Homemade Almond Paste can be made in as little as 5 minutes with just 5 ingredients. It is a versatile and delicious filling that will elevate your almond desserts to the next level. Not to mention all the money you’ll save from not having to buy premade almond paste.
Over the years, I’ve used homemade almond paste in so many different desserts and they have always been a hit. If you love almonds, making your own almond paste will give you limitless options for delicious almond desserts.
Plus store bought almond paste is not exactly cheap. So this homemade version is going to save you money while making you the star of the office bake off!
Table of Contents
What is almond paste?
Almond paste is essentially almond and sugar processed together to form a paste with the help of a binder, in this case egg white.
It is typically incorporated into a recipe as a filling like this Almond Apple Tart, cut into cubes and tossed into these Almond Scones or this Almond Croissant French Toast Bake, or rolled out and tucked into pastries like Almond Rugelach.
Almond Paste vs. Marzipan vs. Frangipane
Almond paste and marzipan are very similar in nature. They are both made with mostly almond flour and sugar.
➤ The main difference is that almond paste has less sugar and is primarily used as a filling in baked goods.
➤ Whereas marzipan has a lot more sugar so it is sweeter, smoother, more pliable, and is used primarily to make candies and cake decorations.
You can make marzipan from almond paste by adding more sugar, simple syrup, or corn syrup, but you can’t make almond paste from marzipan.
Frangipane, on the other hand, is a completely different animal. It is an almond cream that is enriched with butter and whole eggs. Whereas only egg white is used in almond paste and marzipan for binding.
Here are some recipes using frangipane you might want to try to see the difference. And they’re not only limited to almond frangipane either:
- Plum Tart with Frangipane
- Pear Tart with Pistachio Frangipane
- Pineapple Tart with Coconut Frangipane
- Almond Croissants
Why you’ll love this recipe
- This easy almond paste recipe requires just 5 ingredients.
- And it takes only 5 minutes to whip up.
- You can make a large batch and freeze leftovers for another day.
Ingredients and substitutions
As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:
- Almond flour – is the main ingredient for almond paste. I usually use fine almond flour for a smoother texture. But you can substitute almond meal, or grind whole almonds to make your own almond meal or almond flour.
- Powdered sugar – I prefer this over granulated sugar for a smoother texture. Though I have seen recipes that use granulated sugar. If you want to substitute granulated sugar, I would highly recommend blitzing it in the food processor to make it a little finer.
- Salt – just a few pinches to enhance the flavor.
- Egg white – one egg white is used to bind everything together.
- Almond extract – adds an incredible almond flavor making your almond paste 10x more flavorful, add a little or a lot depending on how strong you would like the flavor to be.
Tolls you’ll need
Depending on what tools you have available, you can make this recipe using:
- A food processor: this is especially useful if you are planning to grind whole almonds to make your own almond meal or almond flour.
- A stand mixer.
- And if you don’t have either, you could use a mixing bowl and a fork.
How to make Almond Paste
The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Using a food processor
The easiest way and my preferred way to make almond paste uses a food processor. This mixes the ingredients very quickly and also creates a smoother paste.
Add all the dry ingredients in the food processor bowl fitted with the metal chopping blade. Turn it on to distribute the ingredients evenly. Alternatively, you could mix the dry ingredients with a whisk in a mixing bowl before adding to the food processor to ensure the almond flour and powdered sugar is mixed evenly.
Add egg white and almond extract to the dry ingredient mixture. Turn the food processor on and allow it to process until a smooth paste forms. You will need to scrape the bottom and side of the food processor to make sure everything is well mixed. Then immediately scrape the mixture out and wrap in plastic.
Using a stand mixer
Whille I prefer making almond paste using a food processor for a smoother end product, you can certainly still make it without one. It is still super easy to make with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. This method will yield a paste with slightly coarser grain.
Similar to the food processor method, mix all the dry ingredients together in the stand mixer bowl. Turn it on and mix to distribute evenly.
Then beat the egg white and almond extract into the dry ingredients until the almond paste comes together. It will be very sticky, use a spatula to scrape it out and wrap in plastic immediately.
Make it by hand
Follow all the steps above using a mixing bowl and a fork. When you mix the egg white into the dry mixture, it will be very sticky, just keep kneading it together with the fork until you get a uniform paste.
Baker’s Tips
- This recipe makes about 7 to 7 ½ oz of almond paste. This is the same amount you’ll get from a package of Odense almond paste, which is widely available in grocery stores.
- You can use this immediately in your recipes, especially ones that call for it to be used as a filling or spread since it is soft and sticky immediately out of the food processor. If you need to chop it or roll it, it would be better to keep it refrigerated for a while first.
Storage
While commercial almond paste is shelf stable before you open the package, homemade almond paste needs to be kept refrigerated since it contains raw egg white.
You can make this recipe ahead of time and keep it refrigerated for a week and up to 10 days for all your baking needs. Or you can freeze it for up to 6 months. Be sure to wrap the paste well, so it doesn’t absorb any refrigerator or freezer smell.
