Easy Pistachio Baklava
Updated Aug 09, 2025
Easy Lebanese-style pistachio baklava! Use phyllo dough for a shortcut and simple syrup, with finely chopped pistachios in between layers.
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Make pistachio baklava!
If you love baklava and pistachios, get ready to have your socks knocked off! This recipe is so easy to put together! The hardest part for me is waiting for it to bake while having to smell the sugared pistachios and dough as it crisps. It takes all my willpower to resist taking it out of the oven too soon so I can dig in! The wait is beyond worth it, though.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Pistachio Baklava Ingredients
- Phyllo dough: The delicate, paper-thin pastry that gives baklava its signature flaky texture. You can find phyllo dough in the freezer section of most grocery stores.
- Ghee or clarified butter: If you don’t have ghee or clarified butter, you can use regular unsalted butter, but it contains milk solids that can make the baklava brown faster.
- Pistachios: Finely chopped pistachios work best.
- Sugar: I toss it with the chopped pistachios to make the baklava filling. It helps balance the saltiness of the nuts and the ghee. I recommend granulated sugar for the best texture.
- Simple syrup: Sugar, water, lemon juice, and orange blossom water. If you don’t have orange blossom water, you can use a bit of orange or lemon zest, or just skip it.
How to Make Pistachio Baklava
Pistachio Baklava Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup ghee melted, plus more for brushing
- 1 pound box of phyllo 9"x14" sheets, room temperature
- 3 cups pistachios finely chopped
- ½ cup granulated sugar
For the Simple Syrup
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon orange blossom water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with ghee.
- In a large bowl, stir together the pistachios and granulated sugar until well combined.
- Unroll the two sleeves of phyllo sheets and cut off an inch at the end to make them fit into the 9 x 13 pan.
- Lay one sleeve (20 phyllo sheets) in the prepared pan. Add about 10 more phyllo sheets on top from the second sleeve. Spread the nut mixture over the phyllo in one even layer. Lay the remaining phyllo sheets over the nuts.
- Pour the melted ghee over the baklava and tilt the pan carefully to spread it all over. Cut the baklava into diamonds by making 4 cuts lengthwise and 9 cuts crosswise on the diagonal.
- Bake until golden brown all the way into the cut lines, about 45–50 minutes, rotating the baklava halfway through.
- Meanwhile, make the simple syrup by combining the water, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens but is still clear, about 5–7 minutes. Remove from heat, add the orange blossom water, and set aside to cool.
- When the baklava finishes cooking, remove the pan from the oven and immediately pour the cooled simple syrup evenly over top. Cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Tips
- Know your dough. Phyllo dough can be tricky to work with. I recommend thawing it in the fridge overnight, then setting it out at room temperature 30 minutes before you’re ready to start the baklava. You want the phyllo thawed, but not so warm that it’s too sticky to work with.
- Don’t dry out the phyllo. Keep the pastry dough covered with a damp kitchen towel while it comes to room temperature so you don’t dry out the layers.
- Time the simple syrup correctly. You want to pour the cooled syrup over the hot baklava immediately after removing it from the oven so the phyllo layers can adequately absorb it. This is what makes the baklava crispy!
- Use a sharp knife. For clean edges, use a sharp knife to cut through the pastry layers and nuts. Make sure you cut all the way to the bottom of the pan so the ghee can seep through to all the layers.
FAQs
Store baklava in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. Keeping it at room temperature preserves the crispy texture. After 7 days, transfer leftovers to the refrigerator. To re-crisp your baklava, warm it in the oven at 300ºF for 10–15 minutes. Keep an eye on it, because it can start to char quickly.
Yes! Wrap individual pieces of baklava tightly in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or overnight in the fridge. The baklava may not hold its texture perfectly when you freeze it, but it will still taste amazing!
I recommend cutting the baklava before baking because it’s easier (and less messy) than trying to cut it after it’s crispy. Phyllo is very delicate and flaky once it bakes, so cutting it after can make the layers crumble. Pre-cutting also helps the syrup soak into all the layers more evenly.
Comments
Made this last year and it was so delicious and much easier than I thought. I’m going to try it again.
Amazing! So happy you found it easy and yummy enough to come back to!! Thank you so much!
Can we replace the butter or ghee with margarine
Thanks
I’ve been making Baklava for a long time (grandfather’s recipe) and was very skeptical skipping buttering each layer, but finally decided to give your method a try. AND OMG, it was so fast and came out perfect. Best part is I didn’t have to worry about the sheets drying out or my moist towel covering them drying out.
I made clarified butter and skipped the orange blossom /rose water (always skipped it in the old recipe, too).
Good news, it’s so easy I will be making more often; bad news, it’s so easy I will be making it more often. LOL!
Ahh thanks so much. Really glad this saved you some time!
Taste is sooooo delicious better than the ones I’ve get from the shop in my opinion
Just a question Youmna , the phyllo sheets on top got separated is it because the dough was dry ? Any suggestion ?
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Unfortunately the separation can happen sometimes with this method and it’s even happened to me. I think one way to avoid it is to pour the ghee first and then cut into diamonds. I think that ensures that the layers stay more moist and intact. Hope that helps!
Hi! I plan on making this tonight but I don’t have any orange blossom water…can I use rose water instead?
Hi Nicole, yes, rose water works too! I hope you enjoy!
Hi Yumna
I have been wanting to make this baklava coz I love baklava we buy this by a kg and most of time we buy 2kgs just to satisfy our cravings, now that I know how to make it and it’s my first time we don’t have to buy i’ll just have to make it everyone loves it. Yumna thanks and you’ve done it again.
Thank you so much, Gerardo! I hope you enjoyed it!
I made this for Easter & it was a HIT!!! So flavorful & delicious!! My Lebanese mom & aunt both said it was better than what they get when they order it to be delivered from a bakery!!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Hello and thank you for this gorgeous recipe! One cup in your recipe is like 200 gramms?
Bests, Merima
Hi Merima, I don’t use grams, so I am really not sure. So sorry!
Hi Yumna,
Very pleased with your personality and genuine typed person and always enjoying your encouraging and inspiring recipes and closely following you from Canada 🇨🇦 as an Canadian Arab.
My question is: if I have to substitute the ghee with something else, what would it be? And how much in terms of cups?
Thank you very much in advance and thanks for your precious help 🙏.
We love you ❤️
You can use the same amount of melted butter, or you can even make your own ghee by melting butter and separating to milk solids from the liquid fats to essentially make clarified butter. The difference is ghee has less milk in it and a higher fat content to make the baklava ultra crispy