Eating muffins is like having mini cakes for breakfast without the guilt, right? Right, and these Pistachio Muffins need to be added to your weekend bake list!

This easy muffin recipe is for soft pistachio muffins made with real pistachios and filled with delicious pistachio butter. These muffins celebrate the natural taste of pistachios and are made without instant pudding mix or food coloring.
If you love this pistachio muffin recipe and are looking for other baked goods that are perfect for lazy weekend mornings, have a look at this recipe for Jumbo Cheese Muffins or this recipe for Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Or if you love the nutty pistachio flavor of these muffins try this recipe for Pistachio Tiramisu.
Ingredients
To make these delicious pistachio muffins, you will need the simple ingredients listed below. Remember to always use fresh room temperature ingredients when baking.
- Sunflower oil
- Unsalted butter
- Extra-large eggs
- Castor sugar
- Cake flour
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Whole milk
- Vanilla extract
- Pistachio nuts
- Pistachio butter
Sunflower oil – choose to use neutral-tasting vegetable oil for this recipe like sunflower oil or canola oil.
Extra-large eggs - if you don’t have extra large eggs, work out how many eggs you will need by cracking and weighing them. My eggs weigh 56 grams each out of their shell.
Castor sugar – use superfine sugar for this recipe, if you don’t have any – this can be substituted with granulated white sugar.
Cake flour – use cake flour or all-purpose flour for this recipe.
Pistachios – choose unsalted raw shelled pistachios for this recipe.
Pistachio butter – this is used to fill the center of the muffins, choose an unsweetened and unsalted option for the best natural taste.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Follow the instructions below to make these easy pistachio muffins.
STEP 1: Preheat the oven. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with cupcake liners and preheat the oven to 180C (350F).
STEP 2: Sift together dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
STEP 3: Add the sugar. Add the sugar to the sifted ingredients and use a whisk to combine. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
STEP 4: Whisk wet ingredients. In a large jug add the oil, melted butter, milk, vanilla, and eggs, and beat with a fork or whisk until well combined.
STEP 5: Mix wet and dry ingredients together. Pour the wet ingredients into the well and use a wooden spoon to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Do this quickly with as few turns as possible.
STEP 6: Fold through the pistachios. Add the chopped pistachios to the muffin batter and fold this through with the wooden spoon, reserving about 30g for the muffin tops.
STEP 7: Bake. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin liners using an ice cream scoop, then sprinkle each with the extra chopped pistachios. Bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool slightly on a wire rack.
STEP 8: Fill. Use an apple corer to core out the center of the muffin, reserving the piece that you have removed. Fill a pastry bag with the pistachio butter and fill the center of each muffin with about 2 teaspoons of butter, cover with the reserved muffin piece. Serve and enjoy!
Variations
If you can’t find pistachio butter, choose not to fill the muffins and rather leave them plain. If you have a heavy-duty food processor you can attempt to make your own by blending shelled, raw pistachios until a butter forms.
Equipment
No fancy equipment is needed to make these muffins, just a large bowl, a 12-hole muffin tin, paper liners, and a wooden spoon! If you don’t have cupcake liners, make your own with parchment paper.
Storage
Muffins are best when they are eaten the day they are made. If you do have any leftover muffins, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about two days. Reheat them in the oven for a few minutes for extra freshness.
To freeze these muffins, place them in a freezer-safe container and freeze them for up to 2 months. Defrost them and then freshen them up in the oven before eating them.
Top tips
For perfect muffins follow the tips below
- Always check the true temperature of your oven with an oven thermometer.
- Baking times are a guideline, check on your bakes a few minutes before the suggested time to ensure they are not overbaking.
- For soft, light muffins do not overmix the batter.
FAQ
If you can’t find pistachio butter, choose not to fill your muffins or make your own in a food processor.
Your oven temperature may be incorrect and running hotter than it says on the dial, check this with an oven thermometer and adjust the temperature accordingly.
These bakery-style muffins make the perfect breakfast for a pistachio lover, baked until golden brown with a moist crumb, a crunchy muffin top, and filled with a delicious nut butter
I hope you give these tasty pistachio muffins a try, and if you do please leave a comment and star review below I would love to hear from you!
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Happy Baking
With Love,
Kitty
📖 Recipe
Pistachio Muffins
Equipment
- 1 12-hole muffin pan
Ingredients
- 400 g cake flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 300 g superfine sugar
- 2 eggs extra-large
- 300 ml milk
- 80 ml sunflower oil
- 60 g unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100 g pistachios chopped
- 60 g pistachio butter
Instructions
- Line a 12-hole muffin pan with cupcake liners and preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the sugar to the sifted ingredients and use a whisk to combine. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- In a large jug add the oil, melted butter, milk, vanilla, and eggs, and beat with a fork or whisk until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the well and use a wooden spoon to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Do this quickly with as few turns as possible.
- Add the chopped pistachios to the muffin batter and fold this through with a wooden spoon, reserving about a 30g for the muffin tops.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin liners using an ice cream scoop, then sprinkle each with the extra chopped pistachios. Bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool slightly on a wire rack.
- Use an apple corer to core out the center of the muffin, reserving the piece that you have removed. Fill a pastry bag with the pistachio butter and fill the center of each muffin with about 2 teaspoons of butter, cover with the reserved muffin piece. Serve and enjoy!
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