Homemade almond paste with almond flour, ready in under 5 minutes and perfect for your cookie and danish recipes!
How to Make Homemade Almond Paste from Almond Flour
This creamy and easy to make almond paste made from almond flour is the perfect addition to your favorite danishes, cookies, and tarts! Typically used in Italian pastries, almond paste will bring a rich almond flavor to your treats without adding too much sweetness. Make this recipe to elevate your holiday collection!
Newly updated photos, this post has proven to be my #1 post during the holidays, and for good reason, this almond paste tastes amazing! Making homemade Almond Paste is more cost-efficient and easier than searching for and buying your paste at the store, and quite honestly, it tastes better. Plus, who doesn’t want the bragging rights of saying they made the most amazingly sweet almond paste at home! is the easiest most cost-efficient way! This post includes affiliate links to my favorite products used to make the almond paste.
Almond paste is a sweet filling that is used in many Italian pastry and cookie recipes. It adds a deliciously rich, and creamy almond flavor to your baked goods that makes them stand out among the rest! The only problem with almond paste is that it’s usually considered more of a specialty item. It can be hard to find in the grocery store, especially around the holidays, and when you do find it, it’s a costly ingredient that many end up passing by.
Luckily with this recipe, you don’t have to forgo the almond paste in the other recipe you’re working on. With a few simple ingredients, you’ll be ready to go! Best of all, it uses almond flour which is more affordable and lends itself beautifully to this recipe!
Have you been avoiding recipes like these Italian Almond Cookies because of the exorbitant cost for of a can of almond paste? Well, look no further. For about the same cost of one can, you can make about 3-4 batches of homemade almond paste, in about 1/8 of the time it would take you to get into the car and buy some at your local grocery store (if they even have it that is).
Why You’ll Love This Almond Paste Recipe with Almond Flour
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- This is a much cheaper option than buying a can of almond paste, and you don’t have to worry about your grocery store not selling it when you need it. There is nothing worse than the last-minute run to the grocery store for all of the holiday treats, just to find that they are all out of what you need.
- The recipe makes about 12 ounces of almond paste, and most recipes call for much smaller amounts. You’ll be able to make many delicious pastries with this one batch! The paste stays fresh for about three weeks, so you don’t have to use the whole thing all at once.
- It’s incredibly easy to make! It only takes about five minutes and is not complicated at all. A lot of recipes that are cheaper to make yourself seem to take up a lot of your time, or they have complicated steps and look daunting. This is a quick and easy one!
Equipment Needed To Make Sweet Almond Paste
- Food processor
- Saran Wrap for storage
Ingredients For Your Homemade Almond Paste
- 1 1/2 cups Almond Flour
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tsp almond extract
- 1 egg white slightly beaten
How To Make Homemade Almond Paste
Note- While you are welcome to use real almonds, almond flour is the easiest way to go in my opinion. It literally took me about 5 minutes to make almost 12 ounces of almond paste. The can that you buy at the grocery store is typically around 10 ounces. Wrapped tightly in saran wrap, or in a jar or tupperware, the paste will stay fresh for about 3 weeks.
- First, pulse the almond flour (or meal) and powdered sugar in your food processor for a couple of seconds.
- Then, add the almond extract and egg whites. As I add the almond extract, I taste it to see if it has the flavor I want. You may want to use more if you prefer a stronger almond flavor (I use 2 teaspoons).
- Pulse again in the food processor until a dough ball forms and the dough no longer sticks to the sides of your bowl.
- And that’s it my friends! Homemade almond paste ready for all of your incredible recipes! Shape your dough, wrap tightly in saran wrap, and store in the fridge. Enjoy!
What You Can Make With Your Sweet Almond Paste
I’ll link some of my favorite recipes using almond paste below! There are so many things that you can do with almond paste.
The paste is often found in cookies and tarts. They are also delicious in croissants, danishes, and other pastries. Feel free to add the almond paste to your favorite baked goods where you feel it would boost the flavors of your recipe!
Popular Substitutions & Additions
- There are some recipes for almond paste that use different sweeteners, such as honey or simple syrups, but I find that this method is easiest.
- If you’d like to experiment with flavors, you could add some extra spices or flavors that would go along with what you will be using your almond paste for, such as cinnamon or vanilla extract.
