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Easy Homemade Pistachio Butter Recipe

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Nov 6, 2024 • 2 min read

Homemade pistachio butter is a flavorful nut butter that makes a great topping for oatmeal or substitute for pine nuts in pesto sauce.

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What Is Pistachio Butter?

Pistachio butter is a spread made by grinding lightly roasted pistachios into a paste. This flavorful nut butter is a source of fiber, protein, vitamin B6, potassium, and essential amino acids. With its rich, nutty flavor, pistachio butter can be a dessert topping, a spread for toast, or a filling in savory crepes.

What Does Pistachio Butter Taste Like?

Pistachio nut butter has a nutty, earthy, slightly sweet flavor. Blanching the pistachios and removing their brown-purple skins before blending can intensify the flavor of the nut butter. Since pistachios contain less fat than other nuts, you can add a spoonful of coconut oil to homemade pistachio butter for a creamy texture.

4 Ways to Use Pistachio Butter

Pistachio butter is a versatile ingredient that you can use in sweet and savory applications.

  1. 1. As a filling: You can use sweetened pistachio butter as a filling in danishes, crepes, and macarons.
  2. 2. In pesto: Substitute unsweetened pistachio butter for the ground pine nuts to make a rich pistachio pesto sauce.
  3. 3. As a topping: Add a swirl of homemade pistachio nut butter to oatmeal, toast, yogurt, or vanilla ice cream.
  4. 4. In salad dressing: Add a spoonful of the pistachio butter to a mix of lemon juice, red wine vinegar, parsley, olive oil, Dijon mustard, and honey for a flavorful pistachio vinaigrette.

Homemade Pistachio Butter Recipe

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25 Ratings | Rate Now

makes

1 cup

prep time

10 min

total time

20 min

cook time

10 min

Ingredients

  1. 1

    For a vibrant green color and pure pistachio flavor, blanch and peel the pistachios. Pour pistachios into a saucepan and cover with 3 inches of cold water. Soak pistachios in water for 5 minutes, then heat the water and pistachio mixture over medium heat until just steaming (not boiling), about 10 minutes.

  2. 2

    Remove one pistachio from the water using a slotted spoon. If the pistachio’s skin peels off easily, drain the pistachios and rinse under cold running water. (If not, return to the heat and check again in 2 minutes. Do not let the pistachios become soft.)

  3. 3

    Transfer the rinsed pistachios to a clean kitchen towel. Fold the towel over and rub the pistachios to loosen their skins. Discard pistachio skins.

  4. 4

    Transfer skinned pistachios to the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender. Pulse blanched, skinned pistachios until finely chopped, about 30 seconds. For chunky pistachio butter, remove a tablespoon of chopped nuts and set aside.

  5. 5

    Add oil and process until nuts form a smooth, thick paste, about three minutes, pausing every minute or so to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

  6. 6

    Add salt and honey (if using) and continue to process until fully incorporated, about 1 more minute.

  7. 7

    For chunky pistachio butter, add the chopped nuts back in and pulse a few times to incorporate.

  8. 8

    Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. If oil separation occurs, simply stir until smooth.

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