This pistachio croissant recipe will show you how to make the most delicious, light, flaky, and perfectly buttery pistachio croissants, completely from scratch – and made with real pistachios! With detailed, step-by-step instructions, you’ll learn how to master croissant dough and create authentic, French croissants right in your own kitchen. As with all of my recipes, I use sourdough starter instead of yeast, so these are true sourdough croissants! If you’d prefer to make these without sourdough starter, please check the recipe notes below.

Looking for more sourdough baking recipes? Check out my Beginner Sourdough Bread, Easy Sourdough Bagels, or this delicious Chocolate Marbled Sourdough Bread.

Have you ever made croissants from scratch before? Adapted from my classic homemade sourdough croissants, this pistachio croissant recipe combines rich pistachios, a touch of almond extract, and an optional green layer to create a beautiful bicolored croissant with swirls of green. The pistachio pastry cream filling is also totally optional, but it takes this croissant to a whole new level and is DEFINITELY worth the extra effort.

This guide will take you step-by-step through making light, flaky, buttery croissants with real pistachios. You’ll learn how to laminate dough with two distinct colors and whip up a rich pistachio pastry cream to fill each one with a burst of rich nutty flavor. The ingredients are simple, like active sourdough starter, flour, milk, and pistachios, and you’ll need a few kitchen staples like a stand mixer and rolling pin. Whether you’re just starting your croissant journey or refining your technique, these pistachio croissant beauties are a joy to make and even better to eat.

My Homemade Pistachio Croissant Video

Pistachios are having a moment. From the viral Dubai chocolate bar that took the internet by storm and sparked a pistachio cream shortage, to the mesmerizing mukbangs featuring pistachio croissant rolls overflowing with rich pistachio cream filling, this humble green nut is trending hard across the dessert world. Pistachios have long been a favorite in desserts, especially in French, Italian, Persian, and Turkish cuisines, and right now, they’re taking center stage in some of the most creative and crave-worthy pastries out there.

If you love pistachios and pistachio-inspired treats, you are going to be obsessed with these croissants!

Pistachio croissant crumb shot with pistachio pastry cream filling.

Why You’ll Love These Homemade Pistachio Croissants

They’re light and flaky: This recipe yields 8 artisan bakery-quality croissants. They’re flaky, perfectly buttery, with a crispy exterior and beautiful honeycomb open crumb. If you dream of waking up in Paris and enjoying authentic French croissants, then this recipe is for you!
Made with REAL pistachios: I use chopped pistachios for the dough and pistachio butter (for the pastry cream). This recipe also calls for almond extract to add an extra burst of flavor. Just simple ingredients, nothing artificial!
They’re pretty AND delicious: You’ll learn how to make a beautiful bi-color dough! These croissants have an dark green layer on top to create a swirl effect when shaped.
Sourdough: These croissants are made with sourdough starter (naturally leavened). Sourdough adds depth of flavor and the nutritious and gut healthy benefits of natural fermentation!

Equipment for Homemade Croissants

Homemade croissants can be made without any special equipment. In fact, you probably have everything you need to get started today. All that’s required is a stand mixer, rolling pin, ruler, and a sharp knife – along with some elbow grease and patience. While those are the basics, here’s a complete list with some additional items that I find helpful to have.

Stand mixer: Used for preparing the initial dough on day one and for mixing the optional green layer of dough.
Rolling pin: A rolling pin is used extensively throughout croissant making in order to laminate the dough and create the layers of butter throughout.
Knife: A sharp knife or pizza wheel cutter are best for slicing the dough throughout the process, and for shaping the croissants on the last day.
Ruler: You’ll do lots of measuring throughout so make sure to have a ruler handy.
Kitchen scale: This is optional but I find it extremely helpful to have a digitical kitchen scale for all of my baking needs, from croissants to sourdough bread.
Pastry brush: I use this to apply the egg wash on the croissants just prior to baking.
Plastic wrap: Plastic wrap is your friend in croissant making. You’ll use it to wrap the dough throughout the entire recipe, and it makes the whole process much easier.

