Hot air roasting is the classical way for processing pistachio. In this study, the classical operation was compared with a frying operation that was assumed to be as efficient as classical roasting and permit flavour intensification. The final moisture content at 180 °C was 5.6% at 5 min for fried samples and at 160 °C was 6% at 11 min for roasted samples. The breaking force of pistachio kernels was found to decrease from 2,008 N for raw pistachio to 780, 860, 975 and 1,030 N and then increased from there to 930, 1,460, 1,930 and 2,130 N at 140, 160, 170 and 180 °C, respectively, during frying. The results are similar for roasting. Oil content values ranged between 47 and 48% for the raw pistachio kernels and 53, 54, 55 and 56% after 5 min of frying at 140, 160, 170 and 180 °C, respectively. The results suggest that frying is an efficient intensive and innovative processing technique.