These pistachio muffins are loaded with real pistachios and pistachio flavor! They are fluffy and moist and are topped with a pistachio crumble topping.
These muffins are made with real pistachios, have a crispy top, use simple ingredients, and are incredibly fluffy and flavorful. These muffins are the ones you see at bakeries!
These muffins are perfect for pistachio lovers and are perfect for a quick breakfast, brunch, snack, or dessert!
For more pistachio desserts, check out my pistachio baklava, pistachio cake, pistachio cheesecake with pistachio toppings, and pistachio cookies.
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Why this recipe works
- Pistachio- These muffins are made with real pistachios and have a strong pistachio flavor that is added naturally!
- Muffin top- They have a crispy muffin top and the most fluffy and delicious interior!
- All natural- These muffins are made without a pudding mix and do not use artificial food coloring!
- Topping- They are topped with a pistachio crumble topping that is crunchy and buttery and delicious!
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious muffins.
Eggs- you will need eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Baking soda and baking powder – baking soda and baking powder help the muffins rise and spread. Make sure that your levelers aren't expired.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Brown sugar- you can use light or dark brown sugar.
Buttermilk- we make our homemade buttermilk (1 cup of milk plus 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar).
Sour cream- use full-fat sour cream for this recipe. It is important to get your sour cream to room temperature.
Vegetable oil – we used vegetable oil for this recipe. canola oil will work great for this recipe.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
Pistachios- use unsalted pistachios for this recipe. Salted pistachios have a strong salty flavor that will make your muffins very salty. I like toasting pistachios to release their delicious flavor and release their natural oils.
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prep a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
Into a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, eggs, sour cream, kosher salt, vanilla extract, buttermilk, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil, and mix until combined.
Add the chopped pistachios, flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until just combined. Do not overmix them so they will turn out moist and not dry!
Let the batter sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. This step creates the signature domed tops that the best muffins have!
Meanwhile, make the pistachio crumble topping. In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, chopped pistachios, and kosher salt. Mix with a spoon until the mixture is well combined.
Add the melted butter and mix until it's well combined.
Scoop the batter with a large ice cream scooper into the muffin tins, filling them almost completely.
Top the muffins with about 1 tablespoon of the streusel topping and press the streusel topping onto the muffin batter so it sticks and does not fall off while baking.
Bake in a 200c (400f) preheated oven for 5 minutes, and then bake for another 10-12 minutes at 180c (350f) or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Expert Tips
- Use a blender or food processor to ground the pistachios for the muffin filling. For the crumble topping, I like chopping them into larger pieces to get an extra crunch.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and milk. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist muffins and not dense and dry muffins.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Make sure that you are using fresh ingredients! One of the most common mistakes in baking and making muffins is not noticing that your baking powder or baking soda is expired. This can ruin your muffins and waste your time and money on the ingredients. So every time you bake anything, make sure that the ingredients are not expired.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat these muffins as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these muffins cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be firmer and won’t crumble up. These muffins are extra moist and melt-in-your-mouth delicious, so it will be worth it to wait for the wait.
Faq's
You can use peeled toasted or not toasted unsalted pistachios. Using salted pistachios will affect the flavor of these muffins.
My biggest tip for getting muffins light and fluffy with a domed top is to let the muffin batter rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. This step allows the gluten to rest and activates the leaveners.
Yes! Simply combine 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1-2 tablespoons of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or vanilla paste.
These muffins will last for up to 3 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Pistachio muffins are usually green because they use pistachio pudding mix which contains green food coloring. I use natural ingredients in this recipe, but if you want a greener color, you can add 1-2 drops of green food coloring.
Storing
Store these muffins for 3 days at room temperature, in an airtight container, or covered with plastic wrap, or store these in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
Cover the muffins with plastic wrap or foil to prevent them from drying out.
Reheating
I highly recommend reheating these muffins in the microwave for 20 seconds for each muffin. This brings back the moisture to these muffins and gives them a fresh texture!
Freezing
Freeze these muffins after they cooled completely in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months.
Substitutions
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour. I never tried it, but it should work just fine!
Sour cream- if you don't have sour cream, you can use full-fat yogurt or Greek yogurt instead.
Variations
Flavoring- you can add 1 teaspoon of pistachio extract for an extra pistachio flavor.
Mix-ins- add your favorite muffin mix-ins like white chocolate chips, semisweet chocolate chips, sliced almonds, dried cranberries, or your favorite dry fruit!
Green color- if you want to make these muffins extra green, add a drop or two of green gel food coloring.
More muffin recipes
Vanilla muffins- They are filled with vanilla flavor and are the perfect base muffin recipe so you can add many flavors and fillings!
Cinnamon roll muffins- These cinnamon roll muffins are soft and tender, and are filled with cinnamon flavor and are topped with a cream cheese glaze.
Blueberry banana muffins- These blueberry banana muffins are extra moist and melt in your mouth. They are made with ripe bananas and blueberries.
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📖 Recipe
Pistachio Muffins With Pistachio Crumble Topping
Ingredients
- 115 g Butter melted and cooled
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 Eggs
- ½ cup Brown sugar dark or light brown sugar
- â…” cup Granulated sugar
- ½ cup Sour cream full fat
- â…” cup Buttermilk
- ¼ cup Vegetable oil or canola oil
- 1 cup Pistachios toasted and chopped, unsalted
- 3 cups Flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
Crumble topping
- ½ cup Flour
- â…” cup Pistachios chopped
- â…“ teaspoon Kosher salt
- â…“ cup Granulated sugar
- 60 g Butter
Instructions
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, eggs, sour cream, kosher salt, vanilla extract, buttermilk, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil, and mix until combined.
- Add the chopped pistachios, flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until just combined. Do not overmix them so they will turn out moist and not dry!
- Let the batter sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. This step creates the signature domed tops that the best muffins have!
- Meanwhile, make the pistachio crumble topping. In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, chopped pistachios, and kosher salt. Mix with a spoon until the mixture is well combined.
- Add the melted butter and mix until it's well combined.
- Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prep a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
- Scoop the batter with a large ice cream scooper into the muffin tins, filling them almost completely.
- Top the muffins with about 1 tablespoon of the streusel topping and press the streusel topping onto the muffin batter so it sticks and does not fall off while baking.
- Bake in a 200c (400f) preheated oven for 5 minutes, and then bake for another 10-12 minutes at 180c (350f) or until a toothpick comes out clean.Â
Notes
- Use a blender or food processor to ground the pistachios for the muffin filling. For the crumble topping, I like chopping them into larger pieces to get an extra crunch.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and milk. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist muffins and not dense and dry muffins.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Make sure that you are using fresh ingredients! One of the most common mistakes in baking and making muffins is not noticing that your baking powder or baking soda is expired. This can ruin your muffins and waste your time and money on the ingredients. So every time you bake anything, make sure that the ingredients are not expired.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat these muffins as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these muffins cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be more firm and won’t crumble up. These muffins are extra moist and melt-in-your-mouth delicious, so it will be worth it to wait for the wait.
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