Pistachio cheesecake is a luscious blend of creamy, tangy cheesecake with the subtle, nutty sweetness of real pistachios. With its buttery graham cracker and pistachio crust and a velvety pistachio-infused filling, each bite feels indulgent and luxurious. Topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of crushed pistachios, it's an elegant dessert that's simply delicious.
My husband loves pistachios. And I mean loves pistachios. We lived in Europe for four years, and I swear the only gelato he ever ate was pistachio. That kind of love. We also love cheesecake, so I've been making him pistachio cheesecake for many years. When I first started making it, there were no online recipes. And so I've made it many different ways. I've even put spinach in sometimes for a little more green coloring which wasn't pretty, but that was also during a phase where I didn't use any artificial food coloring. And you know what? You can't taste the spinach at all. Now, there are a lot more pistachio cheesecakes recipes online, but many of them have extra steps liking making pistachio butter. Not fun. And, sometimes, the simplest ways are the best. So this version is a simple, delicious pistachio cheesecake. And no spinach.
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Ingredients for the crust
- Graham crackers
- Pistachios
- Salted butter
- White sugar
See recipe card for quantities.
Ingredients for the cheesecake filling
- Cream cheese
- White sugar
- Eggs
- Pistachio nut crumbs
- Almond extract
See recipe card for quantities.
Ingredients for the cheesecake topping
- Heavy whipping cream
- Powdered sugar
- Pistachio nut crumbs
See recipe card for quantities
Instructions for packing the pistachio crust
After mixing, place the pistachio crust ingredients in the springform pan. Then, even out the crumbs and pack down with a mini pastry roller or the bottom of a measuring cup. With medium pressure, continue packing down until the crust is set and looks like this. I also recommend par-baking the crust. Packing the crust down and par-baking creates a crisp crust that has a great texture and is easily moved off the springform pan.
Substitutions
- Gluten free - you can substitute 1 and ½ cups of gluten free graham cracker for the regular graham crackers. However, different crackers have different fat content, so make sure to do the 'squeeze test'. Once you've finished mixing the crust, pick up a handful and squeeze it tight. If it mostly stays together in your hand, it's perfect. If it crumbles and won't stay together, add another tablespoon of melted butter and test again. If it is super wet and is loose, add more crushed crackers.
- Almond extract - you can substitute pistachio extract for the almond extract. But I would not recommend using vanilla in this case because almond and pistachio extracts are more in line with the sweet, nutty flavor that we are going for.
Variations
- Decorations on top - the decorations on top of the cheesecake don't need to be perfect. To pipe the whipped cream, I used a Wilton 1M tip. If you're just starting out with piping, the Wilton 1M is one of the most universal piping tips. You can do a lot of different designs with the 1M tip. I was looking to try something new and found this great YouTube video from Cakes by MK explaining different piping methods: Beginner's Piping Tutorial - 6 Designs, 1 Piping tip. She does a really good job of explaining how to pipe frosting on a cake. The same principles apply with whipped cream and cheesecake.
Equipment
A stand or hand mixer is needed for this recipe. Also, a food processor or blender is helpful so that you don't have chop nuts with a knife.
Storage
Store any leftover pistachio cheesecake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 to 7 days.
Next Level Tips
- Always use room temperature cream cheese and room temperature eggs for cheesecakes.
- The very best way to avoid cheesecake cracks is to bake at a lower temperature and use the moat method. In short, the moat method is where you place your springform pan inside of a cake pan and then put the cake pan in a roasting pan with water. This avoids leaky aluminum foil and protects the springform pan from direct heat. I also describe this in more detail, with photos, in my post about pumpkin spice cheesecake.
- Allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven without touching it for two hours. Then, move the springform pan to a cooling rack and allow the cheesecake to come to room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator.
- Cheesecakes need time to set in the refrigerator after baking. Try to refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours; however, overnight is best.
FAQ
Most pistachios come as raw and unshelled or roasted and shelled. You can use either. But, I find that Costco's shelled and roasted pistachios are the best bang for your buck, they taste great, and it's much easier not to have to shell them. However, if you use raw and unshelled, I would add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the cheesecake filling.
I always recommend par-baking the crust. By par-baking the crust, it helps set the crust so that the crust is nice and crisp and not soggy. A crisp crust has a better texture and is a better contrast to the creamy cheesecake filling. Also, a crisp crust also allows you to easily move the cheesecake off of the springform pan and onto a cake board, a cake taker or a serving plate. A crumbly crust is a mess to move and no one wants that!
