DIY Deluxe Pistachio Latte Recipe

This DIY deluxe pistachio latte beats any coffee shop version. It's a vibrant, comforting, and creamy beverage that will get you going in the morning, all while making you feel like you're wrapped up in a warm cashmere blanket. This seemingly luxe latte is much easier to make than it might appear. According to Ksenia Prints of At the Immigrant's Table, the key to a delicious pistachio latte is to start with homemade pistachio milk. 

Though this may sound like a difficult process, making your own pistachio milk is as easy as blending shelled pistachios with water in a blender until smooth. After straining out the solids, you will end up with just the rich and creamy pistachio milk. The pistachio milk, when heated with regular milk in a saucepan and then whisked till frothy, makes the perfect base for espresso. Everything comes together to result in a creamy and delicious drink that will give you all the satisfaction of the perfect apres ski experience. Finish it off with a sprinkle of crushed pistachios, and this drink is like a warm pistachio dessert in a cup for you to sip and enjoy.

To make this latte, you will need shelled, unsalted raw pistachios and some regular water to make the pistachio milk. You will then combine it with regular milk, strong brewed espresso, and pistachio cream for the perfect cup of latte. Pistachio cream is a form of nut butter that sometimes has dairy or sweetener added. A garnish of crushed pistachios completes the latte. 

Make homemade pistachio milk by blending pistachios and water in a blender until smooth.

Strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a nut milk bag into a bowl, squeezing out the liquid. Discard the solids.

Combine the pistachio milk and regular milk in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Add 1 teaspoon of pistachio cream for extra flavor.

Heat the milk until hot but not boiling.

Froth the warm milk with a milk frother or whisk until foamy.

Pour the frothed milk into a mug. Add 1 shot of espresso and stir.

Garnish the pistachio latte with crushed pistachios and sweeten with sugar or honey if desired, and serve.

Pistachio cream, sometimes called pistachio spread or pistachio creamed butter, is a creamy nut butter made from pistachios. It has a smooth, rich texture and intense pistachio flavor. Brands like Pistì sell it in jars as a spread for bread, pastries, fruit, or to use in recipes. The main ingredients are pistachios, vegetable oil, milk powder, and sugar or honey for sweetness. To make it, shelled pistachios are ground into a fine paste and then blended with oil until smooth and spreadable. The oils help extract flavor from the nuts and loosen up the texture. The pistachio paste is then mixed with dairy products and sweeteners to turn it into a filling for pastries. 

You can easily make homemade pistachio cream. Begin by pulsing raw, shelled pistachios in a food processor until very finely ground. Then slowly stream in a bit of heavy cream and a touch of neutral oil like grapeseed or avocado while blending. Add sugar, honey, or maple syrup if desired. Process until completely smooth. The consistency should be just thick enough to spread but not runny. Store homemade pistachio cream in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.

You can use store-bought pistachio milk in this recipe if you don't have the time or ingredients to make it from scratch. Make sure to give the pistachio milk a good shake before measuring, as the solids can settle and separate. The consistency may be slightly thinner than homemade, but the flavor will still come through.

Almond, cashew, or oat milk can also be subbed in a 1:1 ratio if you prefer a different nutty flavor profile — just increase the amount of pistachio cream you are using to 2 spoonfuls to make up for the flavor difference. The key is to use unsweetened plain nut milk with a consistency close to that of 2% dairy milk so you have full control over the sweetness and flavors. 

You can also use unsweetened non-dairy milk such as almond, oat, or soy milk in place of the regular milk to make a dairy-free and vegan version of this pistachio latte. You can also buy or make pistachio butter in place of the pistachio cream. If your spread contains just pistachios, oil, and salt, it should already be vegan. When blending the homemade pistachio milk, you may need to adjust the ratio of nuts to water depending on the thickness of your non-dairy milk. Aside from subbing the dairy components for plant-based alternatives, the recipe remains the same. The result is a creamy, nutty latte that just happens to be entirely vegan and dairy-free.