Almond paste is a key ingredient in marzipan and many other European-style candies and pastries. It can be expensive to buy in stores but luckily it’s easy to make at home. This almond paste recipe requires just four ingredients (one optional) and a food processor. You will need blanched almonds (which you can blanch yourself if you prefer), powdered sugar, an egg white, and almond extract if you like. After trying this fresh, nutty almond paste, you’ll never buy it from a store again.
This recipe yields about a pound of almond paste.
The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack
Raw Egg Warning
Consuming raw and lightly cooked eggs poses a risk of foodborne illness. If the raw egg white is a concern, you can use pasteurized egg whites sold in cartons at the grocery stores.
Are Almond Paste And Marzipan The Same?
Although both are made with the same ingredients, almond paste and marzipan are different from each other. Almond paste contains more almonds than sugar and therefore isn’t as sweet as marzipan. Marzipan has a much smoother consistency, which is why it is used to cover cakes and make decorations for candies and other sweets. Almond paste can be an ingredient in marzipan and is also used in desserts such as cookies and cakes.
What You’ll Need To Make This Easy Almond Paste Recipe
“I was surprised how easy this almond paste was to make—I wouldn’t buy it from the store again now that I have made it. You can even freeze this if you don’t need it right away and have it on hand for some delicious rainbow cookies!” —Tracy Wilk
Cook Mode
(Keep screen awake)
-
1 1/2 cups whole blanched almonds
-
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar, divided
-
1 large egg white, lightly beaten, at room temperature
-
1/2 teaspoon almond extract, optional
-
Gather the ingredients.
The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack
-
Place 1 1/2 cups whole blanched almonds and 1/2 cup of the confectioners’ sugar in a large, 7-cup food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process the nuts and sugar until the nuts are very finely ground, stopping periodically to scrape the sides of the processor bowl. The sugar will help prevent the nuts from turning into almond butter, but still be careful about overprocessing.
The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack
-
Once the almonds are very finely ground, add the rest of the confectioners’ sugar (1 cup) and pulse until it is completely mixed into the ground almonds.
The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack
-
Stop the processor and add 1 large egg white (lightly beaten) and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, if using.
The Spruce Eats/ Cara Cormack
-
Turn the processor back on and process the almond paste until it comes together to form a clump.
The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack
-
If it seems very sticky, add a little more confectioners’ sugar, a spoonful at a time, until it is smooth.
The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack
-
You can use the almond paste at once or wrap it to use at a later date. If keeping for future use, form into a log and wrap well in plastic wrap.
The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack
-
Store in a zip-top bag in the refrigerator or freezer. Enjoy!
The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack
How To Store Almond Paste
Wrapped well in plastic wrap and stored in a zip-top bag, the almond paste can be kept for up to three months in the refrigerator or six months in the freezer. Make sure to bring the almond paste to room temperature before using it in recipes.
Feeling Adventurous? Try This:
- Pair it with pastries – It is found as a filling in pastries such as croissants and as an ingredient in muffins, biscuits, and cookies.
- Use it as a filling – Almond paste is used in the filling for a pear frangipane tart and in almond truffles where it is either crumbled or grated into the mixture.
| Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 122 | Calories |
| 7g | Fat |
| 13g | Carbs |
| 3g | Protein |
×
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 16 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 122 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| 7g | 9% |
| Saturated Fat 1g | 3% |
| 12mg | 4% |
| 69mg | 3% |
| 13g | 5% |
| Dietary Fiber 1g | 5% |
| Total Sugars 11g | |
| 3g | |
| Vitamin C 0mg | 0% |
| Calcium 37mg | 3% |
| Iron 1mg | 3% |
| Potassium 97mg | 2% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)