These pistachio cupcakes with strawberry frosting are one of my favorite recipes to make when I need a slightly unique cupcake flavor. They’re always a hit! Readers have enjoyed turning this cupcake batter into a 6 inch cake, too. Buttery and smooth, pistachios pair perfectly with almond and vanilla flavors – both of which are present in these soft and fluffy cupcakes.
One reader, Katie, says: “The strawberry/pistachio combination is brilliant. I’ve made these two years in a row for my husband’s birthday and they are my favorite cupcakes!”
Pistachio is an underrated flavor in the dessert world. They’re certainly delicious cracked open and eaten on their own, but even better when they shine as the main flavor in ice cream. Or pistachio cake. Or cookies! Or, best of all, cupcakes. By the way, did you know that pistachio ice cream is usually flavored with almond extract? It complements the pistachio flavor.
Tell Me About These Pistachio Cupcakes
- Flavor: The pistachio flavor isn’t strong and that’s because we’re relying on the actual nuts and not artificial pistachio flavor. You can certainly add artificial flavor if you’d like, but we love the light pistachio, delicious almond, and strong vanilla flavor balance in the recipe as written below. Add the intensity of the strawberry flavor and your tastebuds will thank you!
- Texture: We used our perfect vanilla cupcakes as the starting point for this recipe, so you already know they will be extra soft. We add ground pistachios to the batter, but don’t get nervous about that texture—the pistachio pieces become ultra soft inside the cupcake when baked. Plus, the pistachio pieces are small so you won’t taste the actual chunks, just their impeccable flavor.
- Ease: This is a basic cupcake recipe – whisk dry ingredients, beat sugar, butter, egg whites, and extracts. The extra step here will be processing the pistachio nuts, which takes seconds. Same applies to the frosting, where you’ll just need to pulse the freeze-dried strawberries first.
Choosing the Right Ingredients
- The best nuts: For quality pistachio flavor, let’s use quality unsalted nuts. We all know Diamond of California offers the best baking nuts on the planet–> they rule the baking aisle! We’ll grind shelled, unsalted pistachios up into fine little crumbs and pour directly into a vanilla almond cupcake batter. This is how we start pistachio cookies, too. They’ll be some pistachio powder hiding in all those teeny pistachio pieces and that’s ok! Add it to the batter. Why unsalted nuts? Because you can control the salt in the cupcake that way.
- The right flour. Cake flour helps promise an extra soft and cake-like crumb. We use it in a lot of cake recipes because it keeps everything light and airy. If you can’t find it, use this easy cake flour substitute.
- 3 egg whites + sour cream. These two go along with cake flour to add to the deliciously fluffy texture. We promise you’ve never tasted a cupcake like this and the cake flour, egg whites, and sour cream – your three power ingredients – are why. If you’re curious, read our post for vanilla cupcakes for exactly what each ingredient does and why they’re crucial!
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
This colorful cupcake has one of our favorite frostings on the planet: strawberry buttercream. It’s made with strawberry dust aka freeze-dried strawberries ground up into a powder. It’s incredible!
- If you’re not into strawberry, cream cheese frosting would be great too.
I knew this strawberry frosting would be perfect for these pistachio cupcakes because you need a food processor for the nuts anyway. The reason we’ll use freeze-dried strawberries in this strawberry frosting is because they deliver the most intense (and natural) strawberry flavor while, at the same time, do not mess up the texture of the actual frosting. Real strawberries can end up curdling your pretty frosting. Where to buy freeze-dried strawberries? We always find them at major grocery stores in the dried fruit section or you can try Target, Trader Joe’s, or online here or here. If you have extra, they are great in strawberry and cream cookies!
Piping tip. The pictured cupcakes are decorated using this piping tip: Ateco #849. All you do is start in the center of the cupcake, apply pressure to squeeze the frosting out, and slowly lift straight up. No swirling around the cupcake – just start on the center and squeeze frosting out while lifting the tip off the cupcake. Takes 2 seconds per cupcake and is great for beginners! Here’s our piping tips tutorial and video if you need some visuals.
