Pistachio Muffins

I absolutely adore a bakery style muffin. My Lemon Muffins, Banana Coffee Cake Muffins, Raspberry Almond Streusel Muffins and Cinnamon Streusel Muffins are just a few muffins recipes I always reach for when I want bakery style muffins. If you’re a fan of delicious bakery style muffins, I know you’ll love this pistachio muffin recipe just as much as I do! 

• Layers of flavors and textures: From the moist and fluffy pistachio muffin, to the sweet sugar pistachio crust, these pistachio pudding muffins will delight your senses. 
• Easy to make, bake and eat: These homemade pistachio muffins taste like you just bought them from the bakery, but are so simple to make. They are made using two bowls and a whisk.

These pistachio nut muffins recipe requires only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your house.

Dry Ingredients: Gather all purpose flour,  pistachio pudding mix, baking powder and salt.

Wet Ingredients: Gather melted butter, oil, granulated sugar, eggs, sour cream, milk and vanilla extract.

These cinnamon muffins with crumb topping are as easy to make as they are delicious. Here are my recommended substitutions to make these muffins.

• All purpose flour: To make these cinnamon crunch muffins gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill.
• Melted Butter: Feel free to use an equal amount of salted butter in place of the unsalted butter. Just make sure to omit the added salt. Vegan butter or plant based can also be used in place of regular unsalted butter for this pistachio muffin recipe.
• Canola Oil: Feel free to use any neutral oil in place of the canola oil or use an additional 4 tbsp (57 g) of melted butter in place of the oil.
• Granulated Sugar: This muffin recipe calls for granulated sugar, but maple sugar would also work well to make these muffins refined sugar free. 
• Pistachio Pudding Mix: For this pistachio muffin recipe you’ll need pistachio pudding mix. Pistachio paste can be used in place of the pudding mix. Use 2-3 tablespoons (30-45 ml) of paste in place of the pudding mix. If using the pistachio paste/butter, whisk this in with the wet ingredients.
• Eggs: This recipe has not been tested without eggs. 
• Sour Cream: Greek yogurt or buttermilk works well in place of sour cream.
• Milk: Use any milk you like.
• Vanilla Extract: This adds a lovely background flavor that pairs really well with pistachios.

• Chocolate Chips: Add 1 cup of chocolate chips into the batter along with the flour to make chocolate chip pistachio muffins. 
• Lemon Pistachio Muffins: Lemon is such a classic pairing with pistachios. Zest 1-2 lemons into the sugar and add 1-2 teaspoons of lemon extract to the wet ingredients. 
• Glazed Pistachio Muffins: Mix 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar with 2-3 teaspoons (10-15 ml) lemon juice, milk or water until well combined. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled pistachio muffins.

Learn how to make pistachio muffins in a few easy steps!

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F (218 C). Line a 12 ct. muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, pistachio pudding mix, baking powder, and salt together until well combined.
2. In another bowl whisk the melted butter, oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream and milk together until well combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Do not over-mix. Let the pistachio muffin batter rest at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes. 
3. Use a 3 tablespoon sized cookie scoop to scoop the muffin batter into each of the muffin liners. Top with coarsely topped pistachios and sugar.

4. Bake the muffins at 425 F for 8 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 (177 C) for an additional 12 - 16 minutes. Do not open the oven door to reduce the temperature. Wait until closer to the minimum baking time. The muffins will bake for a total of 20 - 24 minutes. The nut muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes about with a few moist crumbs.
5. Cool the pistachio pudding mix muffins in the muffin pan for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the muffins to cool to room temperature and enjoy!

• Store leftover muffins: Place the nut muffins in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Then transfer the muffins to the fridge for up to 3 more days. 
• Freeze the pistachio muffins: Make sure the muffins are completely cooled to room temperature. Individually wrap each muffin in plastic wrap. Place each wrapped muffin in a ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months. 
• Thaw the muffins: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw the pistachio muffins is to let them out at room temperature for at least two hours. Enjoy at room temperature or microwave the muffin for 20 - 30 seconds for that “fresh from the oven” taste.

• Bring cold ingredients to room temperature: This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in soft, fluffy and moist muffins.
• Don’t over-mix the muffin batter: Always use the lowest speed on your electric mixer or mix in the dry ingredients into the wet by hand until just combined. 
• Rest the batter for about 30 minutes: This is a little trick to get those beautiful bakery style domes on muffins. Allowing some time for resting allows the batter to hydrate, thicken and rise, making these the best pistachio muffins. 
• Use high heat, then reduce. Higher heat activates the baking powder quickly. Reduce the heat to continue baking. This gives the muffins their signature bakery style dome.

Other Muffin Recipes to Try

• Mini Blueberry Muffins
• Carrot Cake Muffins
• Apple Cider Donut Muffins
• Banana Mini Muffins

If you try this Pistachio Muffins recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! -M