Pistachio Paste
Hello sweet friends! Let’s make this super lovely recipe for Pistachio Paste today! Call it Pistachio Paste or Pistachio Butter, this recipe only requires two ingredients, and one of them is water. The other ingredient, well, you guessed it: pistachio nuts!
Making homemade Pistachio Paste is super easy, cheaper than store-bought, and fun if you ask me.
Plus pistachio paste or pistachio butter is not that easy to come by, so anytime I want any I have to buy it online. But now, I can just make my own!
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So let’s start talking about the main ingredient: the pistachios.
Preferably, you’d use raw pistachios. Just because they are easier to peel. I’ve tried making this with roasted pistachios, and the skin can be quite hard to remove.
After blanching the raw pistachios, the skins will basically fall right off. Well, you’ll probably need to do a bit of peeling.
Put the pistachios in boiling water and let the nuts sit for a couple of minutes. Then remove them, and rinse them in cold water, to stop the cooking of the nuts. And lay the nuts on top of a clean kitchen towel, or paper towels.
Rub the nuts gently, and the skin should start to come off, but you will probably have to pick each nut one by one, to ensure there is no brown skin left behind, so you can obtain a really green beautiful paste.
Place the nuts in a food processor (luckily I have a NutraMilk® Nut Processor, not sponsored just love them so much!) and process until the nuts are looking like this.
It will look a bit oily, or separated, and that’s ok. This is when you add a bit of water. Don’t add too much. You want to add just enough water to make the butter smooth. Add it one or two tablespoons at a time, until it looks like this:
This stuff is precious, friends! It’s golden! You can probably eat it with a spoon! I know I can!
Or use it to top toasts, or in desserts. I’ve used it in my Pistachio Cannoli, as you can see here.
Either way, this Pistachio Paste will change your life!
If you make this recipe tag me on instagram, I love to see all your creations!
Pistachio Paste
Equipment
- Pot
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup shelled pistachios* 180 grams, 6.3 oz
- 3 tbsp water
Instructions
- Start by skinning the pistachios if you want to obtain a green paste.
- Bring a pot with 1 quart of water to a boil.
- Once it starts to boil, add the pistachios to the water. Turn the water off the heat, and let the pistachios soak in the boiling water for 2 minutes.
- Drain the pistachios and rinse them briefly under the cold water.
- Line a baking sheet with a kitchen towel or with paper towels. Spread the pistachios on top of the towel, and rub them gently to help peel the skin.
- Then you might have to individually continue to peel the skins off the pistachios. This can take about 20 or 30 minutes.
- Discard the skins.
- Place the green pistachios in a food processor or blender.
- Process for a couple of minutes.
- Add one tablespoon of water at a time, processing in between, until you find a smooth consistency. For me, 3 tablespoons did the trick, you might need less, or maybe a bit more.
- Add water just as necessary to obtain a smooth paste.
- Scrape it into a bowl and it’s ready to be used.
Storage
- Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or freeze in a zip loc bag or air tight container for up to 2 months.
how many ounces of paste would you say are produced?
about 7.5 oz I’d say. I actually just weighed it, because I have some in my fridge 🙂
Can you use this for Pistacchio gelleto? Would I need to sweeten?
you can use it for a gelato, you will need to use whatever amount of sweetener the gelato recipe is asking for. This will be used in place of pistachio paste if the ingredient list asks for it
Hello Camila
Thank you for this Receipe
Do you know how to keep pistachio moist in
baklava
I remember my mother friend use to make the pistachio at least an inch thick it was not so creamy like butter or after cooking it was not dry either
it was just perfect and absolutely delicious
If you can figure how to make it perfect please let
me know
Thank you 😊
Kind regards,
Lauren Berger
Hi! Where do you buy your raw pistachios and what brand do you prefer?
You can buy it at most “health food” stores, such as whole foods. I never get a specific brand, I just get what the store has, it’s usually in bulk.
Hi Camila,
Have you tried mixing this into buttercream? I’m trying to figure out how to make pistachio macarons. Thanks!
You can definitely mix this paste into buttercream 100%! It will be amazing!
How long does this last and how do you store it?
store it covered in the fridge for about 4 days
Adorei essa receita!! Amo pistache!!
Hi!
Could I add this as a center to a macaron? Thinking of making pistachio rose macarons (flavors from the Persian Love cake) and I instantly though of using your rose ganache recipe so could I use this paste for the center? Just wondering how it would freeze.
yes you can but it’s not sweet, so it will just taste like pistachios 🙂
Adoro creme de pistache!!! Que receita deliciosa!!
Have you tried putting this pistachio paste in ice cream?
I have yes! I made pistachio ice cream before!