into play. The bright citrus flavor and crunch of rich pistachios is the kind of cheerful Spring baking recipe that would make all the birds sing.
It’s a wonderful little bread for a Spring brunch, Easter brunch, Mother’s Day, or any time you’re looking for a lemon pick-me-up.
Why you’ll want to make this recipe
- You can make it with a spoon: No fancy equipment is needed here: 1 loaf pan, 1 bowl for mixing and something to melt your butter in. Stir it with a spoon. That’s it! You do have to chop nuts, but no other prep work is needed.
- Two-tone beauty: I’m all about bakes that get the decoration part done in the baking. By dividing the lemon batter in half and adding pistachios to one half, you have an instant color contrast that makes for a beautiful slice that would rival the breads at the best coffee shops.
- Tender and just the right amount of sweet: Yogurt makes for a tender crumb on this simple loaf cake and the light lemon glaze makes sure this isn’t too cloying.
- Perfect for Spring: There’s literally no Spring get-together where this would be inappropriate. From Easter to Mother’s Day brunches, this is a simple cakey quick bread that will impress.
Ingredients for Pistachio Lemon Bread
Lemon bread with pistachios
- Granulated sugar
- Lemon zest
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt (see note on pistachios)
- Butter
- Lemon juice
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Eggs
- Finely chopped pistachios, unsalted
Quick Lemon glaze
- Powdered sugar
- Lemon juice
- Vanilla extract
- Chopped pistachios
Equipment needed
- 9 x 5 loaf pan
Step by step directions
See the recipe card below for the full step by step instructions.
- Line: Spray a 9 x 5” loaf pan with cooking spray, and then line the bottom of the pan with parchment .
- Rub: Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingertips for about 1 minute, until the sugar is fragrant and moist. This will give you big lemon flavor!
- Mix the dry ingredients: Stir the flour with the lemon sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Mix the wet ingredients: Melt the butter in a small pan. Whisk in the eggs, lemon juice, and yogurt. Pour the wet ingredients over the flour and mix just until the flour disappears.
- Layer the batter: Scoop about half of the batter into the pan and smooth it with a spoon. Fold the rest of the pistachios into the remaining batter. Scoop the pistachio batter on top of the lemon batter and smooth the top.
- Bake: Bake the bread for 45-50 minutes until the tops spring back when you touch them in the middle and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Lift the bread by the parchment paper onto a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.
- Glaze: Mix the glaze ingredients and drizzle it over the top of the bread. Sprinkle with a few more chopped pistachios for a pretty bread.
How to make the best lemon bread
- Don’t overmix: Stir the flour into the batter just until it disappears but no more. We want a light textured bread, and overmixing it will make it hockey-puck dense.
- Glaze the bread when warm: Warm bread sucks up glaze, keeping the bread moist as well as adding a simple decoration up top.
- Let the bread cool completely before slicing: It’s so hard to wait, but quick breads, like all other breads need to cool completely before slicing. Cut the bread before it’s cool, and you rightly deserve the pile of crumbs you will create.
Storage and Freezing instructions
Room temperature storage: The bread is best eaten the same day that it is made, but it will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days, loosely wrapped in foil.
Freezing instructions: You can also freeze the bread without the glaze in a plastic bag for up to 3 months. Set the frozen bread on the counter to thaw for a couple hours when you want to eat it. From there you can glaze bread.
Recipe Variations
- Lemon pistachio cake: Scrape the batter into an 8×8 ” pan. It should bake in about 30-35 minutes at 350F. From there you can glaze the top of the cake just the same as the bread.
- Lemon pistachio muffins: Line a muffin tin with liners and divide the batter amongst the papers. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Dip the tops of the muffins in the glaze.
- Easy pistachio lemon cupcakes: follow the muffins directions above. Once cool, top each muffin with a swirl of the best whipped cream frosting.
- Orange pistachio bread: Swap out orange juice and orange zest for the lemon for a milder sweeter taste.
- Unglazed!!!: For a less cakey lemon bread, simply leave the bread unglazed. A simple sprinkle of powdered sugar is perfect for finishing the top of the bread.
- Raspberry glaze: Mix in 2 tablespoons of raspberry jam into the glaze for a bright pink glaze for some extra Spring flair.
Pistachio Lemon Bread FAQ
I would not. Bottled lemon juice has a chemical flavor that is definitely not fresh tasting. This recipe calls for lemon zest and juice, so simply grate off the zest and squeeze the same lemon.
Pistachios in the shell are less salty than salted pistachios that are already shelled. Avoid the pre-shelled salted ones. If you do use unshelled salted pistachios, omit the salt from the recipe to keep the bread from being too salty.
More Spring recipes
Easy pistachio lemon bread
- Total Time: about 90 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
Description
The sunny lemon flavor of this quick to make breakfast bread will become the nicest way to start a Spring morning. The layer of bright green pistachios tinting the batter makes for an easy way to add some striking color to your bread too!
Ingredients
Lemon bread batter
- Cooking spray for the pan
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar (132 g)
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (260 g)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (see note on pistachios)
- 1/3 cup butter (75 g)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (59 mL)
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pistachios (60 g), from about 1 cup of unshelled unsalted pistachios
Lemon Glaze for quick breads
- 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the batter
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Spray a 9 x 5” loaf pan with a little cooking spray, and then line the pan with a small piece of parchment that covers the bottom and goes up the long sides.
- Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingertips for about 1 minute, until the sugar is fragrant and moist.
- Stir the flour with the lemon sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Melt the butter in a small pan. Whisk in the eggs, lemon juice, and yogurt.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the flour and mix just until the flour disappears.
- Scoop about half of the batter into the pan and smooth it with a spoon.
- Set aside about a tablespoon of pistachios for topping the bread later. Fold the rest of the pistachios into the remaining batter. Scoop the pistachio batter on top of the lemon batter and smooth the top.
- Bake the bread for 45-50 minutes until the tops spring back when you touch them in the middle and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Lift the bread by the parchment paper onto a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.
Make the glaze
- Mix the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Drizzle the glaze over the top of the warm bread and then sprinkle the remaining pistachios on top. Let the bread cool completely and allow the glaze to harden before cutting slices.
- The bread is best eaten the same day that it is made, but it will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days, loosely wrapped in foil. You can also freeze the bread without the glaze in a plastic bag for up to 3 months. Set the frozen bread on the counter to thaw for a couple hours when you want to eat it. From there you can glaze bread.
Notes
Salted pistachios vs. unsalted: It’s not always easy to find unsalted pistachios. If you can only find salted pistachios, be sure that they are unshelled. Salted unshelled pistachios tend to be less salty than salted shelled nuts. If you do use salted nuts, omit the salt from the bread.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- + cooling time:
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Morning breads
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
