Pistachio Cream (Crema di Pistacchio): Easy Recipe

Pistachio cream is the sweet, glossy, spreadable green paste that turns up on Italian breakfast tables, inside pastries, and, most famously, in the viral "Dubai chocolate" bar. It's different from plain pistachio butter: where butter is just ground nuts, cream is sweetened and loosened into something you'd spoon straight onto toast. The good news is you can make a far better, greener version at home than most jars on the shelf, in about ten minutes of active work.

The quick version

Why peel the pistachios?

For a vivid green rather than a muddy khaki, take the skins off. Drop the shelled nuts into boiling water for a minute, drain, and rub them in a clean kitchen towel, most skins slip away. The skins are where much of the brown-purple color and a little bitterness live, which is the same reason peeled nuts give a brighter milk, explained in why pistachios are green. It's optional; skip it for a rustic, darker cream.

Getting it smooth

Pistachios are about 45% fat, so they grind into a paste readily once you're patient. Blend the nuts alone first and let them pass through the crumbly stage into a loose, shiny butter before you add anything else. That's the base of every smooth result. A small food processor or a high-speed blender both work; a high-speed blender gives the silkiest texture. Only then fold in the melted white chocolate (which both sweetens and sets it slightly when cold) and the oil. Loosen with milk to the thickness you want: thicker to pipe into pastries, looser to drizzle over pistachio dessert or gelato.

Make it the "Dubai chocolate" filling

The bar everyone films breaking open is pistachio cream plus crunch. Toast a handful of kataifi (shredded knafeh pastry) in a little butter until golden and crisp, let it cool, then fold it through the cream with a spoonful of tahini. Spoon that into a chocolate-lined mold, cap with more melted chocolate, and chill. The cream brings the flavor; the kataifi brings the shatter.

How sweet, and how green?

Shop jars are often more sugar and oil than pistachio, which is why they taste sweet but only faintly nutty and look artificially green from added color. Homemade lets you flip that: more nut, less sugar, and a natural green that's softer than the neon commercial shade. If you want it less sweet, use powdered sugar instead of white chocolate and add it gradually to taste.

How to use pistachio cream

Spread it on toast, brioche or croissants; swirl it into yogurt or pistachio pudding; fill crêpes, doughnuts or a pistachio cannoli; or warm it slightly and pour it over ice cream. A spoonful blended into warm milk makes an instant pistachio hot drink. See pistachio hot chocolate. For coffee, a thinner, less sweet pour is better; that's pistachio creamer, a different thing built for the cup.

Storage

Keep it in a sealed jar in the fridge for about two weeks. The oil firms up cold, so bring it back to room temperature and stir before spreading. Because there's milk in it, treat it as fresh rather than a long-life pantry spread.

Pistachio cream vs butter vs paste

These three names get muddled, so here's the clean version: pistachio butter is 100% ground nuts, savory and unsweetened; pistachio paste is a smooth, concentrated, usually unsweetened purée bakers use for flavor and color; pistachio cream is the sweet, spreadable dessert one you're making here. Start with whichever the recipe calls for. They aren't interchangeable spoon for spoon.

How big is the difference? We compiled five real product labels in August 2026: the 100% pastes and butters carry 4.5-8 g of sugar per 100 g, all of it naturally occurring, while shop-bought creams and spreads run 28.9-32 g and only 38-65% pistachio. The full breakdown, with ingredients and a downloadable dataset, is in pistachio cream vs paste vs butter.

Allergy note

Pistachios are a tree nut. Pistachio cream is unsuitable for anyone with a nut allergy, and white chocolate adds dairy, so it isn't vegan unless you use a dairy-free white chocolate and plant milk.