Watermelon Pistachio Bread

I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Dea from Enjoy Positive Living — her blog is featured on my blog list, and she graciously photographed a recent class I taught at Witch Well Church. Her images captured the spirit of the day beautifully.  The dishes below, Watermelon Rind Slaw, Pan-Fried Yellow Squash with a maple glaze, French Cut Green Beans with Dill Butter, Salt Block Pickles, Watermelon Lemonade, Roasted Tomato Cornbread Dressing, and of course the Watermelon Pistachio Bread, were featured in the class.

This month’s rescue boxes came with an abundance of watermelon, and I was determined to use every part of it. My watermelon lemonade and watermelon rind slaw have become crowd favorites, but I wanted to give the pulp more love — beyond the usual fruit leather I’ve made in past seasons.

While brainstorming with my AI companion, we landed on something unexpected: a watermelon pistachio bread. The idea felt playful and promising, especially when paired with warming Middle Eastern spices like ginger and cardamom. These flavors bridge the gap between summer’s brightness and autumn’s coziness, transforming watermelon into something truly seasonal.

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Watermelon Pistachio Bread

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp pink salt

3/4 tsp ground ginger

3/4 tsp ground cardamom

2 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar (I used dark)

1/4 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup cold-pressed peanut oil + more to grease pan

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups of watermelon pulp(blended and the juice starined out)

1/2 chopped pistachios.

Makes 8 servings...barely thankfully, no fights broke out at the church. 😆 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.  In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices together.  In a large bowl, mix the wet ingredients, eggs, brown sugar, raw sugar, oil, vanilla, and watermelon pulp together.  Fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.  Stir in the pistachios.

Pour into a loaf pan.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.  Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Watermelon Lemonade

Watermelon Fruit Leather

Coconut Watermelon Sherbet

Watermelon Mint Frozen Yogurt

Watermelon Rind Slaw

Salt Block Pickle Salad

When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat.

 - Mark Twain