Pine nuts are small, teardrop-shaped seeds gathered from pine cones. The nuts are known for their nutty, slightly sweet taste and buttery texture. These nuts are a staple ingredient in pesto sauce.
While a creamy and versatile flavor enhancer, pine nuts are often substituted because they’re expensive, difficult to find in local stores, and can cause pine nut syndrome.
Suitable substitutes for pine nuts include cashews, pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, and pecans. These foods hit similar flavor notes and match the distinctive, creamy texture of pine nuts. Substitutes are also cheaper and easier to find in regular grocery stores.
Best Substitute for Pine Nut: Cashews
The best substitute for pine nuts is cashew. Cashews match pine nuts’ taste, soft texture, and color. These traits make the nuts an ideal replacement in both sweet and savory dishes. Cashews are also widely available in local grocery stores and are more affordable than pine nuts.
Substitute 1 tablespoon of pine nuts with 1.5 tablespoons of cashews, adjusting the amount based on your flavor preference and the cuisine. For best results, chop the cashews into small, ½-inch pieces, and roast for a few minutes over medium heat to intensify their aroma and nuttiness.
Cashews work particularly well as a pine nut substitute in pesto.
Other Pine Nut Substitutes, Alternatives, and Replacements
Other foods you can use in place of pine nuts include pistachios, almonds, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, and brazil nuts. Ideal nut-free substitutes for people with allergies are sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, and edamame beans.
Pistachios
Pistachios are the vibrant, green seeds of the pistachio tree. These nuts are a staple ingredient in treats like kulfi and baklava and have a sweet, earthy taste and buttery texture. Pistachios are packed with antioxidants.
While pistachios are slightly sweeter than pine nuts, they are an ideal substitute for pine nuts in pesto because they intensify the dish’s green color. Use one-fourth fewer pistachios than the amount the recipe calls for of pine nuts when substituting. Adjust the amount based on the dish and your preferred sweetness.
Almonds
Almonds, small seeds from the almond tree, can be used in place of pine nuts because, like pine nuts, they impart a sweet and slightly nutty taste when toasted.
While almonds aren’t an exact match in flavor to pine nuts, they make a complementary substitute in most kinds of pasta and salads. Almonds are rich in vitamin E and contain fewer calories than pine nuts.
Substitute almonds for pine nuts at a 1:1 ratio. Slice and lightly toast the nuts to best replicate the flavor of pine nuts.
Macadamia nuts
Native to Australia, macadamia nuts are the fruit of the macadamia tree. Macadamia nuts are a suitable replacement for pine nuts, especially in pesto, because they are similar to pine nuts in their creamy texture and rich, buttery taste, and because they pair well with parsley and mint. However, macadamia nuts are more expensive and stronger in flavor than pine nuts.
Substitute pine nuts with macadamia nuts at a 1:1 ratio, adjusting the amount based on taste.
Hazelnuts
Hazelnuts are commonly used in Mediterranean and Italian cooking, and impart a sweet, mellow taste with subtle, earthy notes. The nuts are creamier and much sweeter than pine nuts, so they work best in baked goods and desserts.
Chopped hazelnuts also work well as a salad topper, providing a satisfying crunch without overwhelming the original flavors.
Substitute hazelnuts for pine nuts at a 1:2 ratio, and toast them first to bring out a nuttier flavor.
Walnuts
Walnuts have a mild, earthy, bittersweet flavor and are a key ingredient in baklava, coffee cake, and Circassian chicken. Walnuts are a suitable replacement for pine nuts because they’re versatile, and hit similar flavor notes to pine nuts without affecting the dish’s color or consistency.
Use half the amount of walnuts that the recipe calls for of pine nuts. Soak the nuts overnight to bring out a pine nut-like, creamy texture, then roast the walnuts and remove their outer, brown skins to reduce the nuts’ bitterness.
Pecans
Pecans are large smooth nuts known for their sweet, buttery taste and crunchy texture. These nuts are useful in desserts and baked goods, especially when roasted in honey. Pecans are a great source of calcium, potassium, and magnesium, and can be bought pre-chopped to save time during the cooking process.
Substitute 1 tablespoon of pine nuts with ¾ tablespoon of pecans. Pecans naturally have a high oil content, so oil should be reduced elsewhere in the recipe.
Peanuts
Peanuts, also known as groundnuts and monkey nuts, are legumes native to South America. Although peanuts lack the buttery flavor of pine nuts, they have a light, earthy flavor, high nutrient content, and can be bought at a cheap price — all of which make these nuts a good replacement for pine nuts, especially in baked dishes and savory stir-frys. Roast peanuts to bring out their aroma and subtle sweetness.
Use half the amount of peanuts when substituting for pine nuts.
Brazil Nuts
Brazil nuts are large edible seeds that grow inside coconut-like shells. Brazil nuts have a meaty texture, and a mild, buttery flavor. These nuts can work as a pine nut substitute in a pinch.
Use ¼ tablespoon of chopped brazil nuts for every tablespoon of pine nuts to start, then taste-test and add more according to your preference. Chop brazil nuts into ½-inch pieces to mimic pine nuts’ size.
Nut-Free Pine Nut Substitutes
Suitable pine nut substitutes for people with nut allergies include sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, and edamame beans.
Sunflower Seeds
Sunflower seeds are packed with antioxidants, and add a subtle, nutty flavor to dishes. While sunflower seeds are a suitable pine nut replacement in salads and baked goods, they aren’t an ideal substitute in pesto because their gray hue affects the dish’s coloration.
Substitute sunflower seeds for pine nuts at a 1:1 ratio.
Sesame Seeds
Sesame seeds impart an earthy and nutty taste, are an affordable, nut-free alternative to pine nuts, and are rich in manganese and calcium.
Sesame seeds shouldn’t be used as a substitute in dishes where pine nuts are the key ingredient, like in pesto sauce, because although the seeds and nuts share similarities in flavor, their textures and colors are different. Use sesame seeds as a replacement in salads, stir-frys, and desserts.
Substitute sesame seeds for pine nuts at a 2:1 ratio. Toast sesame seeds to bring out their nuttiness and add an extra crunchy texture, or grind them to form an earthy paste.
Pumpkin Seeds
Raw pumpkin seeds are mild in flavor and slightly chewy, but they gain a nutty flavor and crunchy texture when roasted. Pumpkin seeds are good substitutes for pine nuts in baked goods such as cookies, bread, and savory tarts.
Use half the amount of pumpkin seeds that the recipe calls for when substituting pine nuts. Pumpkin seeds work as a substitute for pesto in a pinch because although they don’t provide the same consistency, they do deliver similar flavor notes.
Edamame Beans
Edamame beans are immature soybeans popular in Japanese cuisine. The beans are buttery with nutty undertones, and their texture is a happy medium between soft and firm. Edamame beans are typically served as an appetizer, or, like pine nuts, are used as a flavor enhancer in salads and stir-frys.
The appropriate substitution ratio depends on preference and the type of dish. Start with half the amount of edamame beans that the recipe originally calls for of pine nuts, then adjust based on your preferred flavor.
