Homemade Pistachio Paste (3 ingredients!)

Homemade pistachio paste is so easy to make at home. With just three ingredients, you’ll have a beautiful pistachio spread to add to frostings, fruit tarts, cookies, ice cream, cheesecake and much more!

After learning how easy it is to make homemade almond paste or marzipan, my mind immediately turned to pistachios. One of my favorite bakeries in NYC makes a pistachio rose croissant, and I was excited to try a homemade version. I’m obsessed with pistachio flavor and how easily it can be incorporated into so many desserts!

What kind of pistachios to use

If you want a really bright green pistachio paste, I’d recommend following this pistachio paste tutorial.

However, my focus is on ease and flavor. While the downside of using roasted and salted pistachios is a less vibrant green color, here are the benefits:

• Better flavor: Using roasted pistachios will jumpstart your recipe with an amazing toasty flavor. While some people might like to control the salt in the recipe, I find that the amount of salt on most packaged pistachios is suitable for a pistachio paste recipe. (I typically use Wonderful Pistachios.)
• Saves time: Because you don’t have to go to the trouble of the blanching process and disgarding all the pistachio skins, this takes less than 10 minutes to throw together! (As long as you use shelled pistachios.)
• Cheaper: Roasted pistachios are sometimes cheaper than raw pistachios. But if all you can find are raw pistachios, definitely use them! Just make sure to try the finished paste and add salt to taste.

How to make pistachio paste

To make this paste, it’s a similar process to making peanut butter or almond butter, but with a few added ingredients. It’s the same process as making almond paste but instead of almond flour, we add whole pistachios or pistachio pieces to a food processor along with powdered sugar.

After processing those to a consistent crumbly texture, add the water and almond extract and process until a smooth paste comes together. The texture will be on the rustic side with tiny chunks of pistachio unless you have a very powerful food processor. Taste and adjust if you want more salt or almond extract.

Note: some people prefer omitting the almond extract for a more powerful pistachio flavor. You can also try subbing vanilla or pistachio extract in place of the almond extract.

And there you have it: easy homemade pistachio paste!

Storage

Your homemade paste can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 month in the fridge. It’s best to bring it to room temperature before use for easy incorporation. It can also be stored in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. You might see some of the natural oils start to seep up, but just give the paste a good mix before using.

Recipes to make with pistachio paste

The nutty flavor pairs so well with tons of other flavors like raspberry jam, olive oil, chocolate, cardamom, white chocolate, orange and honey. Here are some ideas on how to use your perfect pistachio paste!

• Pistachio croissants (just replace the almond paste with this pistachio paste)
• Pistachio scones (again, replace the almond paste with pistachio paste)
• Pistachio buttercream (paired with the best olive oil cake!)
• Pistachio gelato or ice cream (use this paste in place of the pistachio cream)
• Cinnamon rolls (but replace the cinnamon filling with a mixture of pistachio paste and honey)
• Pistachio pastry cream (which you can add to cream puffs)