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    Home » Recipes » Holiday Sweets

    December 17, 2015 93 Comments

    Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Loaf

    2.7K shares
    Jump to Recipe

    The clouds part, and a chorus of angles sing as a picture of this Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Loaf appears. 🎶 "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh" 🎶

    Too dramatic? NEVER!

    But seriously, does this or doesn't this loaf look heavenly. It does. It really does. Pour me some coffee and serve me a slice of this cake and you just found my happy place. The cake is moist, sweet, and I love how every now and then you get a tart taste of cranberry or a crunch of pistachio.

    Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Loaf with icing. Easy to make and a perfect morning treat with coffee or tea. Looks very festive for the holiday season and Christmas, but delicious anytime of year. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #VMBC

    Not a fan of all that icing? It's totally fantastic without and still looks just as pretty as a picture. ...well it is a picture, so... you get it. I am loving how the cranberries and pistachios make this loaf so festive! Perfect to serve Christmas morning or during the holiday season.

    Now for story time: Find a comfortable seat. Ready?

    Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Loaf. Easy to make and a perfect morning treat with coffee or tea. Looks very festive for the holiday season and Christmas, but delicious anytime of year. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #VMBC

    I became friends with Andrew from One Ingredient Chef, when I unsubscribed from his blog newsletter. Let me explain. I decided to follow all of my favourite people on Bloglovin' because as a blogger, I get A LOT of email, and I thought it would be easier to keep track of my favourite blogs this way. I didn't want Andrew to get offended so I sent him an email explaining and it turns out we became good buds and started sending music videos back and forth to each other. (I like reggae, he likes dance).

    Then one fine email day, we thought it might be fun to do something where we could collaborate on some awesome vegan ideas, and so we came up with something we like to call the Vegan Mystery Box Challenge!

    vegan-myster-box-challenge

    "What is this mysterious challenge", you ask?

    Andrew and I selected 3 mystery ingredients, and then we challenged vegan (or mostly vegan) bloggers from across the web to create a recipe using these three ingredients! Everyone posts their recipes at the same time, and share each others recipes with our readers to see what everyone came up with! How fun is that, right!? It's very fun.

    We were so excited when so many people signed up, and I was even more excited when I saw how different each and every recipe turned out.

    So what were the three mystery ingredients? Cranberries, pistachios, and coconut milk! (Yeah, we went for the holiday colours). The recipe I came up with was this Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Loaf.

    Check out all of these amazing recipes from the first ever Vegan Mystery Box Challenge: 

    Magic Fruit Cake Bars with White Chocolate Drizzle by One Ingredient Chef
    Cranberry Cheesecake & Pistachio Stuffed Vegan French Toast by Connoisseurus Veg
    Pistachio Crusted Cranberry Cashew Coconut Cheese by Lemon and Coconut
    Cranberry Pistachio and Mango Salad by Veggies Save the Day
    Cranberry Cointreau Coconut Ice Cream with Candied Pistachios by Vegan Yack Attack
    Cranberry Pistachio Donuts by Two City Vegans (Casey)
    Cranberry Pistachio Gingersnap Truffles by Two City Vegans (Alix)
    Warm Barley Bowl with Roasted Brussels, Sweet Potatoes and a Coconut Curry Dressing by Taste Space
    Whole Wheat Cranberry Pistachio Vegan Biscotti by Veggie Inspired Journey
    Coconut Pistachio Cashew Cheese Panini with Cranberry Jam by Peppers and Peaches
    Toasted Pistachio Rice Pudding with Candied Cranberries by The Lazy Vegan Baker
    Pistachio and Cranberry Cream Sandwich Cookies by Love Me Feed Me
    Vegan Meringue Nests with Cranberry Coconut Whip and Crushed Pistachios by The Viet Vegan
    Vegan Coconut Quinoa Salad by Beets Not Meats
    Cranberry Orange & Pistachio Muffins With Vanilla Cream by A Virtual Vegan
    Gourmet Lazy Cabbage Rolls by Choose to Cook
    Sweet Potato Coconut Curry with Cranberries and Pistachios by The Tofu Diaries
    Lebanese Semolina Pudding (Layali Lubnan) by Lands and Flavors
    Vegan Chocolate Cranberry Cake by The Seasonal Diet
    Jolly Bollywood Holiday Curry by Sexie Veggies

    Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Loaf with icing. Easy to make and a perfect morning treat with coffee or tea. Looks very festive for the holiday season and Christmas, but delicious anytime of year. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #VMBC

    Are you not blown away by that list!? I am seriously so impressed at how many people participated AND how many creative recipes everyone came up with. It just shows that you can take the same 3 ingredients and have endless ways to prepare them! So much fun.

    Let me know in the comments if you love this challenge, and if you think Andrew and I should start working on round two! If you're a vegan blogger and would to join in on the fun, sign up for the next Vegan Mystery Box Challenge. Follow the Vegan Mystery Box Challenge on social media with #VMBC

    Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Loaf with icing. Easy to make and a perfect morning treat with coffee or tea. Looks very festive for the holiday season and Christmas, but delicious anytime of year. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #VMBC

    Once you are done drooling over all of the recipes, we return to my cranberry pistachio loaf cake, and I'll show you how to make this heavenly cake.

    Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Loaf with icing. Easy to make and a perfect morning treat with coffee or tea. Looks very festive for the holiday season and Christmas, but delicious anytime of year. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #VMBC

    Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

    Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Loaf with icing. Easy to make and a perfect morning treat with coffee or tea. Looks very festive for the holiday season and Christmas, but delicious anytime of year. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #VMBC

    Whisk together all the wet ingredients in a medium bowl.

    Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Loaf with icing. Easy to make and a perfect morning treat with coffee or tea. Looks very festive for the holiday season and Christmas, but delicious anytime of year. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #VMBC

    Pour the wet into the dry, and stir until just combined. Add in the cranberries and pistachios and mix in. Be careful not to over mix.

    Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Loaf with icing. Easy to make and a perfect morning treat with coffee or tea. Looks very festive for the holiday season and Christmas, but delicious anytime of year. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #VMBC

    Pour the batter into a lightly greased loaf pan, then sprinkle some more cranberries and pistachios down the center of the batter. Bake for around 1 hour until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

    If you wish to make the icing, mix together all the icing ingredients, then drizzle over the completely cooked cake.

    Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Loaf with icing. Easy to make and a perfect morning treat with coffee or tea. Looks very festive for the holiday season and Christmas, but delicious anytime of year. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #VMBC

    Print Recipe
    4.96 from 21 votes

    Vegan Cranberry & Pistachio Loaf

    Easy to make and a perfect morning treat with coffee or tea. Looks very festive for the holiday season and Christmas, but delicious any time of year. 
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time1 hr
    Total Time1 hr 10 mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American, Canadian
    ingredient tag: berries, coconut
    Servings: 1 loaf (about 12 slices)
    Calories: 285kcal
    Author: Sam Turnbull • It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken

    Ingredients

    Dry ingredients:

    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • ¾ cup sugar
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon salt

    Wet ingredients:

    • 1 ¼ cup full-fat coconut milk
    • ½ cup light oil (such as canola or vegetable oil)
    • 2 tablespoons orange or lemon zest
    • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    For the fruit & nuts:

    • 1 cup fresh or thawed frozen cranberries (plus ¼ cup for topping)
    • â…“ cup shelled pistachios (plus 1 tablespoon for topping)

    For the Icing:

    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • 2 tablespoons full-fat coconut milk
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
    US Customary - Metric
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    Instructions

    • To make the loaf: Preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Lightly grease a loaf pan and set aside.
    • In a large bowl whisk together all of the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl whisk together all of the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add in 1 cup of cranberries, and â…“ cup pistachios into the batter, and stir until they are just mixed in. Don't over mix your batter. 
    • Pour into the prepared pan, then sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of cranberries, and 1 tablespoon of pistachios down the center of the batter. Bake for about 55 to 65 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
    • To make the icing: Mix all of the icing ingredients together. When the cake is completely cool, drizzle the icing over the cake.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 285kcal
    Did You Make This Recipe?Tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram and Hashtag #itdoesnttastelikechicken

     

    Bon Appetegan!

