Layers of crispy phyllo dough, a delightful, cinnamon-y filling, all coated in honey syrup. This Pistachio Baklava is a great twist on a classic, with a blend of walnuts and pistachios for the filling.
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If you have ever been served a plate of delicate, crispy, sweet pistachio baklava, dripping with simple syrup that melts perfectly in your mouth–chances are it’s a dessert your mind has wandered back to a few times.
Who can resist wanting to bite into one of those perfectly crisp squares or diamond shapes, soaked with sweet sugar syrup and filled with colorful pistachios and the subtle flavor of walnuts?
If your mouth isn’t watery yet, it should be!
Baklava is the perfect, light, and flaky dessert. With a mixture of pistachio nuts and walnuts carefully cradled in thin phyllo dough, it is the perfect blend of nutty, sweet, and crispy. It is perfect for anyone who wants something sweet but not overwhelming.
Delicious pistachio baklava also looks beautiful. It’s easy to cut into fun shapes and all the layers make it look extravagant. It’s the perfect dessert to serve at family gatherings or any special occasion.
The truth is, making pistachio baklava does take some effort, but it is an effort worth taking. Maybe effort is the wrong word… It takes patience. Phyllo dough can be tricky to work with and piling all the layers may take time–but it is time well spent!
When you make a homemade version, you control the ingredients and when you have complete control it is bound to taste better than any store-bought option. Fresh out of the oven, hot and crispy, it really can’t be beaten!
Recipe Origins
As we learned in our history of Greece, modern-day Greece was, at one point, closely intertwined with Turkey. Because of their histories, it’s no surprise that the two countries can’t agree on which was the creator of baklava.
It seems that baklava has been a joint effort around the world, with each country that experienced it adding its own unique flair.
The Greeks made the recipe with phyllo dough, the very thin dough that we use in this recipe.
It is thought that Armenians added the use of cinnamon and cloves and that the Arabian peninsula added rose water or orange blossom water to the recipe.
This recipe for Pistachio Baklava includes the typical walnuts, but it also has the addition of pistachios! I love pistachio desserts (these Pistachio Cookies are one of my favorite recipes on my site) and this Pistachio Baklava is no different!
Why Make This Recipe
- “Travel” to Greece: Greece is one of the most amazing destinations to visit, and one of the reasons is because Greek food is just amazing. If you want to try Greek food at home, you can! Just follow the recipe below.
- Mixed Nuts: This recipe features a blend of walnuts and pistachios for the perfect baklava filling!
- Not Too Sweet: My problem with store-bought baklava is that it’s often too sweet and too thick, coating your hands and overpowering the phyllo crunch and nut taste. The syrup in this baklava recipe is not too thick, which means it’s the perfect blend for your homemade Pistachio Baklava!
What Do I Need to Make this Recipe
Ingredients
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Pistachios: Unroasted, unsalted pistachios. Do not get salted pistachios. You can buy these in the bulk section of your local grocery store.
- Walnuts: Unroasted, unsalted walnuts. Do not get salted walnuts.
- Phyllo Dough: You can normally find this in the freezer section of your grocery store. Allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before making your Pistachio Baklava.
- Lemon Juice: Use freshly squeezed juice if you can, but pre-bottled lemon juice will also work.
Instructions
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Step 1: Make the Nut Filling
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add the pistachios to a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Remove the pistachios from the food processor, then add the walnuts and pulse again until the walnuts are roughly chopped.
Put the pistachios and walnuts in a bowl, then add the cinnamon, cloves, and granulated sugar and mix to combine. Set aside.
Step 2: Make the Syrup
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine water and sugar. Mix until the sugar dissolves into the water and becomes a light syrup.
Then add the honey. Whisk again and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the pot to a simmer and allow it to cook for another 25 minutes.
Once the 25 minutes is up, remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. Add the lemon juice and mix to combine. Set aside.
Step 3: Assemble
Melt the butter. Then use a pastry brush to brush the bottom and sides of a 9×13 glass dish with the melted butter.
Lay a sheet of phyllo dough in the glass pan, then brush the phyllo dough with melted butter. Place another sheet of phyllo dough, then brush that with butter. Continue this process until you have laid down 7 sheets of phyllo dough.
Add the ground pistachios mixture on top of the phyllo dough, and use a spoon to make sure it lays flat.
