Pistachio-Goat Cheese Bites

By Kristina Felix

Updated December 17, 2025

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Ready In
35 min
Rating
4(100)
Comments
Read comments

These savory, sweet, and crunchy bites hit all the marks of an irresistible snack. Try these with cream cheese instead of goat cheese, or coat them with any roasted nut mix (spiced or salted) in your pantry. If there’s any left over, serve them on top of a simple green salad, or smear them across a piece of toast. 

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Ingredients

Yield:About 15 cheese balls

  • ¾ cup shelled, roasted salted pistachios

  • 8 ounces fresh goat cheese, at room temperature

  • 1½ tablespoons/30 grams honey

  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (15 servings)

3 grams carbs; 7 milligrams cholesterol; 80 calories; 2 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 6 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 70 milligrams sodium; 4 grams protein; 2 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place pistachios on a large piece of parchment paper on your cutting board and fold the parchment over to enclose them. Using a rolling pin with heavy pressure, roll over them multiple times, repositioning as needed, until nuts are mostly crushed to a powder.

  2. Step 2

    Open the parchment and gather the pistachio powder into a pile in the center. Line a plate with parchment paper.

  3. Step 3

    Mix goat cheese, honey and salt in a bowl until combined. Using two teaspoons, scoop a generous portion and pass it between the spoons to shape into a round dollop about 1½ inches wide. Drop directly onto the pistachio powder. Use the spoons to toss the dollop around until it's completely covered in pistachio powder and you can pick it up with your fingers without getting any cheese on them. Place on the parchment-lined plate and repeat until you have 15 balls.

  4. Step 4

    Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to a day before serving.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
100 user ratings
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Comments

MackinacBnB

I’ve made goat cheese truffles for parties for years. My method is similar but I wrap the cheese around a grape before rolling in pistachios. It adds another layer of flavor and the juiciness of the grape is a fun surprise.

Rob K.

I prepared these a day in advance and left them refrigerated overnight. They tasted fine the next day, but the pistachios had definitely become somewhat soft/soggy by that point. I’d recommend eating them fresh if you’re going to make them.

Chris

@MackinacBnB that is both totally cool and completely wacky. Gold star!

wsdev

Yum! Trader Joes’ honey goat cheese, red grapes, TJ roasted salted pistachios coarsely crushed between parchment paper. Easy to coat the grapes with the cheese with my fingers and kept well in the fridge. Waited to roll cheese/grape balls in pistachios until just before serving to keep the crunch. So easy and delicious!!

Rapher

Consider using a mortar and pestle to ground up the pistachios. After adding pistachio grounds to the cheese ball add some of the grounds to the parchment paper and roll the cheese ball over to finish the coating.

Robin

I used the suggestion to wrap this around a grape and went a step further - I put the ball with the grape in a medjool date - it was great!

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