Ingredients for Homemade Pistachio Croissants:

Flour: I recommend using all-purpose flour for the best results. Alternatively, you can use a 50/50 mix of all-purpose flour and bread flour.
Pistachios: I use blanched, peeled pistachios for this recipe.
Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness to the dough and helps to create a soft texture and crispy exterior.
Salt: Salt is essential for developing flavor in croissant dough and it also and helps to control the fermentation process.
Sourdough starter: My croissant recipe calls for active sourdough starter that is 100% hydration (this means that it’s fed equal amounts of flour and water).
Water: Make sure to use room-temperature water.
Milk: Use whole milk for this recipe and make sure to bring it to room temperature.
Butter: Use unsalted butter, cut into cubes.
Butter for the butter block: Butter may be the most important ingredient for croissants! It’s important to use a high-quality European butter that is 84-86% butterfat. I use Kerry Gold’s unsalted butter blocks (not their butter sticks, they don’t work as well for some reason).
Optional, Active dry yeast: This is an optional ingredient. Adding a small amount (0.2%) of active dry yeast can help achieve more consistent results without losing any of the gut-healthy benefits of a natural fermentation from sourdough starter.
Pistachio Butter: I like to make pistachio butter from scratch by blanching pistachios, peeling them, and then blending in a food processor or blender until smooth and creamy. That said, it’s a TON of work to make pistachio butter. When I don’t feel like making it from scratch, I love getting the pistachio butter from Wilderness Poets, it’s amazing.
Olive green food coloring: This is be used to create the olive green top layer on the dough to create a bicolored croissant. I like to use the all natural plant based food colorings from this brand.

Inside of pistachio croissant with pistachio pastry cream filling.

How to Make Homemade Pistachio Croissants

Day 1: Prepare The Dough

The first step is to make your base croissant dough, also known as a detrempe. This dough will be used to encase the butter later on when you begin the lamination process. The base dough process is pretty simple and just includes some basic ingredients.

Mix the dough: Add the flour, water, sourdough starter, sugar, milk, almond extract, salt, and the optional yeast. Mix on low speed for 1 minute. Add the butter and mix for 3-4 minutes, until the dough is smooth. Optional: To create a bicolor dough, remove the dough and separate out 20% (roughly 225g) to create a second dough. Add this smaller dough back to the mixer with your preferred olive green food coloring and mix until you achieve an olive green color to your liking.
First rise: Cover both doughs and let rise for 3-6 hours until they increase by 1.5x in size. Transfer to the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight (8-12 hours). This time spent in the fridge allows the dough to relax before the lamination process begins.

Day 2: Laminate The Dough

On day two, you will laminate the dough, the process of creating layers of butter through repeated rolling and folding. This is the very heart of croissant making and results in their classic flaky texture and rich buttery flavor.

Butter block on pistachio croissant dough, ready to be folded in.

Prepare the butter block: Stack the butter side by side on a sheet of parchment paper, fold up the parchment paper, and use a rolling pin to form into a ½’’ thick butter block square.
Roll out the dough: Transfer the main dough from the fridge to a floured surface and roll out into a large rectangle, twice the size of the butter block.
Lock in the butter: Place the butter in the center of the dough and fold over the sides to seal it in.
First turn (book fold): Roll the dough out into a long rectangle and then fold it into thirds like a letter. This creates 4 layers in the dough and is known as the “book fold.”
Second Turn: Roll the dough out again and fold into thirds. This is referred to as the “simple turn” and triples the layers in the dough.
Pre-shape: Roll the dough into a 14’’ x 17’’ rectangle, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

Rollig pistachio croissant dough on table.

Raw pistachio ccroissant shaped and ready to proof.

Day 3: Shaping and Baking

Slice the dough: Slice the dough into four 4’’x14’’ rectangles, then slice each rectangle into triangles. Roll the triangles into croissants.
Final proof: Proof the croissants at room temperature or in a proofing box/countertop oven with a proof setting until jiggly and doubled in size.
Bake: Apply the egg wash and bake the croissants for 25-30 minutes at 375F, until golden brown.

