Well, I’m not sure when I last ate a bowl of pistachio pudding (before today). It’s been a decade probably since I last had some, but I guarantee you that the only pistachio pudding I’ve ever had (before today) came out of a little box, was instant and sported the brand name that starts with a “j” and rhymes with wello.
A few weeks ago I got a great box from Braga Organic Farms full of organic nuts, nut butter and trail mix. I’ve been saving their pistachios JUST to make this pudding! I’ve never made pistachio pudding before and while it wasn’t hard to make…it also wasn’t a “throw it in the pan, mix it up and you’re done” kind of recipe.
Oh. My. But it was so worth the little extra effort it took to make. The taste of Homemade Pistachio Pudding is NOT even comparable to the powdery mix of um….bello pudding.
I found a recipe on Cooks.com, but then adapted it to make it a little easier and a little healthier. I’m having this for breakfast tomorrow, oh yes I am.
Homemade Pistachio Pudding
1/3 cup pistachios
2 Tablespoons real grade b maple syrup
2 cups milk
1/3 cup real grade b maple syrup
2 Tablespoons corn starch or arrowroot powder
dash of sea salt
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup pistachios (crushed)
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Get the family busy shelling pistachios… :)
Objects in picture are smaller than they appear.
WOW do those look like giant pistachios, or is it just me?
Just to make life easier, get your two egg yolks beat up in a bowl. Set the bowl by the stove ready and waiting for later. This is going to come in very handy in a few minutes.
Make a “pistachio paste” by running the 1/3 cup of pistachios through a food processor for a minute or two until they are like crumbs. No wait, not until they are like crumbs. Until they are crumbs.
Mix the pistachio crumbs with 2 Tablespoons of real grade b maple syrup to make a paste.
You will want to dip your finger in the bowl of pistachio paste – but don’t! Hold yourself back. This yummy concoction is for the pudding. Be strong.
Use a whisk to stir your “pistachio paste” into the milk (in a saucepan). Heat the milk mixture on medium heat, stirring with a whisk for about a minute.
Stir in 1/3 cup real grade b maple syrup, 2 Tablespoons corn starch or arrowroot powder and a dash of sea salt. Continue to stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens.
Once the mixture is thick and bubbly, remove it from the heat. Spoon out 4 Tablespoons of the milk mixture into the waiting bowl of egg yolks (told ya it would be handy to have that done ahead of time).
Stir it around and mix it up well (this keeps the eggs from getting funky in the big pan of hot pudding).
Pour the egg mixture into the pan with the rest of the pudding mixture and stir over medium heat for one minute.
Remove the pudding from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup crushed pistachios, 1 Tablespoon butter and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
Pour into serving bowls (6 servings).
Eat the pudding while it’s warm if you just can’t wait (like somebody I know). Or put the pudding in the fridge to chill for a couple of hours.
Sure, it’s kind of a funky color, but what do you expect when you mix brown maple syrup with yellow egg yolks and green pistachios? The taste is fantastic…I will be needing to order more pistachios soon!
I’m very excited to share that we’ve recently teamed up with Braga Organic Farms to work out a nice discount for you, the (lovely, talented, delightful, sweet…) Heavenly Homemaker Readers. If you place an order and use the code home, you’ll receive 10% off. We’ve loved working with Braga Organic Farms and think it’s super cool that they are a family-owned farm/business located in Madera, California…right outside the town where Matt grew up! No wonder their nuts taste so good!
And no, I didn’t just mean to say that my husband is a nut. Although he did choose to marry me…
Well I think it looks fabulous. :) Bookmarked!
Looks great, I love pistachios and so does my hubby. I will give it a try, thanks Laura.
Hi there,
I recently found your blog and everything looks fantastic! My 9yo has been asking for pistachios. I think I just found a project for her.
Thanks for everything,
I just want to know how you have time to make homemade pistachio pudding, do this wonderful blog as often as you do complete with pictures, and homeschool! My kids are 3, 2, and almost 1. I love to make things from scratch. I love teaching my 2 & 3 year olds where our food comes from. I just have so little time to do so! Good for you! You’re an inspiration!
