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Forget having to drive all the way to the bakery when you can make your own easy chocolate pistachio eclairs at home. This homemade éclair pastry recipe boasts a creamy pistachio pudding filling that’s creamy, nutty and just irresistible all round. The light pastry is topped with rich chocolate plus crunchy chopped pistachios. Once you see and taste that vivid green pistachio filling, you’re sure to fall in love with these sweet bites.
These easy chocolate pistachio eclairs are really special and they prove amazing eclairs aren’t hard to make at home. They’re sweet, creamy and so satisfying.
If you enjoy these, you might also like pistachio tiramisu, pistachio biscotti and these pistachio muffins. Pistachio crusted salmon is a tasty savory dish.
Why You’ll Love It
Easy to prepare: Everything is simple to make from the shell dough to the éclair filling and the delicious chocolate glaze on top.
A delicious treat: If you love pastries, you enjoy eclairs and you’re partial to pistachios, you will definitely love the flavors in these.
A versatile dish: The green hue makes these suitable for St Patrick’s Day, while their sweet appeal means they’re also a great dessert or you could pair one with your preferred coffee or tea beverage mid-morning or mid-afternoon, for an energy boost.
Easy Chocolate Pistachio Eclair Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
All-purpose flour: The main ingredient in the pastry shells.
Eggs: To bind the pastry dough together.
Pistachio pudding mix: A handy shortcut ingredient to make the filling.
Heavy cream: To make the pistachio filling rich and creamy. You also need some to make the chocolate topping.
Chocolate: I used semi-sweet bakers’ chocolate for the chocolate coating.
Chopped pistachios: To decorate the top of the eclairs, for crunch.
How to Make Pistachio Creme Eclairs
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Make the pistachio pudding: Follow the instructions on the package to make the pistachio pudding.
Make the pastry shells: Add the water and butter to a pan. Bring it to a simmer and then mix in the flour. You should get a sticky dough. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes then add the eggs to thicken the dough up.
Bake them: Line a pair of baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle some water over them. Put the cream puff dough in a piping bag and pipe lengths of it on to the parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes then turn the heat down a little and cook for another 12 minutes or so, or until they’re golden brown. Let the dough shells cool.
Prepare the filling: Whip the cream then fold in the pistachio pudding. Put this mixture in a piping bag. Make holes in the eclairs and pipe in the pistachio pudding mixture.
Add the toppings: Bring some cream to a simmer and then pour this over the chocolate in a bowl. Mix the cream and chocolate and dip each éclair in this glaze. Sprinkle with pistachios and chill in the refrigerator until set. Now you know how to make eclairs, I bet you can’t wait to get started!
Substitutions and Variations
Pistachios: The main flavor in these easy chocolate pistachio eclairs is the pistachios. But if you happen to prefer walnuts or pecans you can use those instead or even combine more than one nut.
Pistachio pudding: You can use another flavor of pudding if you want to. How about coconut pudding with shredded coconuts on the glaze? Or banana pudding with chopped walnuts?
Gluten-free: Substitute gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour. Most pudding mixes are gluten-free but check the label to make sure.
Serving Suggestions
With a cup of coffee: Pair your lavender matcha latte or iced gingerbread latte with a pistachio eclair.
For dessert: You can serve them for dessert, perhaps after a tasty meal of a reuben sandwich with smashed potato salad or maybe five-spice chicken stir fry with hibachi rice.
How to Store Eclairs with Pistachios
Store: Keep the eclairs in an airtight container at room temperature and eat within a day or two.
Freeze: You can freeze these in an airtight container for up to a month. It’s easiest to freeze them on a baking sheet and then transfer into a large freezer bag or container. This prevents them from sticking together. You can freeze them fully made or freeze the pastry shells only (and finish them off after thawing).
Thaw: Defrost in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter for a few hours.
Top Tips
Line your baking trays: Line them with parchment paper so the eclairs don’t stick.
