How to make Pistachio Butter

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 turn vibrant green pistachios into silky smooth and creamy healthy nut butter that is perfect for both savory and sweet recipes!  

Jump to:

• 📖 Why make homemade pistachio nut butter?
• 📖 What is the difference between pistachio paste and pistachio butter?
• 📖 What pistachio to use to make pistachio butter?
• 📖 Smooth pistachio butter vs. Crunchy pistachio butter
• 🌟 Why this is the best recipe
• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 🥣 Equipment notes to make homemade pistachio paste
• 👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe
• ✨ Flavor variations
• 🎓 Expert tips
• ❓Recipe FAQs
• 🍰 Pistachio Butter Uses
• More nut butter recipes
• How to make Pistachio Butter

📖 Why make homemade pistachio nut butter?

It’s super easy to learn how to make pistachio butter! And like Walnut Butter it’s not always easy to find. Not to mention, when you make this recipe you’re not adding any preservatives or sugar to your nut butter so it’s better for you too. Of course, you can sweeten it if you like, but you’re in total control of how much sugar or other sweeteners you add.

You don´t need to worry about where to buy pistachio butter and it is sometimes rather difficult to find, especially a 100% one. And let’s face it, anytime you make something yourself it’s more affordable and the best part is that there is nothing quite as delicious as homemade pistachio paste. 

📖 What is 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 becomes pistachio paste before it turns into a nut butter. This means that to make pistachio paste all you have to do is stop processing the nuts a few seconds earlier before they become smooth and runny. So you can use this method as the best pistachio paste recipe too. 

📖 What pistachio 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 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 being said, I highly recommend paying a little more for the skinless pistachios, which will save hours! making this recipe. Because, unlike other nut butters like Cashew Butter or Pecan Butter, there is one extra step if you opt to use pistachios with the skin on. You have to boil them before toasting them, which is easy. But removing the skin of the blanched pistachios can take a very very long time.

Also keep in mind that if you don’t remove the skin the pistachio butter will be a brownish color, which also holds true for lower-quality nuts.

📖 Smooth pistachio butter vs. Crunchy pistachio butter

Both smooth and crunchy pistachio butter are 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 just follow this recipe and process the nuts until they turn into a runny liquid. But to make crunchy pistachio butter, you need to remove some of the nuts from the blender once they process into fine chunks. Then, finish processing the rest of the nuts until they become creamy, and then 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 this is 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 2 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 incredibly good and full of flavor! They are also naturally vegan and gluten-free as well as free of preservatives and added sugar. So this nut butter recipe is silky smooth, absolutely delicious, and healthy! 

Versatile ingredient – How to use pistachio butter? You can spread it on anything you like! But it’s also an amazing ingredient that you can add to ice cream, fancy desserts, energy bars, smoothies, dips, and more! Check out my recommendations at the end of this post.

📝 Ingredient notes

What is pistachio butter made of? While it may seem obvious, some nut butter recipes made with pistachios have added sugar. Mine does not! This is a one ingredient pistachio butter recipe, so that’s why it’s important to use the best quality vibrant green raw unsalted pistachios you can find. And for the best results and ease buy pistachios without the skin.

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

🥣 Equipment notes to make homemade pistachio paste

You’ll be happy to know that making pistachio butter spread is ridiculously quick and easy! But just like making Hazelnut Butter a standard blender 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. And regardless of which machine you use, you’ll need a handy rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender. 

But almost just as important as using a good blender, is using a digital scale to weigh the pistachios, and a digital oven thermometer to ensure that you are roasting them at the right temperature. This is how to make pistachio butter like a pro! 

👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe

My easy peasy method will never have you wondering ever again how to make homemade pistachio butter! Or, where to get pistachio paste? You now know how simple it is to make your own DIY pistachio butter!

1. How to roast pistachios

If your pistachios still have the skin on them, 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 skin. 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.

