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A simple post on how to make pistachio milk. This DIY pistachio milk requires just two ingredients to make creamy, dairy-free milk that can be easily flavoured and used in a variety of ways.
Next time you’re thinking about making an alternative to homemade almond milk, why not give this homemade pistachio milk recipe a try. This is a simple DIY for how to make pistachio milk – that you will come back to time and time again. DIY pistachio milk can be easily sweetened, flavoured and drunk alone or added to a variety of dishes.
Pistachios are a great addition to a variety of middle-eastern desserts, and this dairy-free milk can be easily flavoured and become dessert-like in itself. You can drink it alone, add it to your oats, smoothies, cereal, latte’s, hot chocolate etc.
Homemade pistachio milk is super creamy, ‘buttery’ and an excellent addition to your fridge (along with some pistachio butter, of course).
Obviously, pistachios aren’t the cheapest nut around, so I tend to advise making this milk as an occasional treat, rather than a direct alternative to your daily dairy-free milk. Although if you have the financials then I say go for it (I certainly would). Plus, you can use the leftover pistachio pulp for a variety of baked goods and recipes, to reduce waste.
To use the leftover pistachio pulp, simply lay it out in a thin layer on a tray to dry out and use it as flour. Alternatively, you can also make a quick dessert by adding some cardamom and honey and mixing into a paste.
In terms of nutrition, Pistachio’s are fairly similar to Almonds. Although with additional abundance of Vitamins A & C and ever so slightly less protein. They are an excellent source of Vitamin B6 too.
How To Make Pistachio Milk
Making homemade pistachio milk is incredibly simple and follows a similar process to almond milk. The only difference here is that I decided to soak and peel my pistachios for brighter green pistachio milk.
Peeling your pistachios is 100% optional. However, the milk is likely to be a more muted green-brown shade if you keep the skins on.
Optional Homemade Pistachio Milk Add-Ins
- For a national sweetener, Medjool dates are wonderful
- Maple Syrup or Agave Nectar are other alternative natural sweeteners.
- Homemade vanilla extract – add vanilla to your homemade pistachio milk for that dessert element.
- You could combine this DIY pistachio milk with other middle-eastern dessert flavours. This includes rose water, orange blossom water, cardamom etc.
- This homemade pistachio milk makes a wonderful base for Matcha recipes
How to make DIY pistachio milk in three easy steps
DIY Pistachio Milk Ingredients:
- pistachio nut – you need to soak them for at least six hours. For best results, soak them overnight.
- filtered water (4 cups water)
Steps:
Soak your pistachio nuts for six hours, or overnight. Optionally, you can then peel the pistachios for brighter green pistachio milk – however, this isn’t necessary.
Note* If you do peel them, you can then dry out the skins and add them to porridge/smoothies for additional dietary fibre.
Add the soaked pistachio nuts into a high-speed processor/blender and blend on high. You want to blend the nuts down into small pieces, without blending too much to become pistachio butter.
When the nuts are ready, then add the water and blend again for about 1-2 minutes.
I use my NutraMilk processor (If you purchase one, use discount code ALPHAFOODIE50 at checkout for a £50/$50 discount), which allows me to drain the liquid directly into a bottle while keeping any nut meat leftovers in the jug.
When using a regular blender/food processor, after blending the nuts with the water, pour the liquid into a bowl through layers of cheesecloth or a nut milk bag and squeeze out all the pistachio milk. You could also use a fine-mesh sieve and press out the leftover nut meat to drain any liquid.
This liquid can then be poured into a bottle and stored in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Whenever you use some, give the bottle a good shake, and you’re ready to go.
Other Simple DIY’S You May Like
If you’re interested in trying some more delicious dairy-free nut milk recipes, then look no further. I have a variety of different dairy-free milk recipes on my blog including Walnut Milk, Cashew Milk, and Hazelnut Milk.
For the full list, feel free to browse through the DIY section of my blog or search ‘milk‘ in the search bar for options including rice, soy, almonds, oats, etc.
