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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.
Table of Contents
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.
Why you will love this recipe
- It’s like Nutella’s sophisticated older sister, and a perfect addition to so many breakfasts and puddings.
- Since it’s real pistachio, it has a great nutty flavor that isn’t overpowered by the other ingredients.
- It means you can make my pistachio cream French toast and pistachio croissants, both show-stopping brunch options.
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.
Quick Tip
Removing the papery skins from the pistachios does take a little time – one of those things that takes longer than you think, but honestly it’s so worth it. The easiest way I’ve found is to boil them for a few minutes and then rub them with a clean towel. Then you’re left with a gorgeously vibrant green pistachio, and your cream is a beautiful 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.
Variation
Since you only need 1 tablespoon of sugar, I can understand not wanting to buy a whole bag for this purpose. If needed, just add an extra 3/4 oz (20g) or so of white chocolate. This will add to the sweetness.
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
Ideally, raw unsalted pistachios are best for making pistachio cream. Persian pistachios tend to be the brightest green if that’s important to you, or even Turkish or Sicilian pistachios. But any work. If you use roasted, salted pistachios, this works too, but won’t be as bright green.
Yes, you can. It will just lean into the salty, sweet combination. Use unsalted butter in the cream to balance it out. Taste it once done, and you can always add a pinch of salt if it needs any more.
Ideally, both make the best texture. However, if you only have a blender, this will still work. Start by pulsing the blender, and then you can blend properly when you add the splash of milk. Just give the blender lots of breaks. You can also do this with only a food processor, but the final texture will not be as smooth; it’ll be a bit chunkier.
The pistachio cream will keep well in the fridge for 2 weeks in an airtight jar or container.
I haven’t tried freezing it, so I can’t be completely sure, but it should work. The milk could turn a little grainy once you defrost. If this happens, I think you could fix it by running it through the blender again. If in doubt, add a bit more melted white chocolate mix, and that should fix it!
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.
Easy Dessert Recipes
Mango Pancakes
Breakfast & Brunch
Hong Kong French Toast with Hazelnut Creme
Pancake Recipes
Poffertjes (Dutch Mini Pancakes)
Easy Dessert Recipes
Easy Lemon Curd
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!
Easy Homemade Pistachio Cream
Ingredients
- 5 oz (140 g/about 1 cup) shelled pistachios, You can shell them yourself but it takes a while so buy shelled if you can!
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) whole milk
- 2 tbsp (25 g) salted butter
- 3.5 oz (100 g) white chocolate, (about 2/3 cup, chopped)
- 1 tbsp confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar)
Instructions
- I always start by boiling the shelled pistachios for 3 minutes to soften them. Then drain them and set them on a clean kitchen towel to dry.
- Then use the towel to rub the pistachios to loosen the skins. You want to separate the pistachios from the skins. This step does take a little time, but I promise it’s worth it. If you don’t remove the skins, your pistachio cream won’t be lovely and vibrant green and will taste slightly more bitter, not in a bad way, it’s still good! But this way is really, really good. Once you’re done, pop the pistachios into a food processor and discard the skins.
- Add the sugar and just a splash of milk.
- Blend for around 5 minutes until the pistachios turn into a smooth pistachio paste, scraping down the sides every minute or so. Be patient – to begin with, it will resemble breadcrumbs, but eventually, it will turn into a paste – this is important.
- Meanwhile, create a double boiler: pop the butter, white chocolate, and the rest of the milk into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water over low heat. Allow to melt slowly, stirring every now and then. Once melted, remove from the heat.
- Scoop the pistachio paste into a blender and then pour in the melted white chocolate mixture. Blend until extra creamy and silky smooth.
Video
Notes
Storage
The pistachio cream will keep well in the fridge for 2 weeks in an airtight jar or container, but I highly doubt you will have any problems using it.More tips
- Pistachios: You want to use raw, unsalted pistachios for this recipe.
- Doubling the recipe: You can easily double the recipe – but just remember that whenever you do increase the proportions of a recipe, you might not always need the full amount of liquid, so don’t add all the milk in one go – it’s very easy to add liquid to a recipe but very hard to take it away, so a little at a time is the best way. This pistachio cream should be thick and creamy – not too liquidy.
- Making with only a blender (or only a food processor): If you only have a blender, start by pulsing the blender, and then you can blend properly when you add the splash of milk. Just give the blender lots of breaks. You can also do this with only a food processor, but the final texture will not be as smooth; it’ll be a bit chunkier.
- Nutritional info: The calories listed above are for the whole jar of pistachio cream, which is not a single serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Wondering how this will taste if in lieu of milk maybe using pistachio coffee creamer or melted pistachio ice cream ( we are a sweets couple )
Hi Stephanie, I haven’t tried it but I do think that would be VERY sweet, perhaps too sweet! I would try it with the milk as written as the recipe is full of white chocolate and it’s already sweet and well-balanced.
amazing creamy and delicious however i recommend not using all the milk if you need a more creamy and thicker consistency.
Great recipe
This recipe was so good, thank you. I had never made pistachio cream before but was intrigued and it is so delicious!
I just made this and it’s delicious. I doubled the recipe and used half & half instead of whole milk as I didn’t have any. Came out perfect. My question is after it’s been refrigerated, how do you recommend getting it back to a pourable consistency?
Glad you liked the recipe! It should turn back to a pourable consistency once it warms up a little. Try to remove it from the fridge 30 minutes before using or if you’re really in a rush, scoop out some pistachio cream from the jar and add to a small microwaveable. Heat on low in 20 second bursts in the microwave until soft. Don’t heat too much as you don’t want it to separate. Let us know how you get on!
Just wanted to let you know we went through that entire batch in 2 weeks and I’m currently making another right now at 10pm, lol! I used it over my chocolate brownie recipe and topped that with a chocolate ganache, absolutely to die for. And it also went on my English muffin every morning until I ran out. The consistency straight out of the refrigerator was lovely and I ended up never needing to warm it, it stayed very spreadable. Thanks again for the recipe!
Delicious!!!
I haven’t tried the recipe yet but it looks so easy to do.
My query is, can you use this pistachio cream in Dubai Bars? I use Peanut Butter at the moment as I can’t find anywhere in Glasgow that sells it.
Yes, you definitely could! Mix it with the shredded toasted pastry – it’ll be delicious.
This pistachio cream recipe works really well and was so delicious
Could I use this Pistachio cream in Dubai chocolate?
Yes! You could use it to mix with the toasted kataifi for the filling x
Taste good mine came out less thicker than i wanted it too but i can just easily add more melted white chocolate to make it thicker
hi! So pleased you liked it. Remember it will thicken in the fridge as it settles x