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C / 356 F (no fan).
2. Spread the nuts out evenly in a single layer on a baking sheet. Then roast them for 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Let the nuts cool down to room temperature before you begin to process 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. How to make pistachio butter

1. 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. 
2. 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 get creamier until they turn into a liquid consistency. 
3. Processing the pistachios into nut butter can take anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes depending on the power of your machine. 
4. Once you’re happy with the texture of your nut butter, you can add a bit of salt, sweeter, or spices to enhance the flavor if you want.
5. Store in airtight container refrigerated for 4-6 weeks.

💡 Top Tip:  If you want to make pistachio paste, do not continue to process the nuts once you’ve reached the proper paste consistency. The paste can quickly turn into runny nut butter if you’re not careful.

✨ Flavor variations

This homemade nut butter is amazing! But if you want to know how do I make pistachio butter flavored? I can help! Here are some ideas to inspire your taste buds.

Chocolate: Add a bit of cocoa powder and make a chocolate pistachio spread similar to Nutella but with pistachios.  

White Chocolate: Fold in some melted white chocolate to make a yummy dessert spread.

Vanilla: Stir in some vanilla sugar or vanilla extract to bump up 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 sweet pistachio butter.

Coconut: Mix in a bit of coconut oil and coconut flakes.

Rose Water: Blend in some rose water and a touch of sugar for a middle eastern inspired taste.

Strawberry: Blend in some ground freeze-dried strawberries to make it fruit flavored.

Seeds: Make superfood nut butter by mixing in some chia seeds, hemp seeds, or flax seeds. 

Dates: Mix in some chopped-up Medjool dates to add another layer of flavor.

Sumac: Fold in some sumac, which is a popular spice in Middle Eastern cooking, to make the nut butter savory.

Tahini: Stir in some tahini to turn the nut butter into a spread for wraps and sandwiches.

🎓 Expert tips

1. Never use salted or shelled pistachios. The results will not be the same.
2. Roasting the nuts in the oven makes them easier to process and the pistachio paste more flavorful. 
3. Pistachios with skin must first be boiled and the skin removed before being roasted for the best tasting most vibrant green homemade pistachio butter. 
4. Do not roast the pistachios for longer than 10 minutes. They should not brown.
5. You must use a high-speed blender or powerful food processor to make this nut butter recipe. A standard machine will burn down because it can’t handle nuts.
6. The nuts must cool down before you process them or they will overheat your machine.
7. 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. 
8. It’s crucial that you use the right quantity of nuts. Too many at one time and the machine won’t be able to process them and too few they will get lost in the blender.
9. Any extra ingredients must be added to the nut butter after it’s made or it can cause it to seize up.

❓Recipe FAQs

🍰 Pistachio Butter Uses

Once it’s made, now you may ask what to do with pistachio butter? That's easy! Just eat it like you would peanut butter or almond butter and make a pistachio butter sandwich or add it to other recipes. These are just a few of my favorite pistachio paste uses! 

This Pistachio Ice Cream Bar recipe will show you how to make pistachio ice cream with pistachio cream.

Use it to make these Pistachio Macarons with Pistachio Ganache Filling. 

Make this Pistachio Raspberry Yule Log! Everyone loves pistachio cake around the holiday season.

Make delicious tartlets like this Pistachio Strawberry Tart

Replace the hazelnut praline with this nut butter to make pistachio praline paste and make my impressive Paris Brest.

In the same way you can replace hazelnut praline with pistachio paste in this Hazelnut cake and turn it into the most luxurious Pistachio cake.

Drizzle it over my decadent Triple Chocolate Brownies. 

Could be a great addition to this Pistachio Raspberry Cookies.

Make a creamy Pistachio Cheesecake.

Use it as a base to make delicious pistachio-whipped ganache frosting as I explain in my Christmas tree cake. 

Add it to yogurt, overnight oats, as a topping for ice cream, or use it in other recipes just like you would use peanut butter.

If you love pistachios as much as I do, don´t forget to check out my pistachio desserts collection.

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