More Fun Cupcake Flavors
- Margarita Cupcakes
- Peanut Butter Hi-Hat Cupcakes
- S’mores Cupcakes
- Chai Latte Cupcakes
- Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
Pistachio Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 15-16 cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft and fluffy pistachio cupcakes with creamy strawberry frosting have the most wonderful sweet, fresh, and nutty flavors!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted shelled pistachios (out of shell)
- 1 and 3/4 cups (207g) cake flour* (spooned & leveled)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1/2 cup (120g) full-fat sour cream at room temperature*
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk at room temperature*
- optional: 1 tiny drop green food coloring*
Strawberry Frosting
- 1 cup (about 25g) freeze-dried strawberries
- 1 cup (235g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- salt, to taste
- optional for garnish: fresh strawberry slices
Instructions
- Pulse the pistachios in a food processor until ground up into fine crumbs. See photo above for a visual. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a second pan with 4 liners – this recipe makes about 16 cupcakes. Set aside.
- Make the cupcakes: Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 3/4 cup of pistachio crumbs together. Reserve the rest of the pistachio crumbs for decoration.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg whites, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, then beat in the sour cream. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the milk until combined. Do not overmix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Pour/spoon the batter into the liners – fill only 2/3 full to avoid spilling over the sides. Bake for 19-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For around 30 mini cupcakes, bake for about 11-13 minutes, same oven temperature. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the frosting: Using a blender or food processor, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a powdery crumb. You should have around 1/2 cup. In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, strawberry powder, cream, and vanilla. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet.
- Frost cooled cupcakes and decorate with remaining pistachio crumbs and strawberry slices. I used the Ateco #849 closed star tip.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Cupcakes can be made ahead 1 day in advance, covered, and stored at room temperature. Frosting can also be made 1 day in advance, covered, and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. Leftover cupcakes keep well covered tightly in the refrigerator for 3 days. Frosted or unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Food Processor or Blender | Trader Joe’s Freeze Dried Strawberries or Mother Earth Freeze Dried Strawberries | Spatula | 12-Count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Piping Bags (Disposable or Reusable) | Ateco #849 Piping Tip
- Cake Flour: If you can’t get your hands on cake flour, you can make this homemade cake flour substitute. I suggest doing this twice, mixing it all up in 1 bowl then removing 1/4 cup since you need 1 and 3/4 cups in this recipe.
- Whole Milk and Sour Cream: Strongly recommended for the best taste and texture! A full fat plain yogurt would work instead, though the cupcakes may not be as light. Same goes with a lower fat milk.
- Food Coloring: While the pistachio crumbs do tint the batter light green, I added 1 *very teeny* drop of green food coloring to help brighten the green color. This is completely optional!
- Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking the BEST cupcakes before you begin!
Keywords: pistachio cupcakes, strawberry frosting, cupcakes
I have natural pistachio flavoring by Beanilla. It smells a lot like almond extract. What do you think if I use 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla and 1 1/2 tsp of pistachio flavoring? I ordered freeze dried strawberry powder for the frosting. These are beautiful and pistachio is one of my favorite flavors!
We haven’t tested these cupcakes with that product, but you could try using 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon almond extract, and 1/2 teaspoon pistachio extract. Let us know how it turns out for you!
Hi Sally, I am looking to make these this weekend. Are the pistachios supposed to be roasted or unroasted? Thank you!
You can use either one, Zack!
I made these for my mom’s birthday today, and I can’t believe how amazingly perfect they are. They may be my new favorite cupcake. I never even thought of using pistachio in cupcakes before but oh my goodness what an incredible flavor… and combined with the strawberry frosting- it’s truly something special. I followed your recipe exactly, and they turned out perfect (as all your recipes do). I definitely recommend that drop of green food coloring. I think it really adds to the aesthetic! The only thing I did different, was made an Italian meringue buttercream, as I am not a huge fan of confectioner sugar based frostings. But I used the freeze dried strawberry trick in my Italian meringue and it worked beautifully! (I also made your lemon cupcakes, but with a blackberry Swiss meringue cream cheese buttercream and a blackberry compote sauce to drizzle on top and they were divine too!) Thank you once again for such amazing recipes! They really made my mom’s birthday one to remember!
