Crema al Pistacchio is the most delicious Italian Pistachio Cream made with pistachios, white chocolate and milk. Use it as a filling for doughnuts, pastries and cakes or simply spread it on bread or toast. Super quick and easy!
Crema al Pistacchio is a popular and decadent Italian spread that's sweet, creamy and insanely delicious.
You can use it pretty much how you would Nutella, spread it on toast or bread, fold it into cream to fill desserts, cakes or pastries or simply grab a spoon and dig in!
Better yet, it's super quick and easy to make and will keep well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. See our full step by step recipe below including photos, tips and video, enjoy!
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Ingredients - what you need
See the photo below that shows you everything you need to make this recipe plus some important tips on ingredients!
- Pistachios - make sure you use unsalted pistachios. You can either buy pre-shelled or shell them yourself both work just as well.
- Milk - whole milk will give you the best creamy flavour but you can use half fat if that's all you have.
- Butter - make sure to use unsalted.
- White chocolate - use a good quality white chocolate for best flavour.
- Powdered sugar - I only use 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar (icing sugar) since a lot of sweetness comes from the white chocolate but feel free to add more to taste.
Step by step photos and recipe instructions
Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil and add the shelled pistachios. Let them boil for 4 minutes then drain them and place them on a clean kitchen towel (photo 1-3).
Fold the towel over and rub the pistachios in the towel to loosen the skins. Separate the pistachios for the skins and discard them (photo 3 & 4).
Add the pistachios to a food processor with only ¼ cup (60ml) of the milk and 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar. Blitz for around 5 minutes until the pistachios turn into a smooth paste. You’ll need to stop the processor 3-4 times to scrape down the sides. You’ll notice the pistachio turn into crumbs first then it should form into a ball when it’s reached the paste stage (photo 5 & 6).
Put the remaining milk, butter and white chocolate in a clean saucepan and heat on a low heat until melted, set aside (photo 7 & 8).
Transfer the pistachio paste to a blender and pour in the white chocolate mixture. Blitz until extra smooth and creamy (you can adjust the consistency with more milk if desired (there’s no need to heat the milk up first) (photos 9-12).
The pistachio cream will keep well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. See notes for delicious ways to use it.
Ways to use it
Pistachio cream can be used in so many different ways. Mix it with pastry cream (Crema Pasticcera) and use it to fill Italian doughnuts (Bomboloni), mix it with ricotta and use it to fill homemade cannoli or mix it with mascarpone and use it to fill cakes.
You can also use it to make pistachio ice cream (my absolute favourite flavour), spread it on toast or even eat it by the spoon...it's that delicious!
Recipe tips and FAQs
- Peel the skins - you'll notice that shelled pistachios have brown skin over all of part of the outside. If you don't peel the pistachios the skins will cause the cream to be slightly gritty with black/brown flecks.
- Boiling the pistachios - boiling makes it super easy to remove the skins but also soften the pistachios slightly making it really quick and easy to get a smooth consistency.
It'll keep well (covered) in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. The top will become darker but just give it a mix. If it's thickened too much you can add it back to the blender with a splash of milk to loosen.
You can use just the food processor if you like but you won't achieve the extra smooth and creamy consistency (unless you have a high power blender). The blender really helps with this but it's optional.
If you’ve tried this Pistachio Cream or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW US on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST or sign up to our NEWSLETTER to see more of our delicious food
📖 Full Recipe
Italian Pistachio Cream (Crema al Pistacchio)
Ingredients
- 1 heaped cup shelled unsalted pistachios (150g)
- ¾ cup whole milk (190ml)
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter (30g)
- 3.5 oz white chocolate (100g/about 1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar (icing sugar)
Instructions
- Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil and add the shelled pistachios. Let them boil for 4 minutes then drain them and place them on a clean kitchen towel.
- Fold the towel over and rub the pistachios in the towel to loosen the skins. Separate the pistachios for the skins and discard them.
- Add the pistachios to a food processor with only ¼ cup (80ml) of the milk and 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar. Blitz for around 5 minutes until the pistachios turn into a smooth paste. You’ll need to stop the processor 3-4 times to scrape down the sides. You’ll notice the pistachio turn into crumbs first then it should form into a ball when it’s reached the paste stage.
- Put the remaining milk (½ cup/125ml), butter and white chocolate in a clean saucepan and heat on a low heat until melted, set aside.
- Transfer the pistachio paste to a blender and pour in the white chocolate mixture. Blitz until extra smooth and creamy (you can adjust the consistency with more milk if desired (there’s no need to heat the milk up first).
- The pistachio cream will keep well in the fridge for 2 weeks. See notes for delicious ways to use it.
Notes
- Peel the skins - you'll noticed that shelled pistachios have a brown skin over all of part of the outside. If you don't peel the pistachios the skins will cause the cream to be slightly gritty with black/brown flecks.
- How long does it last? It'll keep well (covered) in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. The top will become darker but just give it a mix. If it's thickened too much you can add it back to the blender with a splash of milk to loosen.
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use this brand for the best results and flavour
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Elise
Could this be made without the white chocolate? I am not a fan of white chocolate, and also prefer less sweet. If so, would you adjust the recipe at all?
Emily
Hi Elise, sorry I can't be much help I've never tried to make it without white chocolate.
Mary
Can this be used to make a tartlet? I am visiting rome and just had a 1 inch square pistachio tartlet and I’m obsessed. Would I need to mix it with the pastry cream? If so what ratio? I’ve never made a tart before but I need this in my life!!
Emily
Ciao Mary, yes you could use it as it is or mix it with pastry cream. If mixing it make sure to add the pistachio cream whilst the pastry cream is still hot. The ratio is up to you, you could add half of the pistachio cream and taste it then add more as you like.