Sweet, nutty and easy homemade pistachio paste. Cheaper than store-bought, and pairs well with many types of dessert! Pistachio paste / pistachio butter is one of my long time favorites. I tasted pistachio paste for the first time at a tapas restaurant back in 2010, and was obsessed. I found out that the restaurant was making it in-house, and I couldn’t find a place to buy it anywhere. So I taught myself to make homemade pistachio paste, and it’s a doozy! After many years of making this pistachio paste, it’s always the first thing I make when I get my hands on raw pistachios. I can find pistachio butter fairly easily now, but it’s so freaking expensive and never tastes as good as homemade! That’s because store-bought pistachio butter or paste is usually mixed with almonds to lower the cost. Making homemade pistachio paste (or pistachio butter or any other type of nut paste like praline paste) on the other hand offers many benefits.
Ingredients to make pistachio paste
Raw pistachios
Obviously the most important ingredient. So it’s crucial that you find the right type of pistachio. Find pistachios that,
Are raw and unsalted. Not roasted, nor salted. Have a vibrant green color. Older and roasted pistachios might have a dull color, which will result in a brownish pistachio paste. Are preferably shelled, so that you don’t spend time removing shells.
White sugar and water
Obviously adds sweetness, which actually enhances the flavor. The sugar and water will be used together as we will be making a sugar syrup here. This ensures a smoother pistachio butter! If you use confectioner’s sugar, there will be a starchy texture in the paste.
Pinch of salt
Salt is magic! The salt balances the sweetness, so don’t skip it.
Oil
I try to use pistachio oil to stay consistent with the pistachio flavor, but vegetable oil is fine too. If it’s not pistachio oil, only use an unflavored oil. This helps the paste get the consistency you prefer. Use more for a thinner paste, and less for a thicker paste.
How to make pistachio paste (step by step method)
Prepare the pistachios
The pistachios have a skin, which you may notice as a green and brown surface. So the first step is to remove this skin. You DO have the option of not removing the skin, but then the pistachio paste may not be as smooth. I always skin the pistachios for a better green color and a more smooth butter. To remove the skin, you need to blanch the pistachios. This will soften and loosen the skin, and you can use your hands to just pop the skin right off. This is by far the most time-consuming part of the recipe. Another easier option is to place the blanched pistachios on a dish towel and fold the towel over the pistachios (so that the nuts are inside the towel). Then roll and rub the pistachios around using the dish towel (same method as for hazelnuts). This loosens and removes most of the skin. But there will still be some pistachios with skin that you will need to remove manually. When the pistachios are ready, leave them to air dry until the sugar syrup is ready. Do NOT roast the pistachios in the oven. Place the pistachios in a large bowl.
Making the sugared pistachios
Make a sugar syrup by boiling the sugar and water together in a pot. Dissolve the sugar in the water over medium heat. Be careful not to stir the water, and instead just swirl the pot to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar syrup reaches 245 F / 118 C, remove the syrup from the heat. Pour the syrup over the pistachios and stir the pistachios in the sugar syrup until they are all coated in the syrup. The syrup will also crystalize over the pistachios. Once the pistachios are coated in the syrup, and the syrup has cooled down, you can make the pistachio paste.
Making the pistachio paste
To make the pistachio paste, you do need a good food processor or a powerful blender. If you don’t have one, you can still make a pistachio paste in a food processor, but it might not be as smooth. I didn’t have a good food processor for several years, so my pistachio paste used to come out a little chunky at the time. It was still just as delicious though! Place the pistachios in the food processor and blend the nuts. There are a few stages in this process.
The pistachio nuts will be chopped during the first stage, Pistachio nuts will be very finely chopped (like sand), The blended nuts will start to clump in the food processor, The nuts will start to form a thick paste, Keep mixing and the paste will start to loosen a little bit, At the stage when the pistachio paste is smooth, but it won’t get any thinner – you could add some oil to get a thinner consistency if you prefer.
You may have to process the pistachios for about 10 – 15 minutes, so make sure to give your food processor a break in between if needed. The pistachio paste will be very warm straight out of the food processor. The paste will also thicken as it cools down.
Storage instructions
I store the pistachio paste in jars. This recipe will make about 2 cups. If you add more sugar or oil, you may end up with more than 2 cups. I haven’t tried to can this, so I’m not sure if that is even possible. I usually store my pistachio paste in the freezer if I’m not using it right away. It should last in the fridge for about 1 – 2 weeks. And about 3 months in the freezer. Just make sure it’s stored in an air-tight jar, so that it doesn’t absorb any other smells.
Why you should make homemade pistachio paste
It’s so easy. Tastes much better. And less expensive, since you’re only paying for the nuts. You can also either make it with 100% pistachios, or add some almonds if you’d like to.
Yes, pistachios are expensive in most places. But if you like pistachios, this pistachio paste is so worth it. It’s perfectly sweet and packed with pistachio flavor. I can honestly eat spoonfuls of this butter.
How to use homemade pistachio paste
You can use this pistachio butter for many different things,
Spread it on toast, Filling for pastries, including choux pastry, cream puffs, chocolate clairs, tarts etc., Mix it in with custard desserts to make pastry cream, fillings, ice cream recipes, Use it as a topping for desserts.
This pistachio paste also makes for an EXCELLENT gift idea! Especially during the holiday season, if you like making homemade gifts for Christmas. This is one of my favorite Christmas recipes to make as an edible gift. And if you could get your hands on a good amount of pistachios, you could even pair this homemade paste with some classic Italian pistachio cookies or marshmallows with pistachios just to spread more of that pistachio love around!
How to ensure a vibrant green color in the paste
Make sure to use good quality pistachios. I buy mine from Bulk Barn (in Canada). They always taste so fresh and are vibrantly green colored, and I can buy however much I want! Also make sure to remove the skins of the pistachios well. The brown-tinged pistachio skins will make the butter dull in color, and it also won’t be as smooth. Also make sure you do NOT use roasted pistachios! Roasted pistachios will make the pistachio butter brown, AND the flavor won’t be as good either.
Frequently asked questions
