Pistachio Trifle - Best Christmas Trifle Recipe!

These pistachio trifles are packed with indulgent flavor from creamy pistachio pudding, fluffy angel food cake, chocolate, and peppermint. It's the perfect Christmas dessert, and it comes together in about 10 minutes!

If you're looking for quick and easy Christmas recipes, or desserts that you can make in less than 10 minutes, you've come to the right place!

Yes. I'm pretty sure this is the best Christmas trifle recipe ever. It's filled with layers of pistachio pudding goodness, chocolate, and peppermint. And it's quick and easy to make with just a few ingredients. It takes literally no skill in the kitchen to throw this dessert together. This pistachio trifle is even easier than baking a cake!

These pistachio trifles are:

• Perfect for feeding a crowd.
• Packed with rich flavor.
• Easy to throw together.
• The ultimate Christmas dessert!

If pistachio isn't your flavor, we have other trifle recipes you'll want to taste test too. Check out this Twix Brownie Trifle or this Red, White, and Blue trifle.

Key Ingredients & Substitutions

Simple, easy ingredients. That's the secret to making this fun dessert so quick. After all, a trifle is nothing more than delicious ingredients layered together in a serving dish.

• Instant pistachio pudding. Two 3.4-ounce boxes of instant pistachio pudding mix give you the pale green color and sweet, nutty flavor that makes this trifle look so festive. Be sure to use instant pudding, not the cook-and-serve kind, or it won't set up in minutes. Sugar-free instant pudding works too.
• Milk. Whole milk or 2% milk makes the creamiest, thickest pudding. Skim milk will work, but the pudding will be a little softer. Most non-dairy milks don't set instant pudding well, so check the box before swapping.
• Angel food cake. A pre-made angel food cake from the bakery section keeps this recipe fast, and its light, spongy texture soaks up the pudding beautifully. Pound cake, vanilla sponge cake, or even leftover yellow cake are all great substitutes.
• Peppermint chips. Crushed peppermint candy pieces add crunch and that classic holiday flavor. You can also crush your own candy canes or peppermint candies in a zip-top bag with a rolling pin.
• Chocolate chips. Melted semi-sweet chocolate chips get drizzled over the top of each trifle and used to dip the Peeps. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate chips all work.
• PEEPS Candy Cane Chicks. These Peeps Candy Cane Chicks dipped in chocolate make the cutest topper. Ok, I never said it was healthy! If you can't find them, top each trifle with a mini candy cane, a dollop of whipped cream, or a sprinkle of chopped pistachios instead.

Helpful Tips

Use cold milk. Instant pudding sets best with milk straight from the refrigerator. Whisk for the full 1 to 2 minutes, then let it chill for 5 minutes so it thickens enough to hold its shape between the cake layers instead of pooling at the bottom of the jar.

Tear the cake into bite-size pieces. Small, even pieces (about 1 inch) fit easily into jars and make every spoonful a good mix of cake and pudding. Tearing the angel food cake by hand works better than slicing, since a knife tends to squish its airy texture.

Layer with a spoon or piping bag. For neat layers you can see through the glass, spoon the pudding into a zip-top bag, snip off a corner, and pipe it into each jar. It keeps the sides of the jars clean and makes those pretty stripes stand out.

Melt the chocolate slowly. Microwave the chocolate chips in short bursts and stir in between so they don't scorch. If the chocolate gets too thick to drizzle, stir in half a teaspoon of coconut oil or shortening to loosen it.

Add the crunchy toppings last. Crushed peppermint softens and bleeds color once it sits on the moist pudding for a while. If you're making the trifles ahead, save the final sprinkle of peppermint and the chocolate-dipped Peeps until just before serving.

Variations

• One large trifle. Instead of individual jars, layer everything in a big glass trifle bowl. Build two or three layers of cake, pudding, and peppermint, then finish with the chocolate drizzle and arrange the Peeps around the top. One big trifle serves about 10 to 12 and makes a real centerpiece on the dessert table.
• Individual dessert cups. Pint jars make generous servings. For a party or a dessert buffet, use smaller 3-ounce cups or 8-ounce jelly jars to make 16 to 24 mini trifles from the same batch.
• Other pudding flavors. Swap the pistachio for white chocolate, vanilla, cheesecake, or chocolate instant pudding. Chocolate pudding with peppermint tastes just like a peppermint mocha, and white chocolate pudding tinted with a drop of red food coloring looks great for the holidays too.
• Add whipped cream. Fold an 8-ounce tub of whipped topping into the finished pudding for a lighter, mousse-like layer, or add a layer of whipped cream between the pudding and the cake.
• Pistachio crunch. Skip the peppermint and layer in chopped roasted pistachios and a little crushed shortbread for a nutty, buttery version that works all year long.
• Brownie trifle. Use cubed brownies in place of the angel food cake for a richer, fudgier dessert, like our Twix Brownie Trifle.

Serving Ideas

The best Christmas desserts are easy on the eyes and taste great too. I mean, let's get serious. No one wants to eat a dessert that doesn't look good, right? Here are a few fun and beautiful ways to serve up these pistachio trifles, depending on how fancy you want to get.

Mason jars. These wide mouth pint mason jars work best for serving up individual portion-sized trifles. And they're handy for making mason jar salads too!

Mini dessert cups. If you're serving these trifles alongside other desserts on your Christmas dessert table, mini dessert cups are a great choice.

Big trifle dish. Or you can use a big glass trifle bowl like this to make an awe-inspiring trifle that will have your guests oohing and ahh-ing.

I love holiday baking and definitely whip up my fair share of Christmas cookies at this time of year. But when it comes to desserts, my favorites are poke cakes and trifles. They are tasty and indulgent, without being over the top on the time involved in making them. So be sure to check out some poke cake recipes while you're here, or try your hand at these reader favorite cinnamon sugar cruffins or my famous copycat Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake.

In fact, I may need to make a complete dessert buffet this year, centered around this hot chocolate charcuterie board, with a batch of peppermint bark fudge on the side. Yum!

Make-Ahead & Storing

Make ahead: These trifles are a great make-ahead holiday dessert. Assemble the pudding and cake layers up to 24 hours in advance, cover each jar with its lid or plastic wrap, and keep them in the refrigerator. The cake softens as it soaks up the pudding, which many people (me included) think makes it even better. Add the chocolate drizzle, the last sprinkle of peppermint, and the chocolate-dipped Peeps shortly before serving so the toppings stay crisp and pretty.

Storing leftovers: Cover leftover trifles tightly and store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. After that, the cake gets soggy and the peppermint candy melts into the pudding. Keep them chilled until you're ready to eat, and don't leave them out at room temperature for more than 2 hours, since the pudding is made with milk.

Freezing: This trifle doesn't freeze well. Instant pudding turns watery and grainy once it thaws, and the angel food cake gets mushy, so plan to make just what you need and enjoy it within a day or two.

More Christmas Desserts

If you love these pistachio trifles, be sure to check out these other tasty holiday ideas:

• Mini Cheesecakes with Peppermint Bark Topping
• Christmas Santa Hat Buttercream Board
• Easy Eggnog Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Easy Christmas Mocktail

Recipe