Repeat the phyllo pastry sheets and butter layers again for another 7 layers on top of the nut mixture.
Brush the top layer of the remaining phyllo dough with butter. Then use a sharp knife to cut 3 equally spaced slices lengthwise. Cut diagonal lines width-wise to form triangles of baklava (see video/photos for more detail).
Step 4: Bake
Place the tray in the oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the phyllo dough is crispy.
When the pistachio baklava is done cooking, remove it from the oven. As soon as you do, pour the cooled syrup over the entire top of the baklava.
Allow the baklava to sit until completely cooled (at least one hour) before serving. You can sprinkle extra chopped nuts on top. Enjoy!
Characteristics of Perfect Baklava
When you are making baklava at home it may be easy to get caught up in how amazing it looks and tastes and forget what you love about authentic baklava. There are a few things you want to watch for to achieve the best baklava.
Did you know there are different types of baklava? I would consider Pistachio Baklava to be the most popular, but baklava is served in several different cultures and each has its own spin on the treat. For example:
- Golden Color: You want to make sure your baklava is baked until perfectly golden brown to ensure it will have the perfect bite.
- Buttery Flavor: Each layer of phyllo dough must be brushed with butter. This gives some separation between the layers which is important. Each individual layer is essentially fried in butter as it cooks.
- Plenty of Layers: Don’t skimp on the phyllo dough. It’s a lot of layers. Embrace it!
- Crisp but Moist: You want the syrup to penetrate the dish but not leave it soggy or dripping. You should hear a crunch when you bite into it but feel it gently melt in your mouth.
Expert Tips
- You can chop/grind the nuts in this recipe to your liking, but make sure not to grind them into a powder.
- You can sprinkle walnuts and pistachios in the center of each individual piece of baklava for garnishment or just dust them across the entire top. You can choose whichever way you like best for decoration!
- While assembling the pie, put a slightly damp (almost dry, but just a little wet) dish towel or paper towel over the phyllo dough. This will keep the dough from drying out and cracking while assembling.
- Phyllo dough rips very easily, so be careful when working with it. But also, don’t worry if you rip one or two pieces. Simply discard the bad pieces and use a fresh sheet instead.
- Make your pistachio baklava in advance. The dessert is best when it soaks in the honey overnight, so make it the night before you want to serve it!
Variations
- Turkish baklava is made with hazelnuts, walnuts, and almonds and is often served with ice cream.
- In Iran and Lebanon, you may find baklava spiced with cardamom, cinnamon, or orange blossoms.
Once you have nailed this recipe, feel free to try mixing it up. You can make baklava unique by cutting it into different shapes, adding warm spices like cloves and cinnamon, or trying out different nuts. Cashews, almonds, or hazelnuts would all be delicious. You could also try filling your baklava with cheese or chocolate for a nut-free version.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, certainly! Though walnuts and pistachios are the most common nuts in baklava, you can also use hazelnuts. I think it would also be fun to experiment with pecans, cashews or even macadamia nuts (like in these Easy Cocadas).
Pistachio Baklava is a dessert with a longer shelf-life than most. It will stay good either on the counter or in the fridge for up to two weeks as long as you store it in an airtight container! You’ll know that your pistachio baklava is going bad when it starts to dry up or feel stale.
If you want to freeze your dessert, you can! Wrap it up in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze it for up to four months.
You can reheat baklava in the oven at a low temperature. Set it to 300 degrees for 10 minutes to make it crisp again.
Baklava is typically served at room temperature, but if you wanted to heat it up for just a few seconds you could pair it with ice cream, gelato or a dash of cream.
You could also serve baklava as a side to a cup of tea (like this cinnamon tea!), coffee or Irish cream.
Baklava is also complimented very nicely by fresh fruit or a glass of cold milk to help balance the sweetness.
Because of the nutty base, baklava goes great with a charcuterie board and some wine.
Phyllo dough is typically sold in the frozen foods section of the grocery store. You may see it next to puff pastry dough. You may not find it if you search near refrigerated pie crusts.
Getting the timing just right for pouring your syrup can be difficult. You need to pour the syrup over the baklava while it is still hot but done baking. Allow it to cool completely before you try to cut into it or you risk the syrup sliding off, rather than soaking into the dough.