    Sam.

    « Easy Homemade Apple Cider & the First Snowfall of The Year!
    Cranberry & Thyme Vegan Cheese Ball »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kerrie Kennedy says

      January 04, 2023 at 6:25 pm

      4 stars
      This is delicious and easy to make. The second time I made it I substituted raw pumpkin seeds for the pistachios (not as hard to bite into in the loaf) and regular almond milk for the coconut milk. Still worked out great. Delicious anytime, but has become a regular Christmas treat for us.. Definitely worth making.

      Reply
    2. Abi says

      December 18, 2022 at 7:48 am

      5 stars
      This looks gorgeous but I haven't made it yet as it's quite hard to find fresh or even frozen cranberries here. Could I use dried cranberries, or frozen raspberries do you think? Thank you!!

      Reply
    3. Claudia says

      November 20, 2022 at 1:35 pm

      It looks delicious! Does the icing stay well on top of the cake if we make it 2 days ahead of time? Thanks in advance!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        December 03, 2022 at 11:36 am

        Yes it does! Just make sure the loaf is cooled completely before icing.

        Reply
    4. Aimee B. says

      March 24, 2022 at 3:33 pm

      5 stars
      What a lovely way to use up some leftover cranberries and pistachios. I omitted the glaze and it was perfect without it. This is a definite keeper. Oh, and I made it in my mini loaf pan. It made 6 and they baked in my toaster oven for 21-23 minutes. 🙂

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        April 01, 2022 at 4:25 pm

        Yay! So happy you enjoyed it Aimee 🙂

        Reply
    5. Karen Pearson says

      February 21, 2022 at 4:51 pm

      5 stars
      Excellent. I've added this recipe bookmarked for ages but finally made it today. Of course I didn't think of it yesterday when I was at the grocery store, so didn't have pistachios. On a holiday, the nearest store that would carry pistachios is 20 minutes away, and it's too darn cold to go out. I really wanted to bake this today so I substituted hazelnuts. I needed to use up some applesauce so swapped that for the oil and also used oat milk instead of coconut milk. (It turned out well, Arrhiannon.) Reallly great loaf, moist and flavourful. I will make again when I have pistachios!

      Reply
    6. Jenbro says

      December 15, 2021 at 1:22 am

      5 stars
      This recipe is STUNNING! Holy cow, Sam, I can't get over the gorgeous texture of this bread/cake!!! I'm planning to use this as the base for many variations from now on! Thank you!

      Reply
    7. Jenbro says

      December 08, 2021 at 4:33 pm

      Another beautiful recipe Sam! Have you made this as muffins? I’m curious how many it might make. Thanks!

      Reply
    8. Alice says

      December 18, 2020 at 4:04 pm

      5 stars
      Wow, SUCH a good recipe! I made 10 of these as Christmas gifts for friends and neighbours so I’ve basically memorised the recipe now. No one could tell it was vegan, and I got a lot of texts and compliments saying how good it was! The only thing I found needed to be changed was the cooking time. I ended up having to go to about 1 hour 20 for it to be totally cooked. Other than that I definitely recommend making a loaf of this for any family gathering, have one ready for Xmas morning or give one away if as a treat to someone special. You will impress everyone!

      Reply
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    Sam Turnbull

    Hi Friends!

    I'm Sam. Bestselling cookbook author and full-time vegan recipe creator! I LOVE vegan food, but it didn't start that way. As someone who comes from a family of hunters, butchers, and chefs I'm the last person I thought would go vegan. Here's My Story →

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