Well, for one thing…my kids aren’t 3, 2 and 1 anymore. Oh how well I remember those days!!! I don’t think I could have even found my camera to try to take a picture during that time of my life, much less put them on a blog to tell the world about it. My babies are big boys now who aren’t quite as “high maintenence” (most of the time!) – I usually make this kind of recipe when they’re all working on their handwriting or phonics lesson, or something else they can do independently. Sometimes they sit at the kitchen table and I give them their spelling words while I’m stirring or kneading or mixing or….
Yes, our school books tend to have a little flour on them…
Enjoy those babies of yours. Little by little you’ll have more time to do some of the things you want to do in the kitchen.
Hi Laura! I am a mommy of twin boys (2 yrs). I love to be home with them and am considering homeschooling them. You are an inspiration!
Hey, Laura. I had some questions to ask of you and I know you check these posts way before your email! :)
Anyways, my question is regarding raw milk. If you would feel more comfortable answering my questions via email I am good with that.
Do you buy your milk from a certified farmer? There happen to be none in my area, but I have been referred to someone. I have always heard the benefits of raw milk, but there are some negatives. I happened to look them up! Made me a little nervous, if you know what I mean! Actually a bit paranoid! Do you recommend any books or articles on this subject? What is something I should make sure of before buying from a non-certified farmer? Cleanliness, etc.? This is an attempt to better my families diet and I don’t want to be worried everytime they ask for milk! Any words of wisdom I would greatly appreciate! SInce I plan on making cheeses, butter, butermilk, and kefir and also drinking it I need to be completely at ease! Also how in the world are you able to skim the cream off the top? I am never sure if I got it all or if I took too much and got some of the milk!
I actually check my email multiple times a day, it’s writing people BACK that I don’t get to since I get SO MANY emails every day!!! :)
The farmer we get milk from is not certified (it would cost a LOT more for milk if he was). But, they are organic and grass fed, they just don’t have the certificate.
I understand you being paranoid about raw milk. I have absolutely NO fear of drinking the raw milk. This is because I know what these cows are fed – makes ALL the difference in raw vs. pasteurized. The milk you get at the store? I’d WANT that milk to be pasteuriszd, for SURE – because of the conditions those cows are in and the volume of milk from one dairy. But the farm where we get our milk has just a few cows, who are allowed to graze in large pasture areas.
I’d say talk to the farmer you’d be buying from and hear all about how they operate, what they feed their cows, how they fill their jars… They’ll help put your mind at ease. If they care enough to offer raw milk, they care enough to make sure it’s great for you.
I skim the cream off only to make cheese (otherwise we shake it in and drink the whole milk). I use a gravy ladle…sure I leave a tiny bit each time but that’s not going to hurt the cheese. I just do my best!!
You don’t use the cream to make butter?
Yes, if I skim it off to make cheese, otherwise I buy it already made (for a very good price) from the people we get our milk from. Ordinarily, we just drink the milk straight.
what’s funny is I just made some of that same “box of pudding” of which you speak, because someone gave it to me, and I wasn’t nearly as excited about it, as I am about pistachio “salad” a concoction involving the pudding mix, marshmallows, whipped cream, and is absolutely incredible. Maybe you’ll want to try that. It’s not exactly healthy, oh no, but it’s good!
I wish I could be your taste tester!
In your description of the boxed pudding, you forgot to mention the strange, green color! Where are the dyes in YOUR pudding to make it that lovely color! :) Just teasing. I’ll have to try this if I ever get motivated to shell pistachios. I’m 37 weeks pregnant and I don’t think it will be happening any time soon! :) I love pistachios, though!
Oh, I was also going to say that the boxed pudding has almonds in it. Is the almondy taste lacking in this recipe? Because I love almond taste and might have to figure out how to add some! :)
Yeah, Matt asked me the same thing sarcastically, “So did you add green food coloring to this?!” You’ve gotta love green pistachios!!