Pouring creamy pistachio butter from blender into bowl.

What is the Secret to a Good Croissant?

High quality butter: The process of creating layers of butter in dough, referred to as, lamination, is the heart of croissant making. It’s important to use a high quality European butter with a fat content between 84% – 86%. Butter with a higher fat content has a few advantages. It’s richer in flavor and it’s more pliable, making it and less likely to “shatter” during the lamination process. I like to use Kerrygolds’ butter blocks, but feel free to use the best quality butter you have access to.
High protein flour: Croissants require a high protein flour beweeen 11% and 13% to create a strong dough that can develop the classic light, airy flaky layers we’re after. My preferred choice is King Arthur’s all purpose flour which comes in at 11.7% protein.
Temperature: It’s essential to keep the dough and butter chilled throughout the lamination process in croissant making. Be sure to follow the recommend chill times in the refrigerator and freezer.

If You Love Pistachio Croissants, Try These Recipes Next:

Homemade Pistachio Croissants Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Here’s how to make pistachio croissants from scratch, with step-by-step instructions. Made with REAL pistachios, these homemade pistachio croissants are flaky, perfectly buttery, and bursting with rich pistachio flavor.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time:1

Cook Time:18

Chill/Fermentation Time:2

Total Time:2 1 18

Course: Breakfast, Desserts, Pastry

Keyword: Pistachio Croissants

Servings:

Author: sourdoughjesha

Ingredients

Croissant Dough (Détrempe) Ingredients

600 g (4 ¾ cups) all-purpose flour
65 g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
12 g (2 teaspoons) salt
60 g (¼ cup) active sourdough starter 100% hydration*
205 g (1 cup) water, room temperature
112 g (½ cup) whole milk, room temperature
56 g (¼ cup) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, chilled
⅛ – ¼ teaspoon almond extract you can use pistachio extract instead if you have that!

Optional Ingredients:

1.5 g (½ teaspoon) active dry yeast (0.2%)
Olive green food coloring to make the top layer dark green and to color the main dough if desired. I use the all natural plant based food colorings from this brand.
1 – 2 tablespoons (10-20g) finely chopped pistachios for topping on the croissants.

Butter Block:

340 g 1 ½ cup unsalted butter 84-86% butterfat (I used Kerrygold)

Egg Wash

1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp heavy cream

Pistachio Pastry Cream,

500 g 2 cups whole milk
67 g ⅓ cups granulated sugar
40 g 4 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
¼ teaspoons salt
30 – 45 g 2 -3 tablespoons pistachio paste/pistachio butter.

Instructions

Day 1: Prepare the Croissant Dough (Détrempe)

Make the dough (détrempe): In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, sugar, salt, milk, sourdough starter, and optional active dry yeast. (Note: adding a tiny percentage of active dry yeast can help achieve a proper fermentation process without taking away any of the benefits of sourdough! If you do not have a sourdough starter but would still like to make these croissants with yeast, see the notes below). Using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed for 1 minute. Add the butter, then continue mixing—scraping down the sides as needed—until the dough is smooth, about 3–4 minutes.
600 g (4 ¾ cups) all-purpose flour, 65 g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar, 12 g (2 teaspoons) salt, 60 g (¼ cup) active sourdough starter 100% hydration*, 205 g (1 cup) water, room temperature , 112 g (½ cup) whole milk, room temperature , 56 g (¼ cup) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, chilled , ⅛ – ¼ teaspoon almond extract, 1.5 g (½ teaspoon) active dry yeast (0.2%)
(Optional) Make the dark green dough: Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and cut off roughly 20% of it (about 225g). Place that smaller 225g portion back into the mixing bowl and add your preferred olive green food coloring to achieve an olive green color. Mix until the color is evenly incorporated.
Olive green food coloring to make the top layer dark green and to color the main dough
First rise: Place both doughs onto a lightly floured surface and shape each into a ball. Place each dough into a separate bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until they have increased in volume by roughly 1.5x (approximately 3 – 6 hours). Once your doughs are done rising, transfer both to the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight (~12 hours). This allows the dough time to relax before the lamination steps begin.
Make the butter block: Begin by laying a large sheet of parchment paper flat on your work surface. Arrange the sticks of butter side by side in the center, then fold the parchment over the butter to fully enclose it. Flip the packet so the seams are facing down. Using a rolling pin, gently pound the butter into a ½-inch thick slab. Remove the butter from the parchment paper and re-wrap the butter, measuring the parchment paper so that it forms an 8’’ square. The ½’’ butter layer should be smaller than the 8’’ parchment paper square. Flip it over again, then continue pressing or rolling the butter until it fills the parchment and forms a neat 8-inch x 8-inch square. Chill the finished butter block in the fridge so that it firms up. Tip: Check out this helpful video from Claire Saffitz that walks you through making a butter block from scratch
340 g 1 ½ cup unsalted butter 84-86% butterfat (I used Kerrygold)

