Learn how to make this creamy pistachio butter recipe that will give peanut butter a run for its money. This delicious spread is made with 4 ingredients and takes just 20 minutes. You won’t believe how easy it is to make your own homemade pistachio butter.
Pistachio is one of my favorite nuts, right up there with macadamia. Ever since I made these pistachio cupcakes, I’ve been itching to use them in another recipe. I figure the next step would be to make pistachio nut butter from scratch, then I can use it as a spread and I can also use it to make pistachio truffles and these amazing pistachio butter cookies!
If you’re looking for an easy, uncomplicated way to make pistachio butter, I’ve got you covered. Also, with how tasty it is, it’s safe to say peanut butter’s got some serious competition. Pistachio nut butter will be toast and jelly’s new best friend in no time.
Table of Contents
Helpful tools
You will definitely need a food processor or a high-speed blender for this recipe. The food processor is actually great for making all types of nut butter and pastes, including my easy honey peanut butter and my homemade almond paste.
Another item you’ll need is a baking sheet for roasting the nuts in the oven. But you can also toast them in a large skillet on the stove top.
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:
- Pistachios – I bought raw shelled pistachio nuts in bulk from Sprouts. You can also use roasted pistachio but make sure it is unsalted so you can control how much salt is added to your final product.
- Honey – just a tablespoon adds the perfect amount of sweetness.
- Salt – balances out the sweet, earthy flavor of the pistachios.
- Oil – gives the butter a smooth, creamy, spreadable texture. I originally used coconut oil in this recipe, it does add a hint of flavor to the final product. You can use a different type of oil, I recommend something flavorless like vegetable or canola oil.
How to make Pistachio Butter
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.
Step 1 – Roast the nuts
The first step in making this pistachio nut paste recipe — or any nut butter for that matter — is lightly roasting the nuts. This will warm up the oil, soften the nuts making them easier to process and also bring out their flavors. But you don’t want them to brown too much, so watch them carefully.
To roast or not to roast? You can skip the roasting step and just make raw pistachio nut butter if you wish. I think this will keep your final butter “greener” but I think roasting the nuts will definitely bring out more flavor and making it tastier in the end.
You can also use roasted unsalted pistachio. But even when using roasted nuts, I would still recommend roasting them prior to making the butter because again warm them up will release the oil making them easier to process.
Step 2 – Process the nuts into butter
Now, add the warm toasty pistachios to your food processor and turn it on. When you start processing the pistachio, the texture will change gradually. Just allow your machine to process until a creamy paste forms.
Note: You may need to stop your food processor and let it rest in between so it doesn’t overheat, and to scrape down the side of the bowl.
I added honey for a little bit of sweetness, a tiny bit of salt to balance the flavor, and oil to keep your pistachio paste smooth and spreadable. Process again to blend the added ingredients into your pistachio butter. Then transfer to a jar for storing.
Storage
Store your homemade pistachio butter in an airtight container or jam jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. If you want to keep it longer, you can freeze it for up to 3 months.
This stuff is so good though, it won’t last that long. Trust me, you’ll be eating pistachio nut butter straight out of the food processor by the spoonful!
More recipes with pistachio
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Easy 4-Ingredient Homemade Pistachio Butter
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cup shelled raw pistachio, 280 g
- 1 tablespoon honey, 20 g
- 1 tablespoon oil, vegetable, canola, coconut or pistachio oil, 13 g
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spread pistachio in one layer on a baking sheet and roast in the middle of the oven for 5 minutes. Watch closely to make sure they don't brown too much.
- Take baking sheet out of the oven, stir the nuts and flip them over, roast for another 2 minutes.
- Add the roasted nuts to the food processor and process for 10 minutes. Stop the food processor and scrape down the bowl as necessary or to let it rest so it doesn't overheat.
- Add salt, honey and coconut oil and process for another 1 to 2 minutes until the mixture is smooth.
- Store in an air tight container for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Roasting the nuts is optional, the nut butter can be made with raw pistachio nuts.
- This recipe yields 1 ¼ cup total.
- Nutrition information is for 1 tablespoon.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I don’t know where to get raw pistachios. Can already-roasted pistachios be used? I live in a small mountain community, and am limited to a couple of grocery stores.
Hi Dawn, yes already-roasted pistachios are good to go!
I make this for Christmas gifts. What is the storing process? How long can it be in the pantry, unopened?
I would store it in the fridge. Homemade nut butter doesn’t have any preservative so they would go rancid quickly if kept at in the pantry. In the fridge they would last several weeks.
Can I use another oil instead of coconut oil for the pistachio butter ?
Yes!
Hello! Do you think I can use this as a bottom layer of a pie?
Hi Katy, are you planning to use it instead of a pie crust? or do you mean you want to spread it on top of the pie crust as another layer? I wouldn’t use it in place of a pie crust but it could work as a layer yes. But why don’t you try a pistachio frangipane like the one in this pear tart.