Don’t peek during baking! Resist the urge to open the oven door at any time during baking, or else they’ll deflate.
Poke holes carefully: Take care when creating the holes in your pastry shells where you’re going to pipe in the filling. You can use your piping bag nozzle to do this.
Pistachio Pudding Cream Puff FAQs
You can make the pastry shells ahead and keep them refrigerated for a couple of days or frozen for up to a month. The pistachio pudding filling can also be prepared ahead and kept refrigerated. When you are ready to make them, you can pipe the pudding filling in, prepare the chocolate glaze and assemble the eclairs then. If you assemble them too far ahead, they’ll get soggy.
Although you can still use pastry that hasn’t puffed up properly, the eclairs won’t look so good. If the dough is too wet (i.e. it doesn’t hold its shape when you pipe it on to the parchment paper) this can happen. And that might be the result of using too much liquid or too little flour so make sure you weigh and measure everything out correctly. Another reason could be you opened the oven door during baking – it’s really important not to do this! Another problem that can happen with easy chocolate pistachio eclairs is they can crack. This can happen if the oven temperature is too high or if you forget to sprinkle water on the parchment paper before adding the dough. The reason for the water is it creates steam in the oven during baking and this helps to prevent cracks. Having cracks isn’t a huge deal because you can disguise them with the chocolate glaze afterwards anyway.
Easy Chocolate Pistachio Eclairs Recipe
Pistachio Eclairs
Equipment
- Saucepan Medium
- Pastry Bag with Medium and Large Tips
- Saucepan Small
Ingredients
For the Pastry Shells
- 1 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 Cups water
- 1/2 Cup unsalted butter
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 Teaspoon salt
For the Filling
- 1 Package pudding mix, pistachio
- 1/2 Cup heavy cream
For the Toppings
- 4 Ounces chocolate, semi-sweet bakers' chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 Cup heavy cream
- 1/4 Cup pistachios, chopped
Instructions
Make the Pastry Shells:
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a medium saucepan, on medium heat, bring water and butter to a simmer. Add flour and stir constantly until a sticky dough forms.
- Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring rigorously after each addition. Dough will be sticky and thick.
- Sprinkle drops of water onto baking pans to help create a steaming effect while cooking.
- Fit a piping bag with a large hole tip. Using a spatula, transfer dough to the bag. Squeeze a 4 to 5 inch line of dough onto baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.
- Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees F and then turn down to 350 degrees F and cool for an additional 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown. It is important not to open the oven while cooking.
- Place on cooling rack when done. While baking prepare the rest of the filling.
Make the Filling:
- Prepare pistachio pudding following directions on package.
- Whip cream until medium peaks form. Fold pudding into whipped cream. Place in refrigerator while eclairs cool completely.
Fill the Eclairs:
- Prepare piping bag with medium tip.
- Add whip cream mixture to bag. Carefully poke holes in end of cooled eclairs and fill with cream.
Make the Chocolate Topping:
- Prepare chocolate ganache. Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl.
- In a small saucepan bring heavy cream to a simmer. Pour over chocolate. Let stand 1 minute. Mix until completely melted and smooth.
Glaze and Top the Eclairs:
- Dip top of eclair in chocolate, place on cooling rack and sprinkle with pistachios.
- Refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes or until fully set.
Notes
Don’t peek during baking! Resist the urge to open the oven door at any time during baking, or else they’ll deflate.
Poke holes carefully: Take care when creating the holes in your pastry shells where you’re going to pipe in the filling. You can use your piping bag nozzle to do this.
Nutrition
This homemade éclair pastry recipe shows you how to make the most delicious and easy chocolate pistachio eclairs. These are special enough to rival freshly prepared eclairs from any bakery and you’ll love how simple they are to prepare. Savor the rich chocolate and pistachio flavors and the smooth, creamy filling.
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
So easy to make and it tastes exceptionally good!
Loved the flavor combo! I love anything with pistachio 🙂
I must try these! I love pistachio everything.