Last week I had two cups of milk, two eggs, and twenty minutes. I took to Twitter to ask you what kind of pudding I should make with my perishables and time. You answered: Chocolate. You answered: Butterscotch. One of you mentioned: Pistachio. Sold.
Pistachio pudding is so much more than the pale green, instant box, powdery stuff. Truly.
This pale green Pistachio Pudding is made from homemade pistachio paste. This is totally good news, right!? Pistachio, sugar, and just a touch of water. Stir this paste into warmed milk and eggs, and call it pudding. It’s just about that easy.
Spring pudding. I made it and I want you to also.
Oh wait! I didn’t tell you what this pudding tastes like. Pistachios. … and sugar. Go figure.
Homemade Pistachio Pudding
makes 6 small ramekins
adapted from cooks.com
Pistachio Paste:
1/2 cup salted pistachio nuts
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
Pudding:
2 cups whole milk
2 large egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup pistachio nuts, chopped
To make the Pistachio Paste: place pistachios in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the nuts are in small bits. Add the sugar and water, and blend until relatively smooth. Easy!
To make the Pudding: Spoon Pistachio Paste into a medium saucepan. Add the milk and whisk over medium heat. Heat milk and pistachio until steamy and hot.
While milk is heating, whisk together granulated sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch and pinch of salt. Mixture will be thick. Keep whisking until it’s smooth. Pour about 1/2 cup of the steaming pistachio milk into the sugar and egg mixture. Whisk together. Add another half cup of hot milk and whisk to incorporate. Return the milky egg mixture into the saucepan over medium heat.
Heat pudding mixture over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Whisk almost constantly. You might also want to use a heat-proof spatula to stir the mixture, ensuring that the sides and corners of the pan aren’t burning. Boil for about 1 minute, or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla extract, until butter is melted. Pass cooked pudding through a fine mesh strainer set over a medium bowl. This will ensure that any cooked egg bits don’t make it into the finished pudding. Press the pudding through the strainer. Add a few of the pistachio nut bits that the strainer catches, back to the pudding if you’d like
Spoon into small ramekins, place plastic wrap over the individual puddings (so the plastic touches the top of the pudding), and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream and chipped pistachios.
Pudding will last, covered in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days.
Natasha @ Saved by the Egg Timer
I have to make this! This may just be my new addiction. Thanks for making it a healthy one :)
anna
Hi! I made this tonight, so easy and pretty and delicious. Just wanted to note that on its own, without any whipped cream, it is REALLY sweet, almost on the edge of too sweet, if there is such a thing :)
Erica L
Anna,
I second that! Just tasted the almost-end product (still needs to cool in the fridge) and it’s really really sweet. The diabetic bf isn’t going to be too happy about this one, whoops! I suppose over a cup’s worth of sugar should have been the dead giveaway haha. Still delicious tho.
I’m curious about trying the recipe with cashews…
joythebaker
feel free to add less sugar to the milk mixture if you’d like! my apologies to your diabetic boyfriend!
joythebaker
also! i’ve changed the recipe from 1/2 cup of granulated sugar in the milk mixture to 1/3 cup. that should help people in the future. thanks for you feedback!
Rocky Mountain Woman
Yowsa! that looks good!
love pistachio ice cream, this is a shoe in for dessert of the week!
Tamara
Pistachios seem to be a theme for me this week. I am seriously considering making this recipe. I have never made homemade pudding before. I think I am up for the challenge!
Jerilyn
Holy cow – I have an ongoing love affair with pistachios. It’s serious, and so this pudding is in my future.
Catherine
The fact that I can come here and get great recipes AND laugh out loud…well, that is Joy. Thank you!
steph (whisk/spoon)
i used to love that green stuff from a box….was my favorite flavor of pudding growing up. why do i bet this ia a zillion times better? i’ll keep this in mind.
Craig Mattson
This looks incredibly tasty. Pistachios are one of my favorites, and in pudding must be equally awesome. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Jesse
i love how you tend to choose unexpected treats that always make my tummy happy.
Lora @cakeduchess
I love pistacchio ice-cream and I just feel in love with your dleiocus pudding recipe. Can’t wait to try it:)
RSA Now
Why? Why?? WHY HAS NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT THIS BEFORE?! Pistachio pudding is the best :) I literally spent all of yesterday making so much of this ;)
Cory
This is sort of a random question – but do you think I could turn this into an ice cream?!
I was just discussing our Easter menu and pistachio ice cream came up as something that might be really fun & a nice addition to some fruit tarts. This looks AMAZING…so I will definitely make it in pudding form…but perhaps a frosty incarnation would work nicely?
great pics as always! thanks for posting…and any thoughts on the ice cream apprecated :)
Lucy @ The Sweet Touch
I love that something as simple as pudding can be so delicious! And the color is gorge!
Thank you for sharing!
Lucy @ The Sweet Touch
PS. Is that cool whip on top (emphasis on the h)…family guy…anyone?
Joanne
Hi Joy – That was me who suggested “pistachio” on Twitter. So glad to see you took my suggestion :) The pistachio pudding looks marvelous! The pale green colour is so pretty and in theme with Spring and Easter. And that dollop of whip cream with chopped pistachio nuts on top is just stunning!
olciaky
Jaaami!:D
Pistachio i like!