Easy Homemade Pistachio Cream

This easy homemade pistachio cream is the most delicious spread made with just 5 ingredients. A delicious blend of pistachios, white chocolate, and milk. Italian Pistachio cream, or Crema al Pistacchio, is not only delicious but it’s incredibly simple to make at home. I think it tastes even better than the stuff you can buy in the shops! It’s simple and delicious.

Use this recipe to make pistachio cream to fill decadent French toast, add to buttercream icing, use it in cheesecakes, or simply spread on hot toast.

What is pistachio cream?

Common in Italy, pistachio cream, or crema al pistacchio as it’s known in Italy, is a sweetened pistachio paste that you can use in a multitude of ways. I can usually find it in some supermarkets in the UK these days, and it’s easy to order online, but it’s also surprisingly easy to make.

What’s the difference between pistachio cream, butter, and paste?

Pistachio cream is sweetened, here with sugar, and blended with white chocolate. Pistachio butter is more like peanut butter; it is blended nuts with perhaps some oil and some salt. You can find this both sweetened and unsweetened, depending on the brand.

Using pistachio cream

Pistachio cream is so good in so many ways. I love this pistachio cream French toast or these pistachio croissants. Almost so decadent they could be pudding rather than brunch, and they are both delicious recipes. You can kind of use this creamy Italian pistachio spread in the same way you would Nutella.

It would also be incredible swirled into some softly whipped cream and sandwiched between two chocolate cake rounds. I like to use it in a pistachio pavlova too. I add finely chopped pistachio to the meringue and then fold the pistachio cream through whipped double cream to layer it on. Or, of course, you need pistachio cream to make anything inspired by Dubai Chocolate bars.

If you haven’t tried pistachio cream before, you are in for a treat! It’s creamy and sweet with a hint of nuttiness. It’s honestly so so good. And if you haven’t tried making it before, let me show you how simple it is to make at home.

Ingredients

• Raw unsalted pistachios – Buy shelled if you can, as it will save you shelling yourself. They don’t need to be salted or roasted. Raw pistachios give the best texture and color.

• Whole milk – A lower-fat milk would work, but I am of the belief that, in a recipe like this, if you’re going to be making something very indulgent, you might as well go the full way and use whole milk. 
• Salted butter – If you only have unsalted butter, taste it after the final blend, and add a pinch of salt if needed for flavor balance, then blend again.
• White chocolate – Try to buy good-quality white chocolate with a good amount of cocoa butter rather than just sugar. As this is quite sweet anyway, and you don’t want the flavor to be overwhelmingly sweet.
• Confectioners’ sugar – Also called icing sugar or powdered sugar. You only need 1 tablespoon.

Here’s how to make pistachio cream

Here’s a quick visual guide — the full recipe with exact measurements is below.

ONE: Boil the pistachios for a few minutes to soften them. Then drain and tip onto a clean towel to dry.

TWO: Use the towel to rub the pistachios to loosen the skins. You want to separate the pistachios from the skins. Once you’re done, pop the peeled pistachios into a food processor and discard the skins. 

THREE: Add the sugar and just a splash of milk, then blitz well until smooth. Transfer to a blender when it’s a thick paste.

FOUR: Meanwhile, pop the butter, white chocolate, and the rest of the milk into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water over a low heat to create a double boiler.

FIVE: Once smooth and melted, remove the melted chocolate from the heat and add to a blender.

SIX: Blend in the blender until totally glossy and smooth. Done!

Tips from Margie’s kitchen

• Making it smooth: You just need a strong food processor and blender. The reason you use both is that the food processor chops the pistachios finely, whereas a blender will get the paste super smooth once you add the melted white chocolate. This means you can achieve the perfect final texture. If you only have one and not both, it will work, but you might need to be more patient with the final texture.
• Using a food processor/blender: Since your blender/food processor will be working hard here to make a smooth cream, make sure to give the processor breaks in between blending, using a spoon to stir the contents around and scrape down the sides. This is especially important if the blender starts warming up.
• Peeling pistachios: It’s important to peel the pistachios using the towel trick to avoid little bits in the pistachio cream, which ruins the texture. It also darkens the color so you don’t get the lovely light green shade.

Frequently asked questions

Other recipes you might like to try

If you love pistachio cream, I also have a recipe for pistachio cream French toast and pistachio croissants. You will also love my pistachio tiramisu, pistachio raspberry cake, and, of course, my Dubai chocolate & strawberry dessert.

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If you tried this Pistachio Cream or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a comment and let us know how it went!