Day 2: Laminating the Dough

Prepare the dough for laminating: The following day, take the main dough out of the fridge and set it on a floured surface. Gently press it down with your hand to deflate, then shape it into a square. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, then use a rolling pin to roll it into a flat 8’’ x 8’’ square. Transfer the wrapped dough to the freezer and chill for 20 minutes. Video: Preparing the Dough.
Roll the dough: Take the butter block out of the refrigerator and the dough out of the freezer. Unwrap the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out—adding more flour as needed—until it’s 16 inches long, keeping the width at 8 inches.
Lock in the butter: Place the butter block directly in the center of the rolled-out dough and carefully peel off the parchment paper. The butter should be aligned with the edges of the dough, leaving equal overhang at the top and bottom. Fold those overhanging sections over the butter so the ends meet in the middle—gently stretch the dough if needed to close the gap. Press the seam to seal, then pinch the open sides to fully enclose the butter in the dough. Video: Locking in the butter.
First turn: Rotate the dough so the seam is facing vertically. Roll it out lengthwise into a 24-inch long sheet, about ¼ to ½ inch thick. Use a knife or dough cutter to trim the short ends, creating a neat rectangle with clean, straight edges on all four sides. Take the short edge farthest from you and fold it toward the center, aligning it carefully. Press down lightly so the dough adheres. Repeat with the opposite edge, leaving a small ⅛-inch gap between the two folded sides. Then, fold the entire dough in half along that gap, bringing the top section down over the bottom. You should now have a rectangular packet—often called a “book”—with four distinct layers. This method is known as the “first turn” or “book fold,” and it multiplies the butter layers by four. Video: First Turn – Book Fold.
Rest the dough: Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for 1 hour.
Add the olive green layer: Remove the olive green dough from the fridge and place it on a floured work surface. Roll the dough out so that it’s the same size square as your main dough (about 8’’x8’’). Now, remove the main dough from the fridge and place on your floured work surface. Using a spray bottle or damp pastry brush, gently dampen the top of the main dough with a little bit of water. Add the dark dough on top and gently beat with your rolling pin to make sure it sticks. Video: Adding a colored dough layer for bicolor croissants.
Preshape the dough: Flip the dough so the olive green layer is facing down against the work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll it out into a 14’’ x 17’’ rectangle. Wrap the dough and place it in the freezer for 20 minutes, then transfer it to the refrigerator to chill overnight for 8–12 hours.

