Friendship Bread Variations

The original Amish Friendship Bread recipe comes to us from Mrs. Norma Condon of Los Angeles (Basic Recipe). Use the basic recipe and add or delete ingredients as per instructions.

Cherii Martin's Banana Amish Friendship Bread

Omit cinnamon and vanilla pudding in the basic recipe and add two bananas (mashed)

Cherii Martin's Chocolate Amish Friendship Bread

Omit cinnamon and vanilla pudding from the basic recipe and add 1 (5.1 oz) box of instant chocolate pudding, 3 tsp. cocoa and ¾ cup chocolate chips. Bake for 1½ to 1¾ hours.

Cherii Martin's Apple Cinnamon Friendship Bread

Add one cup of raisins and one small diced apple.

Suzette Pierce's Pudding, Chocolate Chip and Nut Variations

You can use many different flavors of pudding. My favorite is pistachio flavor. You may also use different flavors of chocolate chips and nuts.

Lori Panzino's Butterscotch Amish Friendship Bread

Substitute butterscotch pudding for vanilla and add 1 cup of butterscotch chips. We bake the cake in a 13" x 9" pan.

Chocolate Variations

• Robin Sandwick, Charlotte, NC: Replace the vanilla pudding with chocolate and add ½ cup each of chocolate chips and coconut. I use small (about 1 cup size) bundt pans and bake for 45-50 minutes.
• Becky Stathos: Use chocolate instant pudding, and add pecans, chocolate chips and coconut. Use a bundt pan.
• Karen & Randy Bell Maggie Valley, North Carolina: Substitute almond ALMOND flavoring (NOT imitation) for the vanilla flavoring, substitute WHITE CHOCOLATE pudding for the vanilla pudding.
• Sharon Allardyce: I use ¼ cup cocoa, or even a little more (I prefer Hershey's European Chocolate), and either the vanilla or chocolate pudding can be used. I reduce the cinnamon to half (1 teaspoon). The cinnamon gives it an even better taste than just using chocolate alone.
• Marilyn Di Palma from Sedona, AZ: 1 to 1½ cups chocolate chips — put the chocolate chips in a bowl and shake ½ teaspoon extra cinnamon to coat them — and orange zest to taste.
• SA Brown: I substitute chocolate pudding for the vanilla and add 1 cup of chocolate chips for an awesome Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread.

Lemon Variations

• Robin Sandwick, Charlotte, NC: Use lemon pudding and add ¼ cup of poppy seeds. I bake these in a very small muffin pan for about 20-25 minutes.
• Jean M. French: For lemon bread, I substitute lemon pudding mix and lemon extract, omit the cinnamon and nuts, and add poppy seeds.
• Mary Dierick: Use 2 sm. boxes of instant lemon pudding instead on the vanilla pudding, replace poppy seeds for the cinnamon, & use lemon peel instead of the vanilla. Bake for about 1½ hrs.
• Carol Williamson, Ontario, Canada: I love to make mine with dried pineapple and lemon instant pudding.
• Nancy Scheiner: Lemon-Poppyseed Variation: Use lemon pudding mix instead of vanilla pudding. Add 2-tsp. Lemon extract instead of vanilla. Eliminate cinnamon. Add ¼ cup poppyseed.
• Michelle Fox, Taylorsville, North Carolina: Use two small pkgs. of lemon pudding rather than the vanilla and lemon flavoring in place of vanilla flavoring. Add one tablespoon of poppyseed. This is excellent for making lemon-poppyseed muffins.
• Lynn Davis: Lemon Coconut - Delete cinnamon, nuts and vanilla. Use lemon flavored pudding, add 1 tsp lemon extract and 2 cups coconut.
• Ann Fowler, Fortson, Georgia: Omit Cinnamon, Vanilla Pudding in basic recipe and add 1 teaspoon lemon extract, 1 package lemon pudding and one cup of chopped walnuts.
• Kelly Glasser: Lemon pudding and cranberries

Banana and Zucchini Bread Variations

• Robin Sandwick, Charlotte, NC: Use banana cream pie pudding and two mashed bananas. I have also added ¼ cup of chocolate chip to this on occasion. I use the small bundt pans and bake for about 40-50 minutes.
• Jean M. French: For banana bread, I substitute banana cream pudding mix and a mashed banana, and omit the cinnamon.
• Robin Sandwick, Charlotte, NC: Add 1 cup of grated zucchini. Make sure you squeeze out the excess liquid. bake for about 75 minutes but start checking after 50 minutes.

Cranberry Variations

• Connie Davis, Janesville CA: I've found that a cup of dried cranberries and a tsp of orange zest, along with a cup of chopped nuts, makes a nice holiday variation to the cake!
• Merry Axtell, Woodinville, WA: Add 1 cup of craisins (dried cranberries) as well as the pecans.
• Ronda Lambert & Stacy Tuck, Pulaski, Va: Add Craisins (dried sweetened cranberries) and chocolate covered raisins.

Miscellaneous Variations

• Carol Williamson Ontario, Canada: Use dried apples and caramel instant pudding.
• Sandy Moffet, Olympia WA: ¾ cup white chocolate chips, ¾ cup macadamia nuts and cheesecake pudding.
• Marilyn Di Palma from Sedona, AZ: Substitute 2 tablespoons molasses for equal amount of sugar and add spices to make gingerbread.
• Becky Stathos: Add a box of chopped dates and a cup of chopped pecans. Use a bundt pan.
• Deborah Andrews, Newberry Springs, CA: Add 1 cup of drained crushed pineapple, 1 cup shredded coconut and use pistachio pudding (instead of vanilla).
• Phyllis Mehler, Louisville, KY: Use ½ cup nuts and ½ cup white raisins.
• Carolyn Jones, Paducah, KY:
  Variation 1: use 1 small box of orange jello, 1 c. drained mandarin oranges.
  Variation 2: use 1 small box of strawberry jello, 1 c. thawed strawberries.
• G. Bekaert: Use Cheesecake pudding instead of vanilla pudding and add chopped maraschino cherries (about 6 with some juice).
• Sheryl Riley: Use different flavors of pudding. Bannana, lemon, chocolate, and butter pecan are all good. We have also made it with fruit in it. Blueberries and raspberries work well.
• Sandy Woodward: Add glazed fruit mix with walnuts and almonds to make fruitcake.
• Malissa Chapin, Oshkosh, WI: To reduce fat, use 1/2 c oil and 1/2 c unsweetened applesauce instead of 1c of oil. Can also use sugar free pudding. Add 2c frozen blueberries.
• Joyce House, California: Add 1 cup of frozen blueberries (slightly thawed) and 1 cup of chopped pecans.
• Joyce Croul, Gilroy CA: Add a small can of well drained pineapple, with 2 Tbsp coconut scattered over the top half way through the baking.
• Rebecca Amerson: Add a small can of well drained crushed pineapple, coconut, and chopped pecans.
• Karin Conrod, Ontario Canada: Use banana cream pudding, with shredded coconut. Or use coconut cream pie pudding with crushed pineapple.
• Michele Maddox: Use cappuccino pudding, ½ C chocolate chips and ½ C nuts of choice