Pistachio Muffins

Pistachio muffins.
5 from 42 votes
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Better Than Bakery Pistachio Muffins

 If you’re craving a delicious breakfast treat, you should try these super moist pistachio muffins. Made with natural pistachios, they offer a delightful nutty flavor inside the moist, fluffy muffins. 

The muffins are topped with sweet icing sugar and crunchy pistachios, which add extra yumminess. However, this is optional.

For more muffin ideas, check out my double chocolate chip muffins or almond flour pumpkin muffins. Or, if you want something a little different to start your day, take a look at my breakfast recipes.

Rows of pistachio muffins.

These muffins are the perfect choice for enjoying a cup of coffee or tea or simply as a quick snack on the go. 

Unlike some bakery-style muffins, which can be dry and crumbly, these full-flavored pistachio muffins are fluffy and moist. Plus, they have the right sweetness, so you won’t feel too guilty about eating too much sugar in a muffin. 

With this recipe, you don’t have to go to a bakery to get these muffins every time you feel like having them. You can make them yourself in the comfort of your home, and they can be ready within half an hour. 

If you’re looking for a tasty and healthy breakfast option, try these better-than-bakery pistachio muffins. They’re a guilt-free meal that will help you start your day off right.

And if I can persuade you with anything to make this recipe, I’d say you will know what you put in your muffins, and you have complete control of how much sugar you use in your recipe because I must say that these two things are always my reason for baking. 

Muffins topped with chopped pistachios.
Photo Credit: So Yummy Recipes.

Ingredients for the muffins

I’m sure you’ll agree with me that using real pistachios is the key to the most delicious pistachio muffins.

And to make these muffins, you don’t need any instant pistachio pudding mix. All ingredients are natural and pretty much an essential staple in your pantry. The only thing that you may not always have ready is pistachios. But everything else is regular items.

So the ten ingredients for these homemade pistachio muffins are raw pistachio nuts, ground almonds, all-purpose flour, caster sugar, baking powder, melted butter, eggs, orange, milk, and vanilla extract. 

Flour, caster sugar, butter, baking powder, powdered sugar, pistachio nuts, ground almonds, orange, eggs, milk and vanilla extract.
Photo Credit: So Yummy Recipes.

Optionally, you can add toppings made with powdered sugar and chopped pistachios. 

A little note: Some bakeries and people like to add drops of green food coloring to their muffins. Feel free to do so if you want green muffins. I’m happy with the natural-colored muffins.

Although this recipe uses melted butter, you can substitute any neutral cooking oil. Light olive oil, sunflower oil, or vegetable oil are good options. They all keep the muffins moist, especially in cold weather. 

As for flavoring, you can go the extra mile by adding a teaspoon of almond extract and a teaspoon of rose or orange blossom water. I prefer the latter. Because I’m not keen on almond extract or rose water, but if you love them, go for them. They will make your pistachio muffin taste like the infamous Persian love cake. 

How to Make Pistachio Muffins

You’ll love this muffin recipe because it’s an easy muffin recipe to make that you’ll come across.

You can make it by placing all the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Then, mix them two using a handheld stand mixer or even a hand whisk. Make sure everything is combined and turns into a smooth, thick batter. 

But, if you’re in a hurry and don’t want to dirty too many mixing bowls (this is me all the time), you can make this pistachio muffin batter by dumping all the ingredients in one mixing bowl and blending them all. 

Use any kitchen appliance you love. It doesn’t matter if the batter is thoroughly mixed and smooth. 

Once you scoop the batter into a muffin tin, bake the muffins for about 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 170°C/ 338°F fan oven, 180°C/ 350°F, or gas mark 4. 

You can check the center of the muffins using a skewer. If it comes out clean, your muffins are ready. Or, you can touch the muffins to check. It should spring back to the touch when they are ready.

Once the muffins are done, remove the muffins from the muffin tin and transfer them on a cooling rack to allow the muffins to cool down. 

If you want to garnish the tops of the muffins with icing sugar and crunchy chopped pistachios, first let the muffins cool to room temperature. Then, mix the powdered sugar with one tablespoon of milk, drizzle it over the muffins, and scatter some chopped pistachio nuts.

This pistachio muffin recipe makes a dozen regular muffins or 6 jumbo muffins.

Stacked pistachio muffins.
Photo Credit: So Yummy Recipes.

How to Store

These better-than-bakery-style pistachio muffins stay well at room temperature for 3-to 4 days. 

If you keep the muffins in the refrigerator, they last up to one week. You can also freeze your pistachio muffins for up to six weeks. 

Store the muffins in an airtight container before you refrigerate or freeze them. 

Muffins with pistachio nuts on the top.

More Muffin Recipes

Thank you for checking this pistachio muffin recipe. I hope you will try it out soon. Please let me know what you think in the comments below. I appreciate it.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out other muffin recipes you may like.

Lastly, please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to see what’s cooking in my kitchen. 

Take care and all the best.