Day 3: Shaping and Baking

Slice the dough: Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface. If necessary, re-roll the dough so that it’s a 14’’ x 17’’ rectangle. Carefully dust off any extra flour with a pastry brush. Use a knife or wheel cutter to trim any uneven edges so that you have a nice clean rectangle that’s exactly 14’’x16’’ now. Now slice the dough into four 4’’ x 14’’ rectangles. Starting with one rectangle, use a knife/wheel cutter and a ruler to slice a straight line from one corner of the rectangle to it’s opposite corner, creating two long equal triangles. Repeat the process with the remaining rectangles to create 8 triangles. Video: Shaping Croissants.
Add pistachios: Sprinkle the chopped pistachios on the exposed layer of your triangles.
1 – 2 tablespoons (10-20g) finely chopped pistachios for topping on the croissants.
Roll the croissants: Using a knife or pastry wheel, trim the base of each triangle to create a clean, straight edge—just enough to tidy it up without removing too much. Working with one triangle at a time, gently stretch the two bottom corners outward to widen the base to about 3 inches. Then, lightly run your fingers along the length of the triangle, pulling gently to elongate it. To roll, place the triangle on the table with the green side facing down and the plain side facing up. Starting at the base, roll the dough toward the tip to form a crescent shape. Repeat with all 8 triangles. Once shaped, place the croissants on a parchment-lined baking tray and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
Proof the croissants: There are two options for this step.
Option 1 – Room temperature proof: Proof at room temperature for 4-6 hours until the croissants are jiggly and have roughly doubled in size.
Option 2 – Faster proof with steam: Using a proofing box, countertop oven with a proof setting, or placing a pan filled with warm water in an oven to create steam, proof your croissants at 70F-75F for 2-3 hours until jiggly and doubled in size.
(Optional) Make the pastry cream: If you’d like to pipe your croissants with a delicious pistachio pastry cream, now is a great time to prepare it because the pastry cream needs to sit for about 3 hours before it’s ready to pipe. Use the Pistachio pastry cream recipe outlined below.
Preheat oven and chill croissants: Once your croissants are done proofing, preheat your oven to 375F. Transfer the croissants to the fridge to chill for 15-20 minutes.
Egg wash: In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and heavy cream. Remove your croissants from the fridge. Using a pastry brush, apply the egg wash to tops of the croissants on the olive green top layer of dough, not the exposed sides. Video: Egg Wash.
1 egg yolk, 1 Tbsp heavy cream
Bake the croissants: Bake the croissants for 15 minutes at 375F. Rotate the baking sheet and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until deep golden brown. Cool completely on baking sheets.
(Optional) Fill croissants: Fill a piping bag with the pistachio pastry cream. Once the croissants have cooled completely, use a skewer to poke a hole in the bottom side of each croissant by inserting the skewer three-quarters of the way inside the croissant and rotating a few times to widen the opening. Insert the piping tip into the croissant and fill with pistachio pastry cream until the cream begins to poke out of the hole.
Enjoy your delicious, homemade pistachio croissants!

Pistachio Pastry Cream

Heat the milk: Pour 375g (1.5 cups) of the milk into a saucepan, and heat over medium heat to bring it to a simmer. Don’t bring to a full boil.
Whisk the remaining ingredients: In a separate bowl, add the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, remaining milk, and salt and whisk it all together to form a mixture.
67 g ⅓ cups granulated sugar, 2 large egg yolks, 40 g 4 Tablespoons cornstarch
Pour in the milk: Once the milk reaches a simmer, remove it from the heat. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the steaming hot milk into the bowl with the mixture. This process is known as tempering eggs, and it prevents the eggs from curdling when combined with a hot liquid. Once the eggs have tempered, pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
Heat the mixture: Return the saucepan to the stove and heat over medium-high heat, whisking constantly until the mixture starts to thicken and bubbles form. Lower the heat and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Cover: Allow the pastry cream to cool for a few minutes, then place plastic wrap directly on top to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Add the pistachio butter: Remove the pastry cream from the fridge and pour in the pistachio butter. Fold it into to create a marbled pistachio pastry cream or use an electric hand mixer to fully incorprate the pistachio butter.

Notes

If you don’t have sourdough starter or would prefer to make traditional croissants without sourdough starter, you’ll need to make a few minor adjustments to the main dough recipe, but overall, the process is virtually the same.
1. Replace the sourdough starter with 7g of Active Dry Yeast.
2. Increase the water quantity to 212g (1 cup and 2 teaspoons).
3. Increase the milk quantity to 120g (½ cup and 2 teaspoons).
4. Reduce the First Rise time to roughly 1 hour.
5. All other steps are the same!

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