Easy Homemade Almond Paste Recipe - The Spruce Eats

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Easy Homemade Almond Paste Recipe

Make fresh almond paste with four ingredients and a food processor for a rich, nutty treat at home

By Elizabeth LaBau Elizabeth LaBau A professional pastry chef, cookbook author, and writer, Elizabeth LaBau has published more than 600 articles on baking and candy making. Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process Updated on 10/23/25 Tested by Tracy Wilk Tested by Tracy Wilk Tracy Wilk is a professional pastry chef, recipe developer and chef instructor, and, most importantly, a firm believer in sprinkles. Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process (480) Save Write a Review Print Prep: 15 mins Cook: 0 mins Total: 15 mins Servings: 16 servings editor badge 480 ratings Write a Review Add a comment SaveRecipe

• You only need four simple ingredients and a food processor to make this almond paste.
• Almond paste is essential for European-style candies, marzipan, cookies, and cakes.
• This recipe yields about a pound, enough for several desserts or to freeze for later.

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 optional almond extract. 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.

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. 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 A Zippy Food Processor A Handy Spatula A Storage Bag

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"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

A Note From Our Recipe Tester 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

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Stop the processor and add 1 large egg white (lightly beaten) and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, if using.

5. Turn the processor back on and process the almond paste until it comes together to form a clump.

6. If it seems very sticky, add a little more confectioners' sugar, a spoonful at a time, until it is smooth.

7. You can use the almond paste immediately or wrap it for later use. If keeping for future use, form it into a log and wrap well in plastic wrap.

8. Store in a zip-top bag in the refrigerator or freezer. Enjoy!

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.

Pistachio Marzipan

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
122	Calories
7g	Fat
13g	Carbs
3g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label ×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories	122
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g	9%
Saturated Fat 1g	3%
Cholesterol 12mg	4%
Sodium 69mg	3%
Total Carbohydrate 13g	5%
Dietary Fiber 1g	5%
Total Sugars 11g
Protein 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.)

Recipe Tags:

• Candy
• almond paste
• dessert
• italian

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