★★★★★
I’ve made these cupcakes twice for my family – they love it! Instead of the strawberry frosting, I followed your recipe for cream cheese frosting and topped with some more pistachio crumbs.
★★★★★
Hi Sally! Will the frosting work with freeze dried blueberries (for blue frosting), instead of strawberries? Thank you!
Hi Catherine, you sure can. Happy baking!
HI Sally! I am looking forward to making this. I only have lightly salted pistachios will that work?
Hi Tiffany, You can certainly try them. Feel free to leave out the added 1/4 tsp of salt if you wish. Enjoy!
Hi sally,
I love all of your recipes! Do you think full fat yogurt would be a good substitute for the sour cream?
Thanks
Alex
Absolutely! A 1:1 substitution.
Hi Sally,
I read this recipe three times to make sure you are actually grinding shelled pistachios. I tried 6 inch cake using shelled pistachios wondering how they are going to be soft once baked. And my fear came true, entire cake is full of shells. Tastes amazing but because of this I’ve to throw this away.
Did I miss something here??
Hi Neelima, shelled pistachios mean they have been shelled, meaning removed from their shell. If you try the recipe again, you only need to grind the shelled nut.
This recipe is delicious! My husband loves pistachio desserts and I made these for his birthday. I was a little hesitant with the strawberry frosting but it was a great combination! I will definitely make these again 🙂
★★★★★
Made this recipe as a 6in cake for My father in law for Father’s Day. It was a huge hit. I couldn’t find freeze dried strawberries, so I did have to use a different buttercream recipe using fresh strawberries, but it was still perfect! Thanks for another awesome recipe!
★★★★★
Hi Sally,
I don’t have sour cream or whole milk on hand… I do however have buttermilk. Can I sub the 1/2 cup of whole milk and 1/3 cup sour cream with 1 cup of buttermilk?
Thanks!
Hi Sinthu, you can use 1 cup (240ml) of buttermilk to replace the 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of sour cream.
Hey Sally,
Your’s is the only blog I follow for all my baking. Now I’m planning to make this but I don’t have Almond extract handy and I dont think I will be able to buy. So is it ok if I just avoid almond extract???
Hi Sabana, you can skip the almond extract but you will lose that flavor. No need to replace with anything unless you want a stronger vanilla flavor or use another extract you have/love.
Hi Sally! Wanted to make this for mothers day! Could it be made into a 6 inch layer cake?
Yes! See my post on 6 Inch Cakes for baking instructions.
I love all things pistachio and these were absolutely amazing! I only had oatmilk on hand and it still tasted great and was incredibly moist. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!
★★★★★
When I read over this recipe, I had no idea that shelled, unsalted pistachios would be so difficult to find on the coast of Georgia. Finally after 4 groceries, I found a bag of unsalted, but I spent an hour shelling them. The cupcakes were well worth all the trouble. Super delicious.
My next issue was the strawberry icing. I had just ordered an icing kit from Wilton, but the instructions were not made for this wimp. I finally pulled up a U tube video done by Wilton to help me with the icing. I still had trouble finding the couplet, (still not sure if I even used it)screwing it on, and finding the right tip. Needless to say, my cupcakes DO NOT look like yours. How about a tutorial on using a decorating kit! I need lots of help!
★★★★★
Hi Sally, would using a pistachio extract be better than an almond extract for this? I was planning on filling the cupcakes with a pistachio pudding and topping with simple whipped cream frosting. I want to make sure the pistachio flavour comes through.
I’ve never tried pistachio extract! (Nor seen it anywhere!) You can certainly try it here though.
Oh Sally, I just ant to bake these right now, but all I have are salted pistachios!! If I leave out additional salt might that work? Thank you for always inspiring !
Yes, you can try it that way. I hope you love them!
love love love this recipe!
was looking at using a new different flavour to add to a 3 tiered engagement cake I made over the weekend.
I used this recipe for my 6′ top tier, included the strawberry buttercream to fill in between my 2 layers.
this was by far the most popular flavour out of the 3 on Saturday.
My soon to be bride has said that this flavour MUST be part of the wedding cake!
