What Are Pignoli nuts and How Can I Use Them?
Here's everything worth knowing about pignoli nuts and how to pick them, what they are, how to store them, and what to use instead, plus 7 recipes to cook tonight.
Key Points
- Pignoli is simply the Italian name for pine nuts, the same pale seed.
- Soft and buttery, with a resin note that turns sweet when toasted.
- The classic nut in basil pesto, biscotti, and pignoli cookies.
- Toast briefly and watch closely, since they burn in seconds.
- Very oily and quick to go rancid, so buy small and store cold.
What are pignoli nuts?
Pignoli are pine nuts, the Italian name and the form you most often see on a bag in the baking aisle. They are the same small, pale, torpedo-shaped seeds pulled from pine cones, soft and buttery with a faint resin note that turns rich and sweet once toasted.
If a recipe calls for pignoli, reach for pine nuts.
The word shows up most in Italian and Italian-American cooking, where pignoli mean pesto, biscotti, and the soft almond-paste cookies that share the name.
Cooking With Pignoli
Toasting is what makes a pine nut worth the price. Raw, it is waxy and bland. A few minutes in a dry pan over medium heat, shaking constantly, turns it gold and brings out a sweet, buttery flavor.
They burn in seconds, so never walk away.
On the savory side, pignoli are the nut in classic basil pesto, ground with garlic and cheese into a smooth sauce for Pesto Spaghetti. They also toss whole into pasta and rice, as in Orzo and Pignoli, and scatter over salads and roast vegetables.
In baking they fold into biscotti and press onto cookies, the way they do in this Vanilla Pignoli Biscotti. Their soft texture and gentle flavor suit delicate sweets.
Substitutes and Storage
There is no exact match for a pine nut, but a few come close. Slivered blanched almonds give you a similar pale look and soft crunch in baking, though they taste plainer. In pesto, walnuts are the common swap and make a richer, slightly more bitter sauce.
Pine nuts are among the oiliest nuts, so they go rancid fast and a rancid one tastes sharp and bitter. Buy small amounts, keep them airtight in the fridge for a few months, or freeze them for longer. Taste one before you commit a batch to a sauce.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- pignoli坚果
- British (UK) term
- Pignoli nuts
- en français
- noix de Pignoli
- en español
- tuercas pignoli
Recipes using pignoli nuts
There are 7 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Orzoand Pignoli(Pasta & Pine Nuts)
Orzo and pine nuts tossed in extra-virgin olive oil with toasted pignoli and dried basil. A four-ingredient Italian side dish ready in 20 minutes that pairs with anything.
Pesto Spaghetti
Pesto spaghetti tossed with a fresh parsley and basil sauce, pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic, and butter. A 30-minute pasta dinner with a no-cook pesto that freezes well.
Roast Chicken Ii
Italian-style roast chicken with potatoes, pine nuts, raisins, Romano cheese, and red wine vinegar. A one-pan dinner with sweet, savory, and tangy flavors in every bite.
Creamy Linguine with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Creamy linguine with sun-dried tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, shallots, garlic, and white wine in a half-and-half sauce finished with Parmesan. Restaurant-style Italian pasta at home.
Gluten Free Almond Cookies
Gluten-free almond cookies made from just three ingredients: almond paste, sugar and egg whites. Naturally flourless, chewy and intensely almond, shaped into balls or crescents and rolled in pine nuts. Classic Italian pignoli-style cookies.
Vanilla Pignoli Biscotti with Pine Nuts
Vanilla pignoli biscotti are buttery Italian twice-baked cookies packed with toasted pine nuts and fragrant vanilla. Crisp enough to dunk in coffee, with a tender, golden crumb.
Greek Chopped Meat Stuffing
Greek-style turkey stuffing with three meats, chestnuts, pine nuts, and white raisins simmered in red wine and tomato paste. A meat-forward holiday stuffing with rice instead of bread cubes.
