When you learn how to make pistachio butter using this quick and easy 2-step method, you’ll never go back to the store-bought stuff ever again! In just 20 minutes or less, you can transform vibrant green pistachios into silky, smooth, and creamy healthy nut butter, perfect for both savory and sweet recipes. It's a must to make Dubai chocolate, pistachio ice cream, pistachio cheesecake, and filling pistachio macarons.
Why make homemade pistachio nut butter?
Be aware that not all pistachio pastes are created equal. It’s quite challenging to find 100% sugar-free pistachio paste with such vibrant color, like this homemade version, as manufacturers often substitute pistachios with cheaper ingredients and add sugar and other additives to the paste.
Plus, making it yourself is not only more affordable, but there’s nothing quite like the taste of homemade pistachio paste.
Learning how to make pistachio butter is easy! However, there are a few important things you should know before you get started.
What's the difference between pistachio paste and pistachio butter
In a nutshell, they are exactly the same thing, just processed to a different consistency. Both the paste and butter are made by grinding the pistachio nuts. However, the paste is thicker, and the butter has a smooth liquid consistency.
Basically, pistachio butter is made into pistachio paste before it becomes a nut butter.
What pistachios to use to make pistachio butter
Ideally, you want to buy raw green pistachios without the skin. The second-best choice is to use pistachios with the skin. But regardless of whether your nuts have skin or not, you want to use the best quality pistachios that you can afford, which will produce the most vibrant green color and best-tasting nut butter.
That said, I highly recommend spending a little extra on skinless pistachios, as it will save you hours of prep time. If you decide to use pistachios with the skin on, there's an extra step; you'll need to boil them before toasting, which is simple enough. However, peeling the skin off the blanched pistachios can be incredibly time-consuming.
Keep in mind that if you skip removing the skin, your pistachio butter will have a brownish hue, which can also happen with lower-quality nuts.
See below the typo of green pistachio without the skin, I recommend using:
Smooth pistachio butter vs. Crunchy pistachio butter
Both smooth and crunchy pistachio butter is made by processing the nuts in a blender or food processor. So, can you make pistachio butter smooth or crunchy with this recipe? Yes! The only real difference is their final texture.
To make the nut butter smooth, follow this recipe and process the nuts until they form a runny liquid. But to make crunchy pistachio butter, you need to remove some of the nuts from the blender once they are processed into fine chunks. Then, finish processing the rest of the nuts until they become creamy. Stir the pistachio crumbs into the butter once it’s finished. And that’s all it takes to make a crunchy pistachio butter spread!
Why is this the best recipe
Easy to make – In just 20 minutes, you can have creamy homemade nut butter when you learn how to make pistachio butter with only two ingredients! You only need a high-speed blender and some raw pistachios to make this DIY pistachio butter recipe.
Super delicious – Homemade pistachio paste and butter are tasty and full of flavor! They are also naturally vegan and gluten-free, as well as free of preservatives and added sugar.
Versatile ingredient – How to use pistachio butter? You can spread it on anything you like! But it’s also a fantastic ingredient that you can add to ice cream, fancy desserts, energy bars, smoothies, dips, and more!
If you love pistachios as much as I do, don´t forget to check out my pistachio desserts collection.
Important equipment notes to make homemade pistachio paste
You’ll be happy to know that making pistachio butter spread is ridiculously quick and easy! However, a standard blender probably will not do the job. Sadly, they just can’t handle nuts and will most likely burn down. So you will need a high-speed blender that is powerful enough to make nut butter recipes.
When I made this recipe I used my Bosch VitaBoost High Speed Blender 1600W, which I love, and turned the pistachios into creamy deliciousness in just 2 minutes! But there are some other good blenders out there, perfect for the job. Both the Vitamix VM0197 Explorian Blender and the Ninja SS151 TWISTi Blender DUO are also powerful enough to make nut butter.
Regardless of which machine you use, you’ll need a handy rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender.
But almost as important as using a good blender is using a digital oven thermometer to ensure they are roasted at the right temperature. This is how to make pistachio butter like a pro!
How to make this recipe
1. Toast pistachios
If your pistachios still have their skins on, before roasting, you’ll need to boil them for 1 to 2 minutes, drain them well, and then rub them between clean kitchen towels to remove the skins. You will likely have to continue peeling the nuts one by one until they are skinless, which can take quite some time, so be patient.
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C / 355°F (no fan).
- Spread the nuts out evenly in a single layer on a baking sheet. Then roast them for 8-10 minutes.
- Let the nuts cool to room temperature before processing them into nut butter.
Top Tip: Do not toast the pistachios for more than 10 minutes. Unlike other nuts, you don’t want them to brown.
2. Make pistachio butter
- Transfer the roasted pistachios to your blender or food processor. Now, begin processing them on high power, stopping every 30 to 60 seconds to scrape down the sides of the machine with a rubber spatula.
- The nuts will first become a crumb-like texture and then turn into pistachio paste before becoming pistachio puree. As you continue to process them, they become creamier until they reach a liquid consistency.
- Processing the pistachios into nut butter can take anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes, depending on the power of your machine.
- Once you’re happy with the texture of your nut butter, you can add a bit of salt, sugar, or spices to enhance the flavor if you want.
- Store in an airtight container refrigerated for 4-6 weeks.
Top Tip: To make pistachio paste, stop processing the nuts once you’ve reached the desired consistency. The paste can quickly turn into runny nut butter if you’re not careful.
Flavor variations
Chocolate: Add a bit of cocoa powder to make a chocolate pistachio spread similar to Nutella, but with a pistachio twist.
White Chocolate: Fold in some melted white chocolate to make a yummy dessert spread.
Vanilla: Stir in some vanilla sugar or extract to boost the flavor. A pinch of cinnamon would make it even better.
Cardamom: Add a little bit of aromatic Indian-inspired flavor with some ground cardamon and a dash of cinnamon if you like.
Matcha: Make some matcha-infused nut butter by stirring in a bit of matcha powder.
Sweeteners: Add a bit of honey, maple syrup, agave, coconut sugar, or another liquid sweetener to make your pistachio butter sweet.
Expert tips
- Never use salted or shelled pistachios. The results will be different.
- Roasting the nuts in the oven makes them easier to process and the pistachio paste more flavorful.
- Do not roast the pistachios for longer than 10 minutes. They should not brown.
- You'll need a high-speed blender or a powerful food processor to make this nut butter recipe. A standard machine will burn down because it can’t handle nuts.
- The nuts must cool down before you process them, or they will overheat your machine.
- If the nuts get stuck or don’t seem to be processing well after 10 minutes, you can slowly add a bit of coconut oil, water, or maple syrup.
- It’s crucial to use the right amount of nuts. Too many at once, and the machine won’t be able to process them. Too few, and they will get lost in the blender. I recommend using 3 to 4 cups of pistachios at a time, which is about 300-400g or 10-14 oz.
- Any extra ingredients must be added to the nut butter after it’s made, or it can cause it to seize up.
Now let's make Dubai chocolate desserts!
Dubai chocolate is everywhere these days! You’ve probably seen photos and videos of giant chocolate bars filled with a vibrant green, crispy filling. It's become a full-blown viral sensation, taking the world by storm. If you're curious about this trending chocolate, you're definitely not alone—millions are wondering what makes it so special!
Learn how to make it: Dubai chocolate desserts
JIM
going to try this pistachio butter, bought a jar and it was very tasty so it'll be interesting to see the difference.