I’d say put a drop or two of almond extract into this recipe if you want an almond taste….might be tasty!
I eat gluten free and this will be a prefect dessert for me. Love that it uses cornstarch or arrowroot powder in it!
You make cooking look so fun and so easy! I do like to cook, but find it hard to find enough time to really enjoy it. God’s blessings to you as you feed your family delicious, healthy food!
Laura –
You ARE such a nut! But, I love nuts and it looks like Matt does too!
All joking aside, thank you for the wonderful idea!
Anna @ TravelinPilgrim
I tried this recipe yesterday and it tastes FABULOUS…however, it never really thickened, even after chilling, so it’s a little like pistachio soup. We live at 8600 feet so the altitude might be the problem, but I’ve never had issues making pudding before. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Glad it tasted good, even if you had to drink it! I guess it could be an altitude issue, but I have no idea. Maybe add a couple extra tablespoons of arrowroot powder next time? Very strange!!
I had this same problem.
I dumped the individual cups of mixture back into my pan the next morning and after heating it up from chilled slowly, I brought it to close to a boil for 10-12 minutes and it thickened up.
I just got back from Greece with some tasty pistachio’s and wondered what I could make with them. Thankfully I found your great recipe! The pudding is absolutely delicious and really easy- the only part that takes a lot of time is shelling but besides that- very quick! Great recipe! :)
I don’t usually send e-mails like this, but…..in order to print this pistachio pudding recipe, I clicked on “print friendly”, & was hoping to see the version that would come to me. Instead, there were 3 choices, which was, for me, “print.” I requested “page 1” which I have done so many times before with no problem. This I do to avoid getting more than the recipe itself, pages that serve no purpose as far as getting just the recipe is concerned. I don’t need pictures, especially in this recipe, but….that’s just what I got – 6 pages worth, ultimately wasting my printer paper. What I failed to do, this time, was to copy & paste into a word document. Lesson learned ! To end this communication on a good note, I still look forward to trying “Homemade Pistachio Pudding/Heavenly Homemakers.”
Yep, that’s frustrating alright. Sorry that happened for you!!!
To save on paper and ink next time:
Once you click on “Print Friendly”, look across the top. It should give you the option to put a check “No images”, which would avoid printing all the pictures. Then, there’s a drop-down menu for Text size. You can click on x-small. This should help you end up with only one page of printing!!
Hope that helps!!
Thanks so much for this! I was munching on some pistachios and got to reminiscing on that funky green pudding I loved as a kid and searched for a recipe. So glad yours popped up! (I’ve saved several in the last day or so…going to make some homemade breakfast sausage in a minute…THANK YOU for that recipe! Recently decided to quit eating pork and needed a substitute. Used ground chicken as that was what I had, hoping it turns out as delicious as I’m expecting!)
One question: is the measurement for the pistachios in the ingredients BEFORE or after being crushed? I’m always confused by that in recipes! I don’t know if I have enough pistachios to make it if it’s AFTER. I can’t wait to make this, it looks soooo yummy (even though it’s not unnaturally green LOL)
Sorry that wasn’t clear. I measure the pistachios after they are crushed. :)
hmmm not the great compared to the chefs and caterers in our family but if it’s in the fridge we’ll eat it so it won’t go to waste
this is the best pudding I’ve ever had/made! I swapped out coconut cream for the milk and increased the vanilla to 1 tsp and added 1/2 tsp almond extract. Not vegan yet, as I did still use the tbs of butter :) I am making to add to cupcake recipe from shakentogether.com Pistachio Chocolate Chip Coconut Cupcakes! Soooooooo glad I found your recipe! No funky additives and super easy to make!
Can i use the pudding for a cake, because I cant find the j…wello :) instant pudding and I was wondering if i can use it for a pistachio cake ??
It’s worth a try!
this looks delicious but i do not use butter, can i sub or leave it out?
For this recipe, you can just leave it out.