Craving big, fluffy Bakery-Style Pistachio Muffins—but without the artificial ingredients? Same. These gorgeous nutty muffins are soft, moist, and packed with real pistachio flavor (no instant pudding mix here!). Topped with a buttery pistachio streusel, they’re exactly what everyone will be reaching for at your next brunch or an any-morning treat.
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When I worked at the bakery, our best selling muffins were our blueberry muffins, but my absolute favorite were our big streusel topped Pistachio Muffins. Our James Beard nominated bakery would never think of using instant pistachio pudding mix to make muffins, and I don't either.
So how do I get all that pistachio flavor and color into my pistachio nut muffins without pudding mix or green food coloring? I steep freshly ground pistachios in hot melted butter to allow all of the oils to mingle together. That carries all the pistachio flavor through every crumb of your new favorite pistachio muffins. Next level.
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Ingredients & Substitutions
Here are the ingredients needed to make these delicious, all natural pistachio muffins, just like I used to make in the bakery. Let's go over some of the ingredients and how you can make changes if needed:
- Roasted pistachio nuts – I use pre-shelled, roasted, and salted pistachios for ease and maximum flavor. No early-morning shelling or roasting for me. If you only have raw pistachios, toast them in a 350°F oven for 8–10 minutes. Using unsalted? Just add a pinch more salt to the recipe.
- Yogurt - I prefer to use a nice thick Greek yogurt (which also makes amazing yogurt biscuits), but you can substitute with the same amount of plain yogurt, buttermilk (after making my buttermilk scones!), or even sour cream.
- Unsalted butter - I use unsalted butter to control the salt, but if you use salted, cut the added salt in half. For extra flavor, brown 10 tablespoons of butter to yield 8 tablespoons after evaporation—or just melt 8 tablespoons. Prefer oil? That works too.
- Sugar - I use plain white sugar (also known as caster sugar), but you can use brown sugar, if you like.
- Extracts - I use a little bit of vanilla extract and a little bit of almond extract. The vanilla brings in that bakery fresh flavor and aroma, while the almond extract enhances the nutty flavor. You can use both or just one of your choice. You could also leave them out.
- All-purpose flour - I use simple plain flour for these tender muffins. If you happen to have leftover self rising flour from making my cream biscuits, my quick bagels or easy English muffins, you can use that here and leave out the baking powder and salt from the recipe.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Quick Recipe Video
Step-by-Step Instructions
The process for making this pistachio muffins recipe is just a little bit different than making my average muffin recipes. We're going to start by grinding up some pistachios and mixing it with melted butter to extract all the flavor we can.
- Melt your butter - In a small saucepan, melt 8 tablespoons of butter. If you would like to use brown butter, melt 10 tablespoons over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until it foams, turns golden brown, and smells nutty—about 5 to 7 minutes. Immediately poor into a large heat-safe bowl.
Make the pistachio butter
Step 1: In the food processor, grind your pistachios. Reserve 2 tablespoons to make your streusel.
Step 2: Add the remaining ground pistachios to the melted butter, mix, and let sit for the flavors to combine.
Make the streusel
Step 3: While that's happening, combine all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, reserved ground pistachios, and cubes of butter in a medium bowl.
Step 4: Use your fingers to work the butter into the other ingredients until you have a crumbly consistency that holds together when you pinch it with your fingers.
Mix the muffin batter
Step 5: Add the sugar, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla and almond extracts to the bowl with the melted butter and ground pistachios and mix thoroughly.
Step 6: Sprinkle over the top with your all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and fold together just until the last of the dry ingredients disappears.
Scoop and top with streusel
Step 7: Line of your muffin pan with muffin liners and spray with nonstick spray. Use a measuring cup or small ice cream scoop to evenly divide your muffin batter among the 12 muffin wells.
Step 8: Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of pistachio streusel on top of each muffin, using a ring cutter or a mason jar lid to keep it in place. Gently tap down to hold it in place.
Bake: Bake at 425°F for five minutes and then, without opening the oven door, turn the heat down to 350°F and bake for a further 18 to 22 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of one comes back mostly clean. Let muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Helpful tips
Whether you are a muffin master, or this is your first time at the muffin rodeo, I have some great helpful tips that will ensure delicious, tall, bakery style muffins:
- Use roasted pistachios - For deeper pistachip flavor, roasted pistachios are a must, Buying a bag of pre-shelled, roasted nuts saves time!
- Use brown butter - It adds a rich, nutty depth that really makes these muffins extra swoon-worthy.
- Don’t overmix the batter - Stir just until the dry ingredients disappear to keep your muffins soft and tender. Stop mixing as soon as the last of the dry ingredients disappears into the batter.
- Use a scoop - Using a scoop, or a measuring cup, to evenly portion the batter ensures all your muffins are the same size and bake evenly.
- Embrace nonstick - Whether you line your muffin pan with paper liners or you go naked right into the pan, nonstick spray is your best friend, even if you are using a nonstick muffin pan. Just a quick little spritz will keep your muffins from sticking to the pan or the liners from sticking to the muffin.
- Start hot, then drop the temp - Starting your muffins in a 425°F oven gives them a blast of heat for a tall, domed muffin top. Dropping the temperature to 350°F ensures that they bake evenly through to the center without burning your delicious streusel topping.
- Serving tip: These are chef’s kiss delicious when sliced open and spread with a little butter or a spoonful of my homemade blueberry jam—especially while still warm.
Recipe FAQs
No, but I highly recommend it. Roasted pistachios have a deeper, nuttier flavor that raw pistachios just can’t match. The roasting process brings out the natural oils in the nuts, intensifying their flavor.
Start baking at a high temperature (425°F for 5 minutes), then reduce the heat to finish baking. This gives the muffins a big rise right at the start and gives you that signature domed top.
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-Cynthia
📖 Recipe
Bakery-Style Pistachio Muffins (No Pudding Mix!)
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter 1 stick or 8 tablespoons
- 1 cup (150 g) pistachios roasted and salted (reserve 2 tablespoons for topping)
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup (125 g) Greek yogurt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 ¼ cup (150 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the pistachio streusel topping:
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons ground pistachios from the reserved amount above
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) butter softened
Instructions
- Prep and preheat: Preheat oven to 425°F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease.
- Melt the butter: In a small saucepan, melt the butter. If you would like to use brown butter, melt 10 tablespoons over medium heat until it foams, turns golden brown and, smells nutty, about 5–7 minutes. Immediately pour into a large mixing bowl to cool slightly.
- Grind the pistachios: Add the pistachios to a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Reserve 2 tablespoons for the streusel topping. Add the remaining pistachios to the melted butter and stir to combine.
- Make the streusel: In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and reserved ground pistachios. Add butter and mix with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.
- Mix the muffin batter: To the bowl with the pistachio butter, whisk in sugar, eggs, Greek yogurt, vanilla, and almond extract until smooth. Sprinkle the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on top. Stir until just combined.
- Fill and top: Divide batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin. Spoon streusel topping over each muffin. If you want that bakery-style dome, use a round cutter or mason jar ring to keep the streusel centered on top as they bake.
- Bake: Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for 18–22 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool: Let muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Cynthia Christensen says
I made these for my husband's coworkers and they lost their minds! SO good!