A creamy, sweet pistachio cheesecake with just a hint of salt! We’re not adding anything other than the natural goodness of real pistachios, so you’re getting plenty of their delicious flavor.

Cheesecake Recipe

Cheesecake is such a great dessert! It’s versatile, it can be light or heavy, and with only a few minor adjustments it’s easy to accommodate a variety of dietary needs. Making cheesecake from scratch is also pretty simple, and with a bit of practice you’ll be churning out restaurant-quality cheesecake in no time.

The Best Pistachio Cheesecake Recipe

This recipe is great! Whether you’re craving something sweet, something salty or both, this is a surefire way to tick that box. With the smooth filling, crunchy crust, and deep, satisfying flavor palate, this is a recipe guaranteed to keep people smiling.

Ingredients for Pistachio Cheesecake Base

The pistachios are the real star of the show for this recipe, and we’re going to make the most of this awesome nut.

We’ll be making our crust using pistachio nuts! So you’ve got nutty goodness not only in the filling, but in the crust, too.

To make this awesome cheesecake, you’ll need a few ingredients. We’ve separated each component of the cheesecake - crust, filling and cream cheese frosting - to make identifying your ingredients a little easier.

How to Make Cheesecake Base From Scratch

Place the softened butter and sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer with flat beater attachment, beat until it is light and fluffy. Add the yolk and mix again.Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl while mixing.

Add the flour and salt, mix for 30 seconds or until crumbs form. It is important not to over mix the dough!
Transfer the dough on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, cover with plastic and freeze for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350° F| 180°C.
Bake for 17-20 minutes. The baked pâte sablée should be crispy and golden brown. Allow to cool down completely.
Grind into crumbs in a food processor. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Add the pistachio flour, almond flour, chopped pistachio , coconut oil and butter, and mix to combine.
Press into bottom and sides of a 8-inch(20 cm) cheesecake pan with 3-inch (7 cm) sides and freeze for at least 30 minutes.

Ingredients for Pistachio Cheesecake Filling

All cheesecakes tend to follow roughly the same outline and construction. There are, however, a few extra steps for this pistachio cheesecake filling recipe if you can't find pistachio paste at your local supermarket. You'll need to turn out pistachio nuts into pistachio paste. We will talk about this below.

How to Make Pistachio Cheesecake Filling

Preheat your oven to 300° F| 150°C.
In a mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese with sugar on medium-high speed until very smooth, about 2 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in pistachio paste, heavy cream and chopped pistachios.
Remove the cheesecake base from the freezer. Pour over the frozen crust, smoothing out to sides of the pan.
Bake in the preheated oven over water bath until top is light brown and center has a slight jiggle to it, about 60-90 minutes. Allow to cool in a pan on a wire rack for 2 hours.
Once it is baked, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before decorating.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Of course, no cheesecake is truly complete without a generous garnish, so we’ll be garnishing this cake with some cream cheese frosting and, of course, freshly chopped pistachio nuts.

Combine well-chilled heavy cream and cream cheese in a bowl.
Add the powdered sugar, pistachio paste and beat on medium until smooth using a hand mixer.
Pipe rosettes around the cake. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios.

Use Raw Pistachios

It’s important for this recipe that you use raw, unsalted pistachios. We prefer Turkish pistachios as they are bright green in color. Roasted or salted pistachios will have a more savory flavor that won’t be well suited to the dessert we’re making today. They will also make your pistachio butter brown.

The raw, unsalted pistachios will give your cheesecake, exactly the kind of authentic, distinctive pistachio flavor that you want from this sort of dessert.

Expert Tips

When we’re making cheesecake, the critical thing is to use ingredients at room temperature. Ingredients that are too cold, or at all different temperatures, will give you a lumpy, unevenly textured cheesecake. When all your ingredients are at the same temperature, it’s easier for them to mix. Similarly, cooler ingredients like cream cheese are more solid at lower temperatures, so as they approach room temperature they soften. This makes it easier to mix them together.

Our final tip is to use a water bath! Basically, place your 8” springform pan nearby a 10” cake pan filled with water in the oven. This ensures that your cheesecake will be smooth, with no cracks.

Homemade Pistachio Paste

1 cup raw shelled pistachios
4 Tablespoons water

Making Pistachio Paste

If you can't find pistachio paste at your local supermarket, order online or make at home, you’ll need up to an hour.

To save time (and your fingernails), we advise that you start with pistachios that are already shelled.

Blanch Your Pistachios

First, you need to blanch your pistachios before turning them into paste. To do this, boil a medium sized saucepan of water. Once the water reaches a rolling boil, remove from heat, and throw in your pistachios. Let them soak in the boiled water for four to five minutes. Doing this softens them, making skinning and crushing them much easier.

After soaking the pistachios, you’ll need to drain them. Place the pistachios on a kitchen towel and rub them to remove any vestiges of the skin still on the nuts. You want smooth, green nuts for this. Thanks to the softening in hot water, you should be able to remove even the most stubborn bits of skin simply by using your hands.

Blend the Pistachios

Next, you’re going to pulverize your pistachios in the food processor. Process the pistachios until they reach a smooth consistency. If the pistachios seem to be clumping, add a tablespoon of water. You’ll want to scrape down the edge of the bowl with a rubber spatula or knife to ensure even blending.

You should end up with a smooth, greenish paste not unlike peanut butter. You can use this paste right away, or store it in the fridge for up to two weeks.

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