FAQs
Almond flour is typically more finely ground and never contains almond skin. Almond meal, on the other hand, can be coarser, can be blanched (skin removed) or unblanched (with skin). For the unblanched variety of almond meal, you will be able to see the dark flecks of the almond skin in your final product.
Almond flour and almond meal are ground almonds, and are technically the same. So you can use either one for this recipe. You can even grind your own whole almonds if that is all you have at the time. However, I prefer to use almond flour or blanched almond meal for look and uniformity.
No, marzipan is sweeter and is not a direct substitute for almond paste.
Yes, almond paste is made from real almonds. But if you prefer other types of nuts over almonds, you can ground your own nut flour using a food processor and make macadamia nut paste, pistachio paste, pecan paste, pretty much any flavor.
More basic recipes to enhance your baking
Hungry for more?
5-Ingredient Almond Paste
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour, 129 g, packed
- ½ cup powder sugar, 50 g
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 egg white
- ½ teaspoon almond extract, use 1 teaspoon for more almond flavor
Instructions
- Add almond flour, powdered sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse until evenly mixed.
- Add egg white and almond extract and pulse until a smooth paste forms. You will need to scrape the side and bottom of the food processor to ensure even mixing of all ingredients.
- Scrape the almond paste out and roll into a log using plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
Video
Notes
- This recipe makes about 7 to 7 ½ oz of almond paste which is about the same amount as 1 package of Odense almond paste you can buy at the store.
- You can use almond meal or ground your own almond for this recipe.
- Use almond paste immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days or freeze for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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You saved my pignoli cookies with this easy recipe! I had a tube of Odense almond paste that was so hard that my food processor cannot even break it up! Found your almond paste recipe when I was looking on the internet how to soften a rock hard almond paste. Now I can add this to my baking repertoire! Thank you so much!
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 Thanks for trying it!
Lol i just used this recipe for pignolis too, they came out soooo crisp-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside, with the perfect punch of almondy flavour. Will be using this recipe forever probably
So easy. Worked perfectly and literally took about 4 minutes. I’m using this in some italian cookies 🙂
What a revelation! I’ve been watching the British Baking show and I was confused about almond paste, marzipan and frangipane. Sounds like a good baking day.
Thanks Marsha! I’m glad you found this helpful 🙂
This recipe made a salty, sticky mess that bears little resemblance to almond paste. Almond paste doesn’t contain salt or egg white. It’s almonds, sugar, and water. Wish I’d looked further before wasting my almond flour on this one.
Sorry this didn’t live up to your expectation. Many readers have made this successfully so I’m not sure how it came out too salty, the recipe calls for very little salt. If it is too sticky, it’s possible that not enough almond flour was used or the size of the egg white was larger than typical. If you were expecting it to be sweeter, perhaps you were looking for marzipan instead.
It’s possible that the reason it came out too salty is because a different brand of salt was used. Diamond kosher salt is “fluffier” than Morten’s and takes up less volume. An eighth teaspoon of Morten’s is twice as much salt as Diamond.
I made it by hand, as another person indicated, because I don’t own a food processor. It came together quickly and easily! I didn’t bother to roll it into a log and just covered the bowl I made it in. I plan on making the Chez Panisse almond torte tomorrow. I’m still avoiding grocery stores because I care for my terminally ill mother. Thank you so much!
I’m glad the recipe works well by hand too. That almond torte sounds wonderful. Take care Anna, and stay safe!
I was led here on a search for Dutch letters. Very excited to have this recipe in my playbook. It opens up so many possibilities for things I love but didn’t want to pay for almond paste. I get almond flour in bulk at an Amish grocery for way less than I would pay at a regular store. Thanks!
Hey Joyce, I’m so glad you found this recipe. Ever since I started making my own, I never buy it anymore, bulk almond flour is way more affordable. Can’t wait to see what you make with it!
If I use this in your Almond scones do I need to double the recipe? From what I can tell this makes 3.5 oz and we need 7 oz for the scones but it seems like a lot. Just wanted to see what you have done.
Hi Janine, this recipe makes about 7 oz actually, just enough for the scones. I think the confusion is probably due to the way my recipe card is set up, I couldn’t enter 7 1/2 for the serving size and added the “1/2” in the unit field and makes it look like 7 serves of 1/2 oz. Sorry about that, I’ll get it fixed.
Incredibly easy. Perfect texture. A+
Thanks for the wonderful feedback!
Thanks for this recipe! If I double or triple the recipe, should I increase the almond extract by the same amount? I don’t want it to taste artificial?
Yes, you should increase the extract by the same amount. The recipe calls for 1/4 tsp per batch which is not a lot at all, I don’t think the almond extract has an artificial taste. I think the flavor is quite subtle and you could even increase if you want. I suggest perhaps try to make 1 batch first and see how you like the flavor and then make the second and third batch. It’s quite easy and you don’t need to wash the food processor between each batch.
Thanks!!
Love this recipe! I will be making my own bear claws since this corona virus has me indoors. Thanks so much!
Bear claws are delicious! Enjoy!