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This simple pistachio cream spread recipe combines a handful of ingredients for a rich, nutty sweet spread that blends up in minutes. If you like Nutella, this classic creamy Italian dessert spread will be a hit!
If you love Nutella, this one is a must-try! With its beautiful natural green color, intense nutty flavor, and sweet vanilla white chocolate notes, pistachio cream is sure to become your new favorite.
What is Pistachio Cream?
Pistachio cream or crema al pistacchio in Italian, is a smooth spread. It’s an Italian treat made of pistachios, sugar, milk, butter, frequently white chocolate, and occasionally flavorings, such as vanilla.
It’s different from nut butter (like peanut butter) in the sense that pistachio cream is much sweeter. I’d say the sweetness level of pistachio cream is on par with Nutella, but lacking the richness of chocolate. However, unlike Nutella, pistachio spread has to be refrigerated because of the dairy.
Why This Recipe Works
- With just a few ingredients, you’ll have a delicious nutty spread. We don’t add extra frills to this recipe because it simply doesn’t need it. The rich, nutty flavor of pistachio shines through!
- If you use a high-speed blender, you don’t have to boil or soak the nuts. The blender will will do all the heavy lifting in a matter of minutes! (But note that although the texture will be velvety-smooth, you’ll still have minuscule flecks of pistachio skin if you don’t remove the skins (see the photos in this post). This doesn’t bother me, but if you prefer, you can boil the nuts to help you peel the pistachios.)
- However, don’t worry if you don’t have a high-speed blender. You can easily soften the nuts to help them blend well. To do so, boil the pistachios for 1 minute, or soak them in hot water for 20 minutes or cold water in the fridge for 24 hours, and then use a food processor or regular blender.
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
- Shelled unsalted pistachios – Pistachios are the star of the show here! Make sure to use unsalted pistachios, and weigh or measure them once the shells are removed.
- Granulated white sugar – This spread has a sweetness level that’s similar to Nutella. If you find Nutella too sweet, you can reduce (or even omit) the sugar here. However, your pistachio cream will have a slightly different consistency. If you want to reduce the carbs, you can use a keto sweetener instead.
- White chocolate chips – This is a classic ingredient in Italian pistachio cream. You can either use white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate.
- Unsalted butter – This adds richness to this creamy spread. You can use salted butter and omit the added 1/8 teaspoon salt.
- Whole milk – Whole milk adds richness, but any kind of milk will work here.
- Vanilla extract – For flavor and aroma.
- Almond extract – This is completely optional, but helps to intensify the nutty flavor. Or you can use pistachio extract if you have it on hand.
- Salt – Salt is a natural flavor enhancer that pulls out the flavor of everything else.
How to Make This Pistachio Cream Spread Recipe
- Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender.
- Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.
Pro Tip: If you don’t have a high-speed blender, no worries! All you have to do is soften the nuts before blending. To do so, you can boil the pistachios for 1 minute, or soak them in hot water for 20 minutes or cold water in the fridge for 24 hours. After that, continue with the recipe using a food processor or regular blender.
Storage
Store this in a lidded glass jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Recipe Tips
- Peel the pistachios if you don’t want flecks of pistachio skins in your cream. To do so, boil them for 1 minute, drain them, and then spread them out onto a baking tray lined with a kitchen towel. Place another towel on top, and rub the towel on the pistachios. Discard the peels, and hand-peel any stubborn nuts.
- You can adjust the thickness to suit your preference. Right after blending, this is quite runny and with a drizzle-able consistency. However, it will naturally thicken to the consistency shown in these photos after refrigerating overnight. Feel free to add more or less liquid if you want it to end up thicker or thinner.
- Don’t forgo this recipe if white chocolate isn’t your thing! Instead, you can make it with milk chocolate or dark chocolate. Pistachio chocolate spread might just replace Nutella as your family’s favorite!
Frequently Asked Questions
Use this sweet nutty spread on toast or croissants just like you would use Nutella. It also works beautifully as a filling for cakes, as well as other pastries and baked goods, and even as a base for gelato and ice cream. Additionally, it makes a good cookie filling in jam thumbprint cookies instead of jam.
After refrigeration, if you slightly warm up pistachio cream (in the microwave or using a double boiler on the stove), you can drizzle it on oatmeal, yogurt, pancakes, waffles, crepes, French toast, etc.
Blend it up with milk and espresso for an Italian pistachio latte. Or make a pistachio hot chocolate!
Nope! Pistachio butter generally has a lot fewer ingredients, typically just a little salt, maybe some sugar, and possibly a little oil to help the mixture reach the desired consistency. On the other hand, pistachio cream spread is much sweeter, and also contains dairy for richness.
Pistachio paste is just pistachios that are ground to form a thick paste – that’s it! No other ingredients are added, similar to a natural unsweetened peanut butter that only contains ground peanuts.
Yes! Because of the dairy in this recipe, it needs to be stored in the fridge.
More Pistachio Recipes
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Pistachio Cream Spread Recipe
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Equipment
- High speed blender see Notes if you don't have a high-speed blender
Ingredients
- 75 g shelled unsalted pistachios 75 g pistachios is about 10 tablespoons
- 75 g granulated white sugar 75 g granulated white sugar is about 6 tablespoons
- 75 g white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate (75 g white chocolate chips is about 5 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons)
- 75 g unsalted butter melted (75 g butter is about 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon)
- 1/2 cup whole milk heated (see Notes)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract or pistachio extract (optional)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary. (See Notes if you don’t have a high-speed blender.)
- Transfer to a jar and store covered in the fridge.
Notes
- If You Don’t Have a High-Speed Blender: You can easily soften the nuts to help them blend well. To do so, boil the pistachios for 1 minute, or soak them in hot water for 20 minutes or cold water in the fridge for 24 hours, and then use a food processor or regular blender.
- Whole Milk: Instead of using whole milk, you can use 1/2 cup boiling water + 2 tablespoons whole milk powder instead.
- If You Don’t Want Flecks of Pistachio Skin: Peel the pistachios! To do so, boil them for 1 minute, drain them, and then spread them out onto a baking tray lined with a kitchen towel. Place another towel on top, and rub the towel on the pistachios. Discard the peels, and hand-peel any stubborn nuts.
- If White Chocolate Isn’t Your Thing: You can make this with milk or dark chocolate instead.
- Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes about 2 cups of pistachio cream, or 16 (2-tablespoon) servings.
- Storage: Store this in a lidded glass jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
Free Bonus
I just made this recipe to use in a pistachio creme brûlée. It came together so quickly and tastes absolutely amazing. We will be using the leftovers to slather on whole wheat toasts for a breakfast treat.