Pistachio nut milk
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry pistachio nuts
- 4 cups filtered water
Instructions
- Soak your pistachio nuts for six hours, or overnight. Optionally, you can then peel the pistachios for brighter green pistachio milk - however, this isn't necessary. *
- Add the soaked pistachio nuts into a high-speed processor/blender and blend on high. You want to blend the nuts down into small pieces, without blending too much to become pistachio butter.
- When the nuts are ready, then add the water and blend again for about 1-2 minutes.
- I use my NutraMilk processor (see post for more in info and a discount code) which allows me to drain the liquid directly into a bottle while keeping any nut meat leftovers in the jug. When using a regular blender/food processor, after blending the nuts with the water, pour the liquid into a bowl through layers of cheesecloth or a nut milk bag and squeeze out all the pistachio milk. You could also use a fine-mesh sieve and press out the leftover nut meat to drain any liquid.
- This liquid can then be poured into a bottle and stored in the fridge for 3-5 days. Whenever you use some, give the bottle a good shake, and you're ready to go.
Video
Notes
- For a national sweetener, Medjool dates are wonderful
- Maple Syrup or Agave Nectar are other alternative natural sweeteners.
- Homemade vanilla extract - add vanilla to your homemade pistachio milk for that dessert element.
- You could combine this DIY pistachio milk with other middle-eastern dessert flavors including rose water, orange blossom water, cardamom, etc.
- This homemade pistachio milk makes a wonderful base for Matcha recipes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Will it be a problem if I soak these for 2 days instead of 1? I soaked them overnight last night, and I husked them all just to realize I need to filter the milk. Sounds like I can’t read directions except I thought I still had cheesecloth on hand from yogurt making. Turns out I don’t. I can’t get more today due to schedule. Will soaking them another 24hrs affect the finished product?
Hi Kendall,
I’m so sorry for the late reply, I hope you managed! If you keep the soaking nuts in the fridge, they should be ok.
Where do you get dry (not roasted pistachios???) I can’t find any
Hi Alicia,
Do you have any local markets you can visit? Or perhaps you can search online? Sorry, it’s hard to tell as each country is different. I hope this helps 🙂
Hi! I can’t wait to try to make this soon, but how did you peel your pistachios? Would boiling them beforehand affect the taste of the milk?
Thank you!
Hi Lucas, I only put the pistachios in boiling water for a minute or so but peeling them is TOTALLY Optional! You don’t have to do this step, I wanted to get the brightest green that’s why but taste wise it make very very little difference :-). Hope you like it!
Just made my first batch. I followed the recipe, but it’s not as creamy, and a bit watery. I saved the water that the pistachios were soaking in and used that as well. Wasn’t sure if the water needed to be heated and then poured over the grounded pistachios. Going to try again, but with more pistachios, since I ended up using about 1 1/2 cups of pistachios. I’ll be tweaking. At least I have a guide to follow.
Hi Joy,
Thank you for your comment. You can start with 1 cup of dried pistachio. You first soak them. Then drain and rinse, then add 2-3 cups of water (use room temperature filtered/drinking water) and blend. You can then add more water if you feel like it’s too creamy. I use 1 cup dried pistachios and 4 cups water and am happy with the result. Please don’t use the water in which the pistachios were soaking – you can use it to water your plants or just discard it.
After you blend the pistachios with the water, you need to pour the liquid through layers of cheesecloth or a nut milk bag and squeeze out all the pistachio milk – the more you squeeze, the more liquid and creaminess you’d have. I hope this helps and you give this recipe another try. 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I thought this was going to be my favourite from the nut milks I’ve tried so far but it wasn’t. It was very good anyway and a great alternative to dairy. I could only find toasted pistachios (gladly unsalted!) and I did not peel them. The beverage turned out very nice still. I used the leftover pulp to make an Egipcian pudding called Um Ali. I infused the milk of the recipe with it 🙂
I’ve actually never tried with toasted pistachios – so it’s good to hear that it worked out okay. Yum- That sounds delicious- I’m salivating at the thought!