I am so thankful that you are providing such delicious and easy to use recipes.
This recipe will be added to my cake recipe repertoire x
★★★★★
Hi Sally-
My 11-year old daughter and I made these cupcakes today with your strawberry icing recipe, and they are fantastic–the whole family loves them. Hands down the best strawberry icing recipe I’ve ever had. I will definitely be making this strawberry icing recipe again in the future.
★★★★★
Hi Sally, I absolutely loved loved this recipe! I’ve tried other Pistachio Cake recipes and by far this one is a keeper I did alter the recipe a bit, instead of almond extract I used rose water and instead of milk I used buttermilk (made it at home). I also used the cake flour recipe and made my own, sifted twice just like you said. Also, I made a Rose water glaze instead of frosting.. Rose water, Confectioners Sugar and a bit of milk. Then garnished with the remaining pistachio crumbs! The cake was amazing!!!!
★★★★★
Hi Sally!! I am obsessed with all your recipes, especially the pistachio flavored ones (the secret weapon is truly the almond extract) Just looking for some advice, would this recipe go weel with a white chocolate buttercream? Or, do you think that may be to sweet?
Thank you, Brittney! I think they would go well together. Enjoy!
I made these as a six inch cake and it was perfect! The amount of batter was perfect for three pans and there was enough frosting as well, but not too much. I’m always a bit wary with almond extract as it can be overpowering, but this amount complimented the pistachio flavor really well. I decorated the cake with chopped pistachios and pieces of freeze dried strawberries for even more color and it looked AND tasted amazing!
★★★★★
Oh my! I just made these for Mother’s Day. My mom, aunt, and grown sons LOVED them. I made w your blackberry cream cheese icing and the combo w complex and divine. Wonderful thanks so much!
Wish I could post a pic..
★★★★★
These turned out awesome! Used your blackberry cream cheese frosting instead, delicious! Thanks for your awesome recipes and help!
Hey Sally, I have a pistachio paste, made of 100% pistachio, no sugar added. Any idea how much I would have to use instead of the fresh nuts? I would love to bake more with pistachio.
Hi Tina! I haven’t tested this recipe with that product, so this is all just what I would try first– maybe 3-4 Tbsp? Please let me know how the pistachio cupcakes turn out. I’m curious!
Hey Sally, so I made the cupcakes with the pistachio paste and while I can’t compare it to the original, I think it worked well. I used about 80g of the paste (maybe three tablespoons) and the cupcakes taste subtly like pistachio. They are maybe slightly more dense than what you’ve described but they are still fluffy.
Are these raw or roasted pistachios? I can’t wait to make these but my stores don’t carry Diamond and I’m not sure what to purchase.
You can use either one, Kim!
HI sally
I made these pistachio cupcakes and got raves from my fellow work colleagues. The smell from the ground pistachios was fabulous it like a strong almond flavor but better. I did enhanced my cup cake with a bit of green coloring food gel, it gave a lovely color balance. Where I am from we do not have freeze dried strawberry so I made cream cheese frosting that blended well with the cupcakes. Another well tested recipes
Hi Sally!
Do the the pistachios have to be shelled or can I just buy the nut meats?
Thanks!
By shelled I mean already de-shelled 🙂
Hi Sally,
I just made these this weekend and the cupcakes were absolutely delish! The frosting on the other hand was super sweet and it kind of tasted like I was eating strawberry flavored confectioner’s sugar. Do you think that if next time I put less confectioner’s sugar in, the recipe will turn out ok just less sweet? I really want to try this again because the cupcake itself was really just so good.Thanks so much!
You can use less sugar next time, yes! Or more strawberry dust, less sugar.
Hi Sally,
New reader and baker! I made these cupcakes for my fiance on Valentine’s Day and they turned out beautifully! I’m in shock that my first turn at baking from-scratch cupcakes was a success! It’s a testament to your recipes, I’m sure. My fiance (and I) loved them so much, I am planning on making these (or some variation) for a groom’s cake for our rehearsal dinner in September. I’ll be keeping an eye out on the blog for other ideas along the way!
Thanks for sharing !