We can’t resist those beautiful green pistachio muffins when we pass by them at the grocery store bakery. These home-baked pistachio muffins are just as good and full of that nutty, slightly sweet pistachio flavor we all love Pistachio pudding mix adds amazing taste, but it also keeps the muffins perfectly moist.
Why Our Recipe
- Pistachio pudding mix makes these muffins extra moist and gives the perfect pistachio flavor.
- That bakery-style dome? We’ve got the trick to make it happen at home.
- Super simple ingredients and no fancy tools or special skills required!
If you’ve ever wondered how bakeries get their muffins to rise tall and fluffy, we’ve got the trick for you. You don’t need any special equipment or hard-to-find ingredients. Just mix, bake, and enjoy!
Ingredient Notes
- Salted Butter: If using unsalted butter, add an extra pinch of salt to the batter.
- Pistachio Instant Pudding Mix: The key ingredient for flavor and moisture. Be sure to use instant pudding mix, not the cook-and-serve kind.
- Baking Powder: Make sure yours is fresh (not expired) because this is what makes the muffins rise.
- Milk: Whole, 2%, and 1% are our preferences for the fat content, but technically skim milk and plant-based milk also works.
- All-Purpose Flour: Be sure to use all-purpose or bread flour here. They both work.
- Extra Sugar for Topping: Creates a lightly crunchy, bakery-style top. You can also swap this for coarse sugar if you want a nice crunch.
Pistachio Pudding Mix
When developing this recipe, we tested so many different ways to get that perfect pistachio flavor—including using real pistachios and even pistachio paste. But no matter how much we used, the flavor just wasn’t strong enough. Using a pudding mix intensifies the pistachio flavor while also adding a little bit of moisture that makes these muffins extra soft.
You can still add chopped pistachios to the batter for some extra crunch, but the pudding mix is what makes these muffins truly shine.
High Heat: The Secret to the Perfect Dome
The secret to that perfectly domed muffin top is to blast the muffin batter with super high heat when you first place it into the oven, and then let it finish baking at a slightly lower temperature. The high heat causes the steam in the muffins to release quickly, making the muffins puff up and create that perfect dome on top.
We start our muffins at 425 degrees F. After about 7 minutes, reduce the heat in the oven to 350 degrees F. Watch your muffins closely as they finish baking. Ovens vary slightly so your cooking time may vary as some ovens will brown the muffins more than others. Pull your muffins out of the oven as soon as they are golden brown on top.
Keep Muffins From Sticking
You can bake muffins directly in a muffin tin, or use paper liners. To keep the muffins from sticking, use a nonstick pan and lightly grease the pan with nonstick cooking spray. If using liners, spray the liners themselves with a light coating of nonstick cooking spray to keep the muffins from sticking to the wrapper.
Thick Batter Ahead
If you’re used to thinner muffin batters, you might be surprised by how thick this one is—but don’t worry, that’s exactly how it should be! It’s a dense batter that bakes up into soft, moist muffins with a perfect crumb.
Because the batter is thick, resist the urge to overmix. Stir just until everything is combined—overmixing can make the muffins dense instead of light and fluffy. When scooping the batter into the muffin tin, a cookie scoop or two spoons will help make it easier to divide evenly.
Storage & Freezing Instructions
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days. If your kitchen is warm or humid, they’ll stay fresher longer in the fridge.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Warm them up in the microwave for 10–15 seconds before serving for that fresh-baked feel.
To freeze, let them cool completely, then place them in a freezer-safe bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or pop one in the microwave for 20–30 seconds until warm.
More delicious muffin flavors…
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
We loved the flavor of these muffins and they had a lovely dome on them. However, like others we found them heavy and dense. Next time I will either use less flour or add more milk. I am experienced cook so I took great care in measuring my flour and did not pack it down. It would be helpful if you gave the weight of the flour that you use, as not all flours are the same, even the all-purpose ones.
Adjust for 5,000 ft altitude. 450 for 7 minutes then 375 for 15 minutes.
Delicious! I added 1/2 teaspoon almond extract in addition to the vanilla extract.
The advertisement said bakery muffins so I thought they’d be bakery size. They’re actually just standard muffins. They taste really good and looked perfect. I used bakery size papers so next time I’d double the recipe in order to give them the size needed.
These were good but the recipe needs some tweaks. The batter is very dense which extends cooking time. I will add maybe 1/3 to 1/2 cup more milk or sub buttermilk instead to thin it out. Also, addition of almond extract, extra chopped pistachios and maybe some dried chopped cranberries would be nice.
These are so good! My family loves them. Definitely use less flour, I took the advice from another reader and use 1 1/3 cup of flour instead of 2 cups and they are more moist and delicious!
I took two pieces of advice from the comments that worked well: I used 1 and 1/3 cups flour instead of 2, and 1/2 tsp almond extract and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract instead of 1 tsp vanilla. Despite cutting back on the flour this was still a very thick batter that was a bit challenging, so I ended up adding a couple extra splashes of milk. I skipped the sugar crystals on top and baked for about 20 minutes altogether, and they were quite delicious.
I have made these twice & they really do look & taste like a bakery muffin! So good!
I gave 4 stars because they tasted great but they didn’t seem right. I carefully measured everything and followed the recipe to a T. The batter had the consistency of Play-Doh but I tried baking them anyway. They need to be cooked at a lower temp I think. The tops were slightly crispy (in a good way) but the middle was still completely raw. I’d say to keep the temp at 350 and check on them with a toothpick after 25 minutes then turn the temp up to 425 for 5-10 minutes to get the perfect crispy top
Make sure everything( ingredients) is at room temperature . Spoon flour into your measuring cup. They come out perfect this way! Also, I used Almond extract on my second recipe instead of vanilla and they came out way more delicious!!!! Enhanced the pistachio flavor:
Perfect every time! These are a family favorite. I make them often.
Has anyone made mini muffins with this recipe? How long baking time did you use?