Pistachio Paste: A Must-Have Recipe for Your Pastry Pantry

Pistachio paste, pistachio butter, and pistachio cream are used interchangeably in most of the food blog posts that I’ve seen. I understand why. But, I personally find this to be a mis-categorization that creates a lot of ambiguity.

– Pistachio paste is basically the baking equivalent of almond paste. You would never conflate almond paste and almond butter in pastry or baking applications. With a “paste” nuts and sugar are used to create a sweetened mixture, thicker than a nut butter. Pastes are typically used as a pastry filling.

– Pistachio butter, can be as simple as grinding nuts (no additions) until they are the consistency of honey; thick, but with a semi-liquid viscosity. It’s true, butters can also have the addition of roasting and sugar, think honey-roasted peanut butter. However, they are typically used as a mix in or drizzle.

– Pistachio cream, on the other hand, starts by grinding nuts. Then, sugar, milk or cream, and egg yolks (plus heat) are added to make a custard. It’s the pastry equivalent of crème pâtissière (crème pât), but with pistachio flavor. It’s used in the same applications as crème pât, e.g. filling for pastry and in between cake layers.

Hope this helps!

Purchasing pre-shelled pistachios is an easy call when you are trying to save some time and your fingers.

There is one caveat to this, however (there always is, isn’t there). Typically, pistachios with shells on are fresher than their pre-shelled counter parts. Meaning, there will be more green nuts than brown if you are willing to put in the effort of shelling the pistachios yourself.

It’s the quintessential balance between time versus money. Now that you are armed with that knowledge, I leave the decision to you on which option (pre-shelled or shell on) to choose.

TL;DR… you can skip this step.

Full answer… Roasting the pistachios above 300°F (150°C) does two things:
Causes the natural oils contained within the nuts to melt and become more fluid. These oils then migrate towards the surface of the nut, making it visibly glossy and helping ease the grinding process.

Triggers the Maillard reaction between the amino acids (proteins) and the reducing sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose, and maltose) present in the nuts. This reactions intensifies the aroma and flavor of the nuts.

The length of roasting time and temperature can affect the degree of oil release and the final texture and flavor of the nuts. It’s essential to monitor the roasting process. It helps avoid overcooking and achieve the desired level of roasting. For this recipe, the roasting temperature and time are both low. This helps keep the pistachios’ signature green color as much as possible while still benefiting the final flavor and texture of the paste.

Want the keep the mild and fruity flavor present in raw pistachios? Skip the roasting process altogether. I actually prefer to use un-roasted pistachios when applying them to desserts that have lighter/more delicate flavors. I.e. mixing it into anything flavored with vanilla, like shortbread style cookies, milkshakes, or macarons.

Additionally, If you are looking for a deeply roasted flavor and the color doesn’t matter, feel free to increase the temperature as high as 350°F (177°C). Then roast for 10 minutes, stir, and repeat that process at 5 minute intervals, until you are happy with the results. I love a very roasted pistachio paste when eating it by itself, because obviously. Roasty, toasty paste is also delish alongside more robust flavorings, like chocolate or tart fruits.

Again, yes! I do this all the time. (oh look, another caveat!)

If you are using pre-salted pistachios, be aware that they are submerged in a brine before being roasted. This acts the same way that brining your holiday turkey or prime rib works. The salt, imbues the nuts all the way down into the nut meat. It is not simply a surface coating.

Because of this, I suggest cutting the salt in this recipe by half and then adding to taste from there. Different brands have different levels of sodium, so it’s best to be safe.

This is also completely okay. Keeping the skins on will not ruin pistachio paste. It will affect the texture and color of the paste most, but the flavor will be essentially the same.

Pistachio skins are brown/pink/purple. When those tones are mixed with the green of the nuts, the resulting paste more of an olive green or even ochre color. You will NOT end up with a bright vibrant green pistachio paste.

The skins are also harder to break up into a smooth paste than the nuts are. So, that silky smooth texture may be either harder to reach or unattainable depending on the size and power of your chosen grinding appliance.

Notes upon notes! Because I can…

In continuation of the previous FAQ, when you use pre-salted and roasted pistachios, the salt on the surface is removed during the blanching process. If you skip this step there will be even more salt present. If you don’t peel the nuts, I recommend completely leaving out the salt in the recipe. then salt to taste as you grind the final paste.

If you have access to it, a melanger (grinder used to pulverize cacao beans into chocolate or nuts into nut butters) will be the best choice to make pistachio paste. Just dump and go until you have the consistency you want.

Most people, including me, do not have access to a melanger. So, the choice is basically between a food processor and a blender. These are essentially interchangeable. However, a high-powered blender is going to be your best bet. Especially if the power of the appliances are equal.

Blender blades are better for grinding than a food processor’s blades, because a processor’s blades are level and do not touch the bottom of the container. They spin with a slicing motion, that needs friction and a certain level of food to pull everything around. A blender, with its bottom-situated, bent blades has a much better position for grinding. They too can be rendered useless, however, if there is not enough to blend or the blender is not powerful enough to handle thick foods. You may need to experiment to see which works better for you.

Honorable mention…if the blender or processor are only getting you so far and you happen to have an immersion blender, scrape the paste over to a cup or small bowl and use the blender to take it the rest of the way.

Pistachio paste can seize or become stiff and lumpy during processing due to the release of natural oils from the nuts too quickly. This extra release of oils happens if the pistachios used to make the paste aren’t cooled enough after they’ve been roasted or if they are over-processed during grinding. High temperatures and prolonged blending can cause the oils to separate more rapidly, leading to a grainy or thick texture in the pistachio paste.