Pistachio muffins.
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5 from 42 votes

Pistachio muffins recipe

Indulge in the perfect breakfast treat with these moist, fluffy, and full of pistachio muffins! Loaded with nutty real pistachio, these muffins taste like they came from a bakery, if not better.
Author: Devy Dar
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Breakfast & Brunch
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 muffins

Equipment

  • Mixing bowls.
  • Juicer
  • Spatula
  • Handheld mixer
  • Muffin baking pan
  • Muffin cases

Ingredients

  • 3 ounces pistachios plus a handful extra for the topping.
  • 2 ounces ground almonds
  • 1 orange zest, and juice
  • ½ cup milk see the note, and 1 tablespoon extra for the icing
  • 6 ounces all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 4 ounces caster sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 ounces butter melted and cooled
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 ounces powdered sugar optional

Instructions

  • Grind the pistachio (leave a handful for the topping) until they are fairly smooth, and set it aside.
  • Zest the orange and extract its juice into a measuring cup.
  • Pour the milk into the cup of orange juice to make the mixture up to 6 fluid ounces/ 175 milliliters. Leave it aside.
  • Prepare and line a muffin tin with muffin cases.
  • Preheat the oven to 170°C/ 338°F fan oven, 180°C/ 350°F, or gas mark 4.
  • Place the flour, caster sugar, baking powder, pistachios, almonds, melted butter, eggs, orange zest, orange milk mixture, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl.
  • Mix the ingredients using a handheld mixer, stand mixer, or hand whisk until you get a smooth batter.
  • Scoop the batter into each muffin case and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until the muffins spring back when you touch.
  • Leave the muffins in the tin for about 2-3 minutes before taking them out and placing them on a cooling rack.
  • While the muffins are cooling down, chop the extra pistachios.
  • Then mix the powdered sugar with a tablespoon of milk.
  • Once the muffins are completely cool, drizzle them with icing sugar mixture and top up with some chopped pistachios.

Notes

  • Every orange gives different amounts of juice. So add the milk just enough to make the mixture of orange juice and milk up to 6 fluid ounces/ 175 milliliters.
  • Feel free to leave the icing sugar and extra pistachios for topping if you don’t want to have them on your muffins.

Nutrition

Serving: 80grams | Calories: 247kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 166mg | Potassium: 170mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 287IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 104mg | Iron: 1mg

Disclaimer

Nutritional info in this recipe is only estimate using online calculator. You should refer to it as a guide only. Please verify with your own data if you seek an accurate info.

Author: Devy

Title: Food Writer, Recipe Developer, and Digital Content Creator.

Bio:

Devy founded So Yummy Recipes and Drizzling Flavor to share her love of food after exploring various cultures and cuisines for more than two decades. Her mission is to help others easily recreate traditional and non-traditional food with readily available ingredients. Her works have been featured in Reader’s Digest, Al Jazeera, MSN, Yahoo, Bon Appetit, and more. 

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34 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    The orange in these muffins is a game changer – the brightness mixed with the pistachios is just so so good!

    1. They delicately work together and create delicious taste, don’t they?

  2. Elizabeth S says:

    5 stars
    I love how these muffins were made with real pistachios, a lot of other recipes I found used pistachio pudding. They were moist and the perfect muffin texture. I plan on making these again for Mother’s Day!

    1. Yes, real pistachios give the real taste. I’m glad you like the muffins.

  3. 5 stars
    Really loved the orange zest in these muffins. Brightens everything up and definitely makes them taste like they’re straight from the bakery!

    1. And the muffins can be ready in half an hour. So it’s probably quicker than going to the bakery 🙂

  4. 5 stars
    I love the combination of pistachio, orange and vanilla bean paste! These were fabulous! Definitely better than a bakery

    1. Thank you for your kind words. I’m so glad the recipe worked for you.

  5. Jo Keohane says:

    5 stars
    Fantastic recipe – soft tender crumb on these lovely muffins. Will be making again!

    1. Super. I’m glad you love the muffins.

  6. 5 stars
    These muffins were so soft and fluffy! I loved the flavor of the pistachios.

    1. Pistachios are one of the best tasting nuts anyway. So they are good to put in the muffins, aren’t they?

  7. 5 stars
    I love the nutty taste in these muffins – what a great way to start the day!

    1. It’s such a treat to have pistachio muffins for breakfast, isn’t it?

  8. 5 stars
    This recipe was perfect as I just happened to have a huge bag of pistachios that I picked up from Costco. It turned out lovely and the family really enjoyed the nutty taste.

    1. Yeah. I’m so glad you and your family love the muffins.

  9. 5 stars
    the entire family adored these. Pistachio is one of our favourite nuts, so we left them a bit chunky in the batter

    1. Nice, sometimes it is nice to leave the nuts slightly chunky. They give crunchiness to the muffins for extra texture.

  10. 5 stars
    My husband loves pistachio anything and these muffins did not disappoint. He loved them.

    1. Well done you for making these muffins and making your husband happy. I’m happy for you two.

  11. Sage Scott says:

    5 stars
    Oh, wow, simply wow! I was debating about adding the glaze on top, but that was the perfect topping on these delicious pistachio muffins.

    1. The topping is not that sweet anyway, so it is good to have it on the muffins.

  12. 5 stars
    I love recipes with pistachios and I really enjoying adding it to the muffins.

    1. I’m glad you like this recipe.

  13. 5 stars
    I loooove pistachios but I’ve never had a pistachio muffin so I had to make these. They’re divine! So much flavor and the hint of citrus really makes them shine!

    1. They’re just too delicious, aren’t they?

  14. 5 stars
    These were great, so moist and tender. And it was nice to finally use up the bag of pistachios I’ve had in the pantry since Christmas!

    1. That’s great. And I love that you love the muffins.

  15. 5 stars
    I wish MORE things were full of pistachios in the United States!! I love them so much. And these muffins?? Out of this world flavor!!

    1. These muffins are inspired by the famous love cake. So bound to be as delicious too.

  16. Sandhya Ramakrishnan says:

    5 stars
    My boys love pistachios and this is their favorite muffin recipe. So easy to put together and love the icing on top with more crunch.

    1. Awww….I’m so happy for your boys. High five to them for me 🙂

  17. Jen deRemer says:

    5 stars
    Well….THESE got my attention! YUM, Devy! Probably going to try these today or tomorrow 🙂

    Jen

    1. Aww…thank you. Let me know how you like them 😉

5 from 42 votes (42 ratings without comment)

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