No-Bake Pistachio Cheesecake Cups

This is a no-bake recipe meaning you don’t need an oven to create this dessert. All you need is a few minutes to blend the ingredients and a couple of minutes to assemble the dessert cups. Overall making it the perfect make-ahead dessert for any occasion.

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What you’ll need for this recipe 

Digestive Biscuits: They aren’t overly sweet which is perfect for balancing out the sweetness in the cream. 

Butter: I used unsalted butter. If you don’t have unsalted butter you could also use salted butter instead. It won’t make too much of a difference in this recipe.

Pistachio Cream: This is the main ingredient for creating the pistachio flavour. You could also make your homemade pistachio paste by removing the skins from the unsalted pistachios and blending them with a few teaspoons of water until it makes a smooth paste (the consistency might differ slightly, but it should still work if made correctly. 

The pistachio cream I use has a very similar consistency and taste to Nutella. 

Double cream/Heavy Cream: Make sure the cream is cold. I usually leave it in the fridge until I am ready to use it.

Icing Sugar/Powdered Sugar: This will dissolve in the mixture and help sweeten the cheesecake filling. 

Soft Cream Cheese: When you first open a pack of cream cheese there is usually a small amount of liquid which sits on top. Make sure you pour off any excess liquid as this will help your cheesecakes set properly.

Vanilla Extract: The pistachio cream isn’t very sweet on its own, so I like to add a teaspoon of vanilla to help sweeten the flavour.

Pistachios: For the decorations, I roughly chopped up some pistachios. Which I sprinkled on top of the whipped cream.

Edible rose petals: This is optional if you don’t like rose-flavoured desserts you can skip this part. It’s mostly for decorations purposes, once the roses have rested on the whipped cream it will infuse a light rose flavour. 

Recommended Equipment and Ingredients

3oz Dessert Cups

Pistachio Paste

Fondant Rolling Pin 

Large Piping Bags

Measuring Scale

Sultan Piping Nozzle

Spatula

Electric whisk 

Questions & Answers

Where can I buy the pistachio cream from?

I purchased mine from Costco. You can also purchase pistachio cream online from Amazon as well. I’ll put the link on my amazon storefront so you can easily find the one I used in this recipe.

How long does the cheesecake take to set?

This will vary depending on the size of the cups you are using. If you’re using the same 3oz dessert cups as me. They will take roughly 3-4 hours to fully set.

How to make whipped cream?

Making whipped cream is very simple. Add the cold double cream to a bowl. Then add in the vanilla and icing sugar. Using an electric whisk, mix until the cream starts to stiffen and form soft peaks. 

Avoid over-mixing the cream as this will cause the cream to separate and turn yellowish.

Can I make the pistachio cream from scratch?

Yes, you can, but it won’t be the exact consistency and taste. It will be more of a pistachio paste, but it will still work and taste like pistachios.

To make the pistachio paste from scratch…

1. Remove Shells

Start removing the shells on the pistachios, until you have 1 cup full. Use unsalted ones for this recipe.

2. Soak Pistachios

Then in a saucepan with boiling water add the pistachio and leave them to soak for 2 minutes. Drain the water and pour the pistachios on one side of the towel. 

3. Remove the skin

Fold the towel over and scrub the pistachios, this will remove the extra skin layer leaving you with bright green pistachios. If there are any remaining skins, you can peel them off by hand.

4. Blend to make a paste 

Using a food processor blend the pistachios with a teaspoon of water. Add a little more water each time until you have a smooth paste. The paste should be a thick spreadable consistency so avoid more water than necessary. You can store the paste in the fridge for up to a week.