11 Pistachio Dessert Recipes That Are Sweet, Nutty, and Green

These pistachio recipes are here to steal the show.

By
Kelli Solomon
headshot of Kelli Solomon
Kelli Solomon
Senior Social Media Editor
Kelli Solomon is a writer, editor, and recipe developer constantly dreaming up beautiful breads and badass briskets. While her tastes are eclectic, her favorite things involve fire or fermentation. She's contributed to Food52, where she has worked on some of their top series, including Bake It Up A Notch, Sweet Heat, The Secret Sauce with Grossi Pelosi, Off-Script with Sohla, Weeknight Dinners, and Cook and a Half. She's also worked as an assistant food stylist for Sara's Weeknight Meals and Driveby History Eats on PBS.
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Published September 22, 2025
A square dessert dish of pistachio tiramisu with a portion being served

Serious Eats / Fred Hardy Jr.

I've always had a soft spot for pistachios, and the rise of pistachio cream only fueled my affection. Sweet, nutty, and just the right shade of green, it's replaced Nutella in my cupboard and become the thing I reach for when I need to jazz up a dessert or sometimes breakfast.

I'm excited that pistachios are finally having their moment—and since they're in season right now, it feels like the perfect time to celebrate them with some of my favorite pistachio recipes. Below, you'll find syrup-soaked classics like Persian baklava cake and rich, creamy desserts like pistachio tiramisu and gooey, cheese-filled kanafeh, as well as several desserts inspired by the viral Dubai chocolate bar. Each one shows off the nut's buttery flavor and versatility, whether it's starring in a centuries-old tradition or a new trendy recipe.

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  • Dubai Chocolate Tart

    Dubai Chocolate Tart topped with pistachio, on green tablecloth with 2 glasses of water, and stacks of plates in the corner

    Serious Eats / Robbie Lozano

    This glossy chocolate tart reimagines the viral Dubai chocolate bar as a showstopper dessert: a cocoa crust filled with toasted kataifi, pistachios, and pistachio cream, finished with silky bittersweet ganache and a scattering of chopped pistachios—it's a crunchy-creamy tribute to an irresistible flavor pairing.

  • Homemade Pistachio Paste

    20190524-pistachio-paste-vicky-wasik-9
    Vicky Wasik

    While I'm excited about the many commercial pistachio pastes now available in the grocery store and online, nothing quite compares to making your own. This homemade version blends pistachios with sugar, pistachio oil, and orange flower water for a fragrant, marzipan-like spread that brings big pistachio flavor to cakes, tarts, or your morning toast.

  • Pistachio Tiramisu

    A square dessert dish of pistachio tiramisu with a portion being served

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy Jr.

    Tiramisu gets a pistachio makeover with layers of coffee-rum–soaked ladyfingers and a silky mascarpone-pistachio cream. Finished with a dusting of finely ground pistachios instead of cocoa, it's bold, nutty, and every bit the pick-me-up its name promises.

  • Pistachio Baklava

    Stack of baklava

    Serious Eats / Mai Kakish

    Baklava is a beloved pastry across the Middle East and beyond, with layers of history as rich as its flaky phyllo. This pistachio-filled version is drenched in syrup, irresistibly sticky, and crispy-crunchy. It's the perfect sweet ending for holidays and family gatherings.

    Continue to 5 of 11 below

  • Dubai Chocolate Phyllo Triangles

    Dubai chocolate triangles arranged on sheetpan topped with pistachio

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    Inspired by the viral Dubai chocolate bar, these crisp phyllo triangles are filled with pistachio cream, tahini, pistachios, and buttery toasted kataifi. Dipped in dark chocolate and finished with a sprinkle of pistachios, they deliver all the nutty, crunchy decadence of the original with double the phyllo crunch.

  • Pistachio Cake

    20190524-pistachio-oil-cake-vicky-wasik-5
    Vicky Wasik.

    This quick, easy, olive oil–style cake gets all its flavor from roasted pistachio oil, which makes every bite moist, aromatic, and unmistakably nutty. A simple dusting of powdered sugar is plenty, but I think it's worth upping the pistachio ante with a swipe of pistachio cream as pastry wizard and former Serious Eats editor Stella Parks suggests.

  • Pistachio Coffee Cake

    A hand sprinkling crushed pistachios onto a pistachio coffee cake on a tray

    Serious Eats / Fred Hardy Jr., Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer

    Swirled with ribbons of pistachio cream and topped with a pistachio-studded streusel, this coffee cake is nutty, tender, and just the right amount of fancy. Cozy enough for a quiet morning and elegant enough to wow at your next get-together, it's the kind of cake that disappears faster than the coffee.

  • Persian Baklava Cake

    baklava squares on a round platter, with three squares on a white plate, and a cup of tea, on top of a printed tablecloth

    Serious Eats / Nader Mehravari

    A beloved treat across the Persian diaspora, this cake channels the flavors of Yazd-style baklava into a simpler, syrup-soaked dessert. Infused with saffron, cardamom, and rose water, and finished with pistachios, it carries the fragrance and spirit of Persian baklava while being easier to bake at home.

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  • Pistachio White Hot Chocolate

    Pistacchio white hot chocolate

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    Think of this as pistachio cream in drinkable form: warm, nutty, and infused with white chocolate. Topped with a frothy blanket of cold foam, this pistachio white hot chocolate is cozy enough for fall evenings and wintry nights ahead.

  • Kanafeh

    20180622-knafeh-vicky-wasik-15
    Vicky Wasik

    Kanafeh is a beloved Middle Eastern dessert that balances textures and flavors like few others. Crisp, buttery strands of kataifi encase a gooey cheese filling, all soaked in fragrant syrup infused with rose or orange blossom water. A final flourish of toasted pistachios adds color and crunch. Kanafeh doesn't require special equipment or advanced technique—it's an easy showstopper anyone can make.

  • Pistachio Buns Recipe

    20190525-pistachio-buns-vicky-wasik-29
    Vicky Wasik

    Soft, gooey, and nutty, these buns use up a whole batch of homemade pistachio paste, which is worked into the dough, filling, and frosting for a triple pistachio whammy. Sprinkle in toasted pistachios, and it becomes a quadruple hit. Stella's recipe is just right for holidays or any morning that deserves something extra-special.

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