Pistachio custard is sweet, nutty, and creamy. If you like pistachios, this is going to be a great addition to your dessert recipes!

This custard is inspired by Italian pastry cream and is made with simple ingredients and unsalted pistachio nuts.

The richness of pistachios makes this recipe burst with flavor with very few ingredients, and it’s naturally vegan.

Pistachio Custard pastry cream

Dietary Note: this recipe is suitable for a vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diet.

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Tips on making an excellent pistachio custard

Pistachio Custard pastry cream
  • Learn the basics of vegan custard: To learn more about how to make the perfect vegan custard, check out our vegan custard guide.
  • Unsalted, unshelled pistachios: you’ll get the best result using unsalted and peeled pistachios. The thin shell around the pistachios will ruin the texture of the custard.
  • Sift the pistachio milk. This is especially important if you don’t have a powerful blender or if your pistachios are covered by a thin brown shell.
  • Toast the pistachios: to bring out the oils and flavor of the pistachio nuts, we toast them lightly on a pan before blending them.
  • Cool down bain-marie: if you are making your custard in advance, the best way to cool it down is bain-marie to prevent the thin skin layer on top.

Storage

testing creaminess of pistachio custard

You can store the custard in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.

Let it cool down, then cover it with reusable wrap, and make sure the wrap touches the surface of the custard to prevent a thin crust from forming.

You can reheat the custard on low heat by adding a dash of plant milk while stirring.

We do not recommend freezing the custard unless you want to make ice cream out of it.

It is possible that during the cooling process, the custard will dry out on the surface, creating a thin skin that will result in annoying lumps.

If you are annoyed by the lumps, you can always blend the custard with a hand blender. We tried, and it works.

Variations

Hazelnut custard

coffee custard

You can quickly turn this pistachio custard into a hazelnut custard by replacing the pistachios with hazelnuts.

More custard recipes

Recipes with custard

pistachio custard

Pistachio Custard

By: Nico Pallotta
4.91 from 20 votes
Pistachio custard is sweet, nutty, and creamy. If you like pistachios, this is going to be a great addition to your dessert recipes!
This custard is inspired by Italian pastry cream and is made with simple ingredients and unsalted pistachio nuts.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Course: Dessert, Dressing & Sauces
Cuisine: Italian

Equipment

  • Whisk
  • Blender

Ingredients

  • ½ cup pistachios unsalted and peeled
  • 2 cups plant milk soy, almond, rice, or oat milk
  • cup sugar
  • 4 tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions 

  • Toast ½ cup pistachios on a pan for 1 to 2 minutes, moving them around often.
    Pistachio custard step 1
  • To a blender, add 2 cups plant milk⅓ cup sugar, and the toasted pistachios.
    Blend at full speed until the pistachios are fully dissolved in the liquid.
    Pistachio custard step 2
  • In a pot, off the heat, add 4 tablespoons cornstarch and the blended pistachio milk.
    Whisk until the cornstarch is fully dissolved in the milk.
    TIP: For the smoothest custard, pass the pistachio milk through a sieve before adding it to the pot.
    Pistachio custard step 3
  • Bring the pot to a boil, lower the heat, and stir continuously until the liquid thickens into a creamy custard.
    It can take between 2 to 5 minutes, depending on the quantities.
    Pistachio custard step 4
  • When you have almost reached the consistency you like, take the pot off the heat and keep stirring for another minute.
    The custard will keep thickening while off the heat.
    TIP: To check if your custard is ready, take a wooden or silicone spatula, dip it in the custard, then run a finger through it. If the spatula stays clean, the custard is ready.
    Pistachio custard step 5

Notes

Nutrition information is an estimate for 1 serving of pistachio custard out of 6 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 152kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Potassium: 212mg, Dietary Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin A: 366IU, Vitamin B6: 0.3mg, Vitamin C: 7mg, Vitamin E: 2mg, Calcium: 127mg, Folate: 31µg, Iron: 1mg, Manganese: 0.1mg, Magnesium: 11mg, Zinc: 0.4mg
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Nico and Louise in the kitchen

Hi! We are Nico & Louise

Welcome to The Plant-Based School, a food blog with easy, tasty, and wholesome recipes.

Our aim is to help you and your family eat more veggies through delicious recipes with simple ingredients.

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13 Comments

  1. The taste of the corn starch is too strong…. still has a beautiful colour, so to stop it from going to waste i will use it in a tart base under some raspberries to overpower the flavour

  2. Hi Nico & Louise. I am going to make a vegan pistachio tiramasu for Christmas desert. Your recipe for Pistachio cream/custard looks yummy. I will let you know how it turns out. Many thanks Jacque

    1. Hi Han,

      I use either white sugar or brown sugar for our custards.

      For cornstarch, I use a generic one, often our local supermarket brand.

      I hope this helps 🙂
      Have a great day!
      Nico

    1. Hi Aiza,
      I haven’t tried it, but my guess is that it would work! I would love to hear how it turns out if you try.
      Kindest,
      Louise

  3. So delicious, light and tasty! And not to mention easy and quick to make. Thank you for sharing 😊

  4. This was so easy to make. I did make only 1/2 the recipe and used a coffee grinder to blend the pistachios before adding to the plant milk.

    1. Hi Patty, thank you for commenting! That’s a great tip with the coffee grinder, we will use that next time. Have a wonderful Sunday! Kindest, Louise