The moat method creates a barrier between the springform pan and the direct heat of the oven. Kind of like in the olden days when castles used moats to protect the castles from invaders! So, in the moat method, we place the springform pan into a larger cake pan before putting the cake pan into a larger roasting pan with the water bath. This creates a moat (of air) that separates the springform pan from the cake pan and the water bath. So no more water seeping into your cheesecake pan! I highly recommend using this method as it works great.
The reason we pack the graham cracker crust tightly, but not too tightly, into the springform pan is so that we can easily remove the bottom of the springform pan without the crust crumbling. After the rim of the springform pan is off, take a cake lifter (or metal pizza peel or a very large spatula) and gently slide it in between cheesecake crust and bottom of springform pan. Don't lift the cheesecake up in the air (especially if the whole crust is not supported). Rather, use the cake lifter to slide the cheesecake off of the springform bottom onto the serving plate. You can buy a cheap cake lifter on Amazon or like at a Hobby Lobby type store in the baking section. If you're using a large metal spatula, run it under the entire outer edge first before using it to slide the cheesecake.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pistachio Cheesecake
Equipment
- 1 Stand or hand mixer
- 1 blender or food processor
Ingredients
The crust
- 1 sleeve graham crackers (9 full crackers per sleeve)
- ½ cup pistachios ground
- 6 tablespoons salted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
The filling
- 4 blocks cream cheese (8 ounces per block) room temperature
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- ¼ cup pistachios ground
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
The toppings*
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream*
- ½ cup powdered sugar*
- ½ cup pistachios ground
Instructions
Creating the pistachio nut crumbs
- Since we will be using the pistachio nut crumbs in the crust, in the filling and on top of the cheesecake, it is best to grind the pistachios into the nut crumbs all at once. Place 1 and ¼ cups of pistachios in a blender or food processor and grind into small nut crumbs. Set aside ½ cup for the crust, ¼ cup for the filling and ½ cup to be used for decorating the cheesecake.
Make the crust
- Preheat the oven to 325°. Spray an 8 or 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Add the graham crackers to the food processor and grind until the crackers are mostly fine crumbs.
- Mix the graham cracker crumbs, ½ cup of pistachio nut crumbs, melted butter and 2 tablespoons of white sugar together in a small bowl until well combined and all the cracker crumbs are coated with butter.
- Add the graham cracker mixture to the springform pan. Even out the crust and pack it down with a small pastry roller or the bottom of a measuring cup with medium pressure. It should be packed firmly but not too hard.
- Bake for 6 minutes and set aside to cool.
Make the filling
- Place the room temperature cream cheese into the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until creamy and all lumps are gone. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Add the white sugar to the cream cheese in the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Next, add the pistachio crumbs and almond extract to the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Add the eggs to the mixing bowl one at a time. Mix on low speed until each egg is combined before adding the next egg. Between eggs, scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
Bake and cool the cheesecake
- Add the filling to the springform pan. Place the springform pan in a larger cake pan. Fill a roasting pan with one inch of water. Carefully add the cake pan with springform pan into roasting pan. [Or, alternatively, if you're not using the moat method, add the springform pan wrapped very well in aluminum foil into roasting pan water bath.]
- Bake at 325° for about 60 minutes until the center is mostly set. Then, turn off the oven and open the oven door to start the cooling process. Leave it alone for two hours. After two hours, remove the springform pan from the oven and let it cool on a cooling rack until it's room temperature.
- When the cheesecake is at room temperature, run a knife around the edges to loosen the cheesecake from the sides. Then, cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours but preferably overnight or longer.
- After 6 hours, or preferably the next day, remove the rim. Also, remove the cheesecake from the bottom of the springform pan (see FAQ if needed) if so desired and top with your favorite topping or a whipped cream topping.
Make the whipped cream topping (optional)
- Put the metal mixing bowl in the refrigerator or freezer until cold while you're gathering ingredients.
- Add the heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar to the mixing bowl and mix on medium-high to high speeds until stiff peaks form. The time this takes depends on how cold the bowl and cream are as well as the speed of the mixing. Plan on 5-8 minutes but watch it carefully once it starts to fluff. You can stop the mixer at any time and check for stiff peaks. If the consistency is not at stiff peaks then continue mixing and checking.
- Pipe or spoon the whipped cream topping on to the top of the cheesecake.
- Sprinkle the remaining pistachio crumbs over the whipped topping and exposed cheesecake. If there are any remaining pistachio crumbs, you can press them into the sides of the cheesecake just like you would do if you were finishing a cheeseball.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate. Enjoy!
Notes
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