There are several ways to make sure your baklava comes out with the perfect crispy texture and not soggy.
The first tip is to make sure you pour cool syrup over hot baklava. Allow it to cool before you cut it.
You also want to make sure you don’t use too much butter. If your dough turns out soggy, use less butter next time.
I’ve also heard ghee is a great replacement for butter to give the perfect texture. I have not tried ghee, but you could experiment with it and see what you think.
If your baklava is already soggy it can be a hassle to try to fix it. You may be able to rescue it by removing as much of the syrup as you can (gently) and then placing it back in the oven for another 20 minutes at a very low temperature. Keep an eye on it. You don’t want it to get too tough being overbaked.
If you use too little butter or syrup you risk your baklava being too dry and falling apart. You can try chilling it to help the syrup set and keep the layers together.
- Loukoumades (Greek and Cypriot Honey Donut Recipes)
- Pistachio Pesto
- Fried Feta Cheese with Phyllo Dough and Honey
- Honey Cake Recipe
Did you enjoy this Pistachio Baklava recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
Pistachio Baklava
Equipment
- Medium Pot
- Knife
Ingredients
Assembly Ingredients
- 9 oz pistachios
- 9 oz walnuts
- ½ tbsp ground Cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground Cloves
- 2 tbsp granulated Sugar
- 14 sheets Phyllo dough
- ½ cup Butter, melted
Honey Syrup Ingredients
- ¾ cup Honey
- ¾ cup granulated Sugar
- 1 cup Water
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
Instructions
Make the Filling
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add the 9 oz of pistachios into a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Remove the pistachios from the food processor, then add the 9 oz of walnuts and pulse again until the walnuts are roughly chopped.
- Put the pistachios and walnuts in a bowl, then add the ½ tbsp of ground cinnamon, ⅛ tsp ground cloves, and 2 tbsp of granulated sugar and mix to combine. Set aside.
Make the Syrup
- In a medium pot, combine 1 cup water and ¾ cup granulated sugar. Mix until the sugar dissolves into the water.
- Then add the ¾ cup honey. Whisk again and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the pot to a simmer and allow it to cook for another 25 minutes.
- Once the 25 minutes is up, remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice and mix to combine. Set aide.
Assemble the Baklava
- Melt ½ cup butter. Then use a pastry brush to brush the bottom and sides of a 9×13 glass dish with the melted butter.
- Lay a sheet of phyllo dough in the glass pan, then brush the phyllo dough with melted butter. Place another sheet of phyllo dough, then brush that with butter. Continue this process until you have laid down 7 sheets of phyllo dough.
- Add the nut mixture on top of the phyllo dough, and use a spoon to make sure it lays flat.
- Repeat the phyllo dough and butter layers again for another 7 layers on top of the nut mixture.
- Brush the top layer of phyllo dough with butter. Then use a knife to cut 3 equally spaced slices lengthwise. Cut diagonal lines width-wise to form triangles of baklava (see video/photos for more detail).
- Place the tray in the oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the phyllo dough is crispy.
- When the baklava is done cooking, remove it from the oven. As soon as you do, pour the syrup over the entire tray. Allow the baklava to sit until completely cooled (at least one hour) before serving. You can sprinkle extra chopped nuts on top.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Pistachios: Unroasted, unsalted pistachios. Do not get salted pistachios.
- Walnuts: Unroasted, unsalted walnuts. Do not get salted walnuts.
- Phyllo Dough: You can normally find this in the freezer section of your grocery store. Allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before making your Pistachio Baklava.
- Lemon Juice: Use fresh squeezed juice if you can, but pre-bottled lemon juice will also work.
- You can chop/grind the nuts in this recipe to your liking, but make sure not to grind them into a powder.
- You can sprinkle walnuts and pistachios in the center of each individual piece of baklava for garnishment or just dust them across the entire top. You can choose whichever way you like best for decoration!
- While assembling the pie, put a slightly damp (almost dry, but just a little wet) dish towel or paper towel over the phyllo dough. This will keep the dough from drying out and cracking while assembling.
- Phyllo dough rips very easily, so be careful when working with it. But also, don’t worry if you rip one or two pieces. Simply discard the bad pieces and use a fresh sheet instead.
- Make your pistachio baklava in advance. The dessert is best when it soaks in the honey overnight, so make it the night before you want to serve it!
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