How To Store Homemade Almond Paste
You’ll want to wrap your almond paste tightly in saran wrap for the best outcome. If you’re out of plastic wrap, you can store it in a jar or air-tight container. It will stay good for up to Wrapped tightly in saran wrap, or in a jar or tupperware, the paste will stay fresh for about 3 weeks in the refrigerator!
Homemade Almond Paste FAQs
Is almond paste the same thing as marzipan?
No, it’s not. Almond paste is more coarse and easier to spread. It’s used for baking. Marzipan is meant to be a confection eaten on its own. Because of this, it is much sweeter and not as soft and spreadable. It is not recommended to use these interchangeably.
What is almond paste used for?
Almond paste is often used in pastries, desserts, and cookies. It gives your food that delicious rich flavor of almonds without adding too much sugar.
Can I make this by hand if I don’t have a food processor?
Yes, you can! The texture won’t be as smooth, and it will take you longer to get the dough formed. Just work with your dough and try to get it as even as possible, and understand that your paste may not be as picturesque as a paste made in the food processor. I would suggest working in your ingredients with a fork.
How do I use real almonds if I don’t have any almond flour?
If you don’t have almond flour, you’ll want to put your almonds in the food processor until they are a fine powder. It will take around five minutes. Watch carefully while the almonds are in the food processor because if they are mixed too much, they will start getting oily and turning into almond butter.
Recipes Using Almond Paste That You’ll Love
- Triple Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cherry Pie Bars
- Raspberry Almond French Toast
- Cherry Almond Tart
- Psychedelic 7 Layer Italian Cookies
Don’t Forget To Come Back And Let Me Know How Your Homemade Almond Paste from Almond Flour Turned Out!
Homemade almond paste with almond flour, ready in under 5 minutes and perfect for your cookie and danish recipes!
- 1 1/2 cups Almond Flour
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tsp almond extract
- 1 egg white slightly beaten
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Using a food processor, pulse the almond flour and powdered sugar a few times to break up any clumps.
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Add 1 tsp of almond extract and pulse to combine.
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Test at this point to see if it has enough almond flavoring. I really like almond so I added 2 teaspoons.
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Add egg white and to your food processor on for 2 minutes.
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At this point, the mixture should be smooth and formed a ball.
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If dough is still sticky add 1 tbsp more of almond flour.
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Wrap tightly and store in refrigerator.
Recipe Video
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well, this is a wonderfu posting. I have often liked to make german stollen and the really good ones have a moist wonderful filling through the middle consisting of almond paste. The cost of the canned stuff has made me look at other holiday coffee cakes, especially because I make at least six at a time. Thank you very much.
Thank you Carol! I think everyone should know this!
Wow How cool! I never would buy the stuff in the can, because I have this thing about buying things in can’s 😉 , so good to know how to make my own ! Thank you!
Does anyone know if this is the same type of almond paste that they sell in the Dutch delicatessens?
I don’t…sorry!
Can you use whole almonds finely ground? And how much would you use in place of almond flour?
Thank you
This will make marzipan not almond paste. Reduce your sugar to one half cup to make paste!
Actually this is an almond paste recipe as it has almond extract. Marzipan has rose water.
Can I use this recipe to cover a fruit cake??
It is pretty pliable, so I am assuming yes.
The main difference between US/European almond paste and marzipan is the ratio of ground almonds (almond meal) to sugar. Generally, almond paste will have roughtly equal proportions of almonds and sugar (plus other ingredients) and marzipan will have a higer ratio of sugar (up to 75% sugar) plus other ingredients.Apr 25, 2012
Actually, this is almond paste. Almond paste ( in the United States) is equal portions of sugar and almond with egg white. Marzipan has whole egg and 75% of the base is sugar instead of 50-50 ratio.
Love your recipes Seaside Baker!! I’ve made & used this recipe in several cakes & bars. DELISH. I could just spread this over a hard crust bread!
I see you have a recipe for French macaroons. Do you have one for the expresso/coffee flavor macaroons?
