Pistachio Muffins (No Pudding Mix!)

Looking for a recipe for your favorite muffins that’s completely from-scratch, with real pistachios, and without any pre-made mixes? This recipe for Pistachio Muffins gives you that classic nutty flavor you love without pudding mix!

Think light and fluffy easy homemade muffins with a crispy, crunchy, extra nutty muffin top (if you like muffins with a crumble top, check out these Banana Pumpkin Muffins next!).

As a mom on the go, I’m all for a shortcut, and I do recognize that the pudding mix can bring great color and a pistachio-like flavor. But, as a foodie, I find the use of real pistachios in these muffins is totally worth the extra effort of blending them into a pistachio sugar!

And even without the pudding mix, they come together in just 25 minutes and in just one bowl.

Pistachio Muffins Ingredient Highlights

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I use these roasted, salted, and shelled pistachios in this recipe.

Any percentage of dairy milk or unsweetened, unflavored non-dairy milk works here.

Coconut, vegetable, or canola, or grapeseed oil is preferred here.

Pistachio Muffins Tips and Tricks

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Create Pistachio Sugar

In order to equally distribute the nutty pistachio flavor into the muffins, the first step is to break them down into a fine dust.

Add the shelled pistachios to a food processor or high-powered blender with the sugar and process on high until there are no chunks remaining. This will form pistachio sugar that you’ll add both into your muffins and on top!

Separate out ½ cup of the pistachio sugar and set it aside. Add the rest to a large mixing bowl to make your muffin batter.

Start by mixing the oil and pistachio sugar together with a hand mixer until well-combined.

These muffins are best when they are not overmixed, so combining the ingredients in this order is the easiest way to get a smooth batter.

Next, add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix. Then, add the milk, vanilla extract, and egg.

Use the hand mixer on high to mix until you’re left with a silky-smooth batter.

Line or grease a muffin tin. I like to use a large cookie scoop to easily add the muffin batter into each baking cup.

Consider these reusable silicone muffin tin liners to reduce your contribution to waste. They are naturally nonstick, easy to clean and last forever!

Fill each cup about ¾ of the way, leaving some room for the muffins to rise without overflowing too much.

Make your crumble top by melting the butter and mixing it with the pistachio sugar you previously set aside.

One tablespoon of butter will melt quickly in the microwave. Add it to a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high in 10-second increments, stirring in between, until completely melted.

Use a fork or whisk to combine the melted butter with the pistachio and sugar mixture and then use clean hands to crumble about 1/2 teaspoon of the crumble-top mixture onto each muffin.

Then, bake until the crumble top is golden brown.

Storing Your Pistachio Muffins

These pistachio muffins without pudding mix should be covered or stored in an airtight container to keep them fresh as long as possible.

The muffins will stay moist and delicious at room temperature for 3-4 days before they start to dry out.

You can also freeze them to keep them fresh longer. They can be frozen for up to 6 months and easily thawed out at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.

Wait! Why are my pistachio muffins green (or not green at all)?

Raw pistachios have a naturally green hue. Muffins that are naturally colored with real pistachios may or may not appear green, depending on the hue of the pistachios used. Mine had a slight outer green hue, but, when blended, just looked a more traditional nut color—so my pistachio muffins came out in the more classic muffin color or beigey-brown!

On the other hand, many other pistachio muffin recipes use pistachio pudding mix, which often has green food coloring added to it to make it appear more stereotypically pistachio-y (although recipes that actually use unadulterated pistachios in higher quantity don’t look this way at all!!).