Pistachios aren’t just a healthy snack, they’re also uniquely delicious. In fact, people have been eating these tasty seeds since 7000 BC, and they were once considered the food of royalty! You can find them year-round, and they’re great toasted, salted, or just right out of the shell. It’s easy to add pistachios to your everyday diet. And we’ve made it even easier with this list of 40 healthy and filling pistachio recipes.
8 Health Benefits of Pistachios
Pistachios not only taste great, but they also have some surprising health benefits.
- Source of antioxidants – Pistachios are loaded with antioxidants. In fact, they contain more antioxidants than most nuts or seeds. When your diet contains enough antioxidants, you can help to reduce free radicals, prevent cell damage, as well as lessen the signs of aging.
- Help with weight loss – If you’re focused on losing weight, adding pistachios to your diet may help. High levels of protein and dietary fiber can help you reach your goals faster by helping you to feel fuller, longer. In fact, it’s been shown that people who regularly eat pistachios as well as other nuts, have a lower body mass.
- Boost eye health – Pistachios contain nutrients called carotenoids, which can reduce the risk of eye disease. Adding pistachios to your diet can help rebuild damaged cells in the eyes. The higher the level of carotenoids, the more you can help to reduce your risk of degenerative eye diseases such as macular degeneration or cataracts.
- Promote healthy gut bacteria – By eating plenty of dietary fiber, you can keep food moving through your digestive system which improves your gut health. Pistachios are a great source of dietary fiber and can help you achieve a healthy gut. A healthy gut means that you reduce your chances of developing certain cancers, digestive disorders, or heart disease.
- Reduce the risk of heart disease – Pistachios are an important part of a heart-healthy diet. Just by adding one serving of pistachios each day to your diet, you can improve arterial flexibility. This means that your heart does not have to work as hard and can pump more efficiently, which then reduces your risk of heart disease such as coronary heart disease.
- Source of plant protein – It’s not always easy to find non-animal sources of protein. Pistachios are a great source of plant-based protein and contain 6 grams of protein per every 1 oz serving. Getting enough protein in your diet matters when it comes to regrowing and rebuilding your muscles. Eating pistachios has also been shown to help reduce muscle soreness after a workout.
- Help to lower cholesterol – But choosing pistachios, you can help reduce your cholesterol levels. The unsaturated fat that they contain lowers your LDL or “bad” cholesterol and raises your HDL or “good” cholesterol. By improving your cholesterol, you can then improve how your heart pumps blood through your body.
- Control blood sugar levels – Pistachios have a low glycemic index, and because of this they can help you reduce your blood sugar levels. This means they reduce your chances of having a spike in your blood sugar. Adding them to your diet can be particularly helpful for those who have pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, or metabolic syndrome.
4 Tips for Cooking and Baking with Pistachios
Consider these 4 tips the next time you cook or bake with pistachios.
- Save time – You can save time when baking or cooking with pistachios by buying them already shelled. However, if you can’t buy them pre-shelled, you can use a garlic press, a coin, or a small knife to pop open the shells.
- Add more flavor – If you want to heighten the flavor of pistachios in your dish, simply toast them lightly in a pan or in the oven before adding them to whatever you’re making.
- Preserving their color – If you want to preserve their green color, be sure to sprinkle them on baked goods after they’re done baking. If you do need to bake them, bake at a lower temperature to reduce color change.
- Flavor compliments – Certain ingredients help to compliment pistachio’s flavor in baked goods. This includes spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, fresh and dried apricots, and floral scents like lavender and rose water.
10 Breakfast Pistachio Recipes
- Pistachio Oatmeal | How Sweet Eats
- Cranberry Pistachio Granola Bars | Table for Two
- Cranberry Pistachio Sticky Buns | Taste of Home
- Blueberry Pistachio Breakfast Cookies | The Salty Marshmallow
- Jessica’s Pistachio Oat Squares | Love & Lemons
- Overnight Oats With Pistachios | Kroll’s Korner
- Cherry and Pistachio Yogurt Breakfast Bowl | Tara Teaspoon
- Pistachio Latte Oatmeal | A Taste of Madness
- Raspberry Pistachio Breakfast Wreath | Savory
- Pistachio and Walnut Baklava Oatmeal | Quisine Queen B
10 Lunch Pistachio Recipes
- Pistachio Strawberry Salad | Spend with Pennies
- Warm Apple and Pistachio Spinach Salad | Taste of Home
- Asparagus Goat Cheese and Pistachio Flatbread | Two Peas and Their Pod
- Pistachio Hummus | Sharon Palmer
- Beet Salad With Feta and Pistachios | Feasting at Home
- Crunchy Pistachio Chicken Salad | Milk and Honey Nutrition
- Kale Pesto Mushroom Pistachio Bowels | Love & Lemons
- Pistachio Twists | Allrecipes
- Sicilian Pasta With Creamy Pistachio Sauce | Mangia Bedda
- Salmon With Horseradish Pistachio | Taste of Home
10 Dinner Pistachio Recipes
- Farro With Pistachios, Mixed Herbs, and Golden Raisins | Epicurious
- Pistachio Crusted Chicken | The Wholesome Dish
- Pistachio Crusted Baked Cod | Chef Julie RD
- Instant Pot Cranberry Pistachio Jasmine Rice | Flavour and Savour
- Sicilian Ricotta and Pistachio Pasta | The Pasta Project
- Creamy Broccoli Pistachio Soup | Sugar Free Londoner
- Roasted Brussel Sprouts With Balsamic, Pistachios and Cranberries | Five Heart Home
- Pistachio Mint Pesto | Tori Avey
- Red Quinoa With Pistachios | Epicurious
- Roasted Spiced Carrots With Pistachios | Garlic & Zest
10 Dessert Pistachio Recipes
- Honey Pistachio Ice Cream | The Spruce Eats
- Black Pepper Pistachio Ice Cream | The Endless Meal
- Pistachio Lassi | Total Feasts
- Holiday Pistachio Bread | Margin Making Mom
- Watergate Salad | Insanely Good
- Pistachio Cake | The Spruce Eats
- Easy Italian Pistachio Cookies | An Italian In My Kitchen
- Pistachio Cannolis | Olive
- Pistachio Drop Cookies | Sally’s Baking Addiction
- Buttery Pistachio Brittle | Land O Lakes
We hope you have fun going nuts over these 40 healthy and filling pistachio recipes!