Thank you for such a simple recipe!!! I’ve been wanting for years to try my hand at Banket…a Dutch treat but can never seem to find almond paste. A couple times I was “tricked” into buying marzipan labled as paste and it completely destroyed the end product (no one could chew through it!) The fact you had the recipe in imperial measures and not that silly metric was a huge benefit too….not every cook has a scale in the house! I just made this and will use it in my baking tomorrow!
Silly metric, hrumph!
Metric is an amazingly accurate way to bake quickly & consistently.
Invest in a food scale… its like $15.
Signed,
An American
I work in a lab where I use metric, so I go back and forth between the two at home.
Oh my lord — thank you so, so much for a simple version of this! I have been researching this recipe for a few weeks now and have seen from simple to crazy – boiling honey, water and sugar to make a syrup, and then blanching, peeling, cooling and grinding your own almonds, etc. This ROCKS! I am very excited and grateful.
Hi! I just need confirmation. Is it ”1 and a 1/2 cup” of almond flour and ”1 and a 1/2 cup” of powered sugar or only ”one half cup” of each. Huge difference. It’s a bit confusing to me now, because I saw another comment of you in a reply to someone and there you mentioned something about ”one half cup”. May I use castor sugar? I suppose this is the same as powered sugar. Thanks for your recipe!
1.5 cups each
You want icing sugar for this recipe. If you only have castor sugar, whirl it by itself in your food processor until it’s superfine.
how many oz. does the recipe make?
thank you very much.
how about adding a bit of xanthan gum as with other gluten free flours
I used this recipe in making Banket and the filling run out and made a mess. I have made this for over 30 years using bought almond paste. Can you tell me what went wrong? thank you
Hi, can you help!
My group, DBE Brigadoon Chapter in Houston make 40+ fruit cakes (Christmas Cakes) every year for the British Festival.Previous years The Almond Co in NY kindly donated 48 lbs to us, but since they were taken over by another company we no longer get the items donated. This year I ordered 6 cans of Roland Almond paste and now I find the product is very crumbly, difficult to role out and cover the cakes. Can you suggest what I can add to the Almond paste to make it less crumbly and more pliable – do I add more powdered sugar or What. Any help would be appreciated. I have emailed the company, so they may be able to help.
Thanks Pauline Symon
Hello and thank you very much for the recipe for almond paste. I just love almond paste. Now my question to you is can I use almonds that are already ground which I buy for other things like almond tarts etc. or do I have to start with the hole almonds??
Thank you so much for this simple money saving recipe. I had a large bag of almond flour in my cupboard I needed to use up. Every Christmas season I make pignoli cookies. They are everyone’s favorite and they rant and rave over them. However they are costly to make between the almond paste and the Pignoli. So I made the paste, used all the flour up and I wrapped them in 8 oz. blocks in wax paper. Put them in a container and froze. Since then I have made the pignoli cookies, twice. Not just for Christmas anymore. I get special requests to make them because I am told mine are better than the Italian bakery’s. Wonderful! I just bought another bag of flour to make more!
Can I save this in frig for months as store bought almond paste. It does have a raw egg white the one you are showing.
Your almond paste have a raw egg white , how long can you keep this almond paste in the fridge.store bought paste keep a while in the fridge.
Thanks for sharing this! I suspected that almond flour could be us d and you confirmed it! On to my Pignoli Nut Cookies!
A true game changer!
Thanks for sharing this! I suspected that almond flour could be used and you confirmed it! On to my Pignoli Nut Cookies!
A true game changer!
I only have almond meal that has almond that are NOT balanced. Can I use that to make the almond paste?
Sorry..That was supposed to say…almonds that are NOT blanched. Is that suitable for almond paste?
Almonds are really easy to blanch yourself. It’s a really satisfying job and children love doing it for you.. put the whole almonds in a pan of boiling water for a minute or two, then strain and plunge in cold water.
Then you just squeeze them and the skins slide/pop off. EASY PEASY !
This is by far the easiest and best recipe for almond paste. I will be making a moroccan cookie, which requires the almond paste to be flavored with orange. Excellent flavor and consistency for shaping. Thank you
Merry Christmas
I tried almond flour, I found it over processed and lacking flavor.
I went to the scoop and save and purchased ground almonds they worked much better.
Hi! Can this be wrapped and frozen?
Wow, this is great news. Wish the posters would include links to their wonderful sounding recipes.