This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
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 simple recipe to make pistachio cream to fill decadent French Toast, add to buttercream icing, use it in cheesecakes or simply spread on hot toast.
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, or Crema al Pistacchio as it’s known in Italy, 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 flavour 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
See recipe card for the exact recipe with a full list of ingredients and measurements
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 colour.
Whole milk: semi-skimmed would work but I am of the belief in a recipe like this that if you’re going to be making something very indulgent like this, you might as well go the full way and use whole milk.
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 flavour to be overwhelmingly sweet.
Icing sugar: to the American readers, powdered sugar. You only need 1 tablespoon.
Substitutions and Variations:
Icing sugar: since you only need one tablespoon, I can understand not wanting to buy a whole bag for this purpose. If needed, just add an extra 20g or so of white chocolate. This will add to the sweetness.
Here’s how to make Pistachio Cream
Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe below for detailed instructions.
ONE: Boil the pistachios for a few minutes to soften them. Then drain and tip onto a clean kitchen towel (tea towel) to dry.
TWO: Then use the tea 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 icing 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.
FIVE: Once smooth and melted, remove the melted chocolate from heat and add to a blender.
SIX: Blend in the blender until totally glossy and smooth. Done!
Cooking Tips
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 the final process smooth, 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 tea towel trick to avoid little bits in the pistachio cream, which ruins the texture. It also darkens the colour so you don’t get the lovely light green shade.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common in Italy, pistachio cream is a sweetened pistachio paste that you can use in a multitude of ways. I usually can find it in some supermarkets these days in the UK and it’s easy to order online but it’s also surprisingly easy to make too.
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.
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!
Yes, you can do. 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, 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.
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.
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 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!
Pistachio Cream
Ingredients
- 140 g shelled pistachios, you can shell them yourself but it takes a while so buy shelled if you can!
- 180 ml whole milk
- 25 g salted butter
- 100 g white chocolate
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar, (powdered 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 (tea towel) to dry.
- Then use the tea 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 icing 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, 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. 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.
- The video below will help with this recipe.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My daughter just made it! Deliciously good !
Really liked the recipe!
This recipe is gorgeous. Would highly recommend for any pistachio fans.
I could only find roasted unsalted pistachios, should I still boil them?
Hi Penny, the boiling is to soften the skins so you can remove them easily so yes do still boil them as you will find it fiddly otherwise. Removing the skins makes sure you get a smooth texture and the bright green colour!
This is 100% the most delicious (and easiest) recipe I’ve tried – i’m obsesssssed and will be making it on the reg
A perfect use of pistachios – my kids loved this recipe and finished the jar so quickly!!
Hi,
I really want to try making this. Just a question… in the blog part with the pics you say to put the milk, butter and chocolate into a saucepan but in the recipe instructions you say pu them into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Which is better? Could i even combine them in a bowl in the microwave instead?
Thanks
Hi! This is a good question! I tend to do it in all in a pan as it’s less faff but it does come with the risk of scorching the chocolate if you’re not careful. So then when I was writing the recipe I thought I would suggest the bowl over water as it’s less risky! But yes definitely a bowl in a microwave would work. Just don’t let it get too hot – just 20 second bursts and once it warm enough to stir well to melt it. xx
Easy and delicious
Haven’t tried it yet but looks so good. Haven’t noticed any bad reviews so hoping it turns out good. Just wondering, I was going to make Dubai Chocolate strawberry and wanted to use it for that, will it work? XOXO LOVE U THANKS 4 DA RECIPE! MARGIE!!
If you follow her instructions, it will be exactly how you expect !!!! I love it.
Delicious