Easy, healthy, and tasty carrot top pesto sauce! Don’t throw away the carrot top greens, they’re edible! in fact, they’re very delicious. Try this super easy pesto recipe once, and you’ll make it every time you buy carrots with green tops.
If you didn’t know that carrot tops are edible, well let me tell you that you can do so many things with them! Add them to your homemade vegetable stock, roast them, or make pesto. Just don’t throw them away! And if you don’t want to use them, just give them to me and I’ll make myself a jar of delicious pesto!
If you’re after a classic pesto recipe, find my basil pesto recipe here.
Table of Contents
How to Store Carrots
Although carrots are available all year round in supermarkets, they have a season, or two! They can be harvested in early spring if sown during winter, but usually harvested from June through to August as they’re sown in the spring.
To keep carrots fresh for longer, store them unwashed in a paper bag on a cool veg rack and they should last for a few weeks. As for peeling, I only peel carrots that are not organic or bought during winter. If you’re buying seasonal carrots and they’re organic, you don’t need to peel them. But either way, the peels can be used to make a tasty homemade stock.
The Ingredients
To make this simple carrot top pesto, here’s what you’ll need:
- Carrot tops – use as soon as buy the carrots and take them home.
- Basil leaves – basil leaves are optional in this recipe but add that lovely pesto flavor.
- Olive oil – a high quality fresh and fruity extra virgin olive oil is best.
- Parmesan or nutritional yeast – use parmesan for a classic pesto flavor, or sub with nutritional yeast for a vegan pesto.
- Pine nuts – traditional pesto is made with pine nuts, but they’re quite expensive. Substitute with walnut or cashew nuts for better value and the pesto will still taste amazing. To make it nut-free, use sunflower seeds.
- Garlic, salt, and pepper.
How to Make Carrot Top Pesto
- In a dry pan over low-medium heat (no oil), lightly toast the pine nuts or any other nuts you’re using. Remove from heat, allow to cool.
- Cut off the carrot tops and wash the leaves. Pat dry using a kitchen towel, and place in a food processor.
- Place all of the ingredients except for the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until completely broken down, scrape off the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the olive oil gradually with the food processor running until you get a slightly emulsified sauce. Thin out with extra oil or water if needed.
Pesto Variations
For a vegan pesto – substitute the parmesan cheese with nutritional yeast. The rest of the ingredients are naturally vegan.
For a nut free pesto – substitute the nuts with sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
Switch up the nuts – As for the nuts, feel free to use any nut that you like. Pine nuts are the classic choice, but you can go for walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pecan, macadamia, pistachios, almonds, brazil nuts, or even peanuts.
Storing Tips
- Fridge: Leftover pesto sauce can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. A thin layer of olive oil can prevent the pesto from oxidizing and turning brown, treat it just like guacamole.
- Freezer: You can freeze pesto in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
How to Use Carrot Top Pesto Sauce
- Pesto is commonly used with pasta as a sauce. Or add it to gnocchi to make this creamy pesto gnocchi dinner!
- Use as a dip.
- Mix in with hummus.
- Top a pizza!
- Spread on bread to make a sandwich (pair with tomato). You might enjoy a Pesto Chicken Sandwich too.
- With baked, roasted, or smashed potatoes.
- Makes a wonderful salad dressing. You’ll have to thin it out with extra water or olive oil.
Whenever possible, buy seasonal, local, and organic and enjoy the beauty of plants!
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also enjoy my vegan mayo recipe so make sure to check it out!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Carrot Top Pesto Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups carrot tops no stems
- ½ cup basil leaves packed – no stems, optional
- ⅓ cup pine nuts or any other nut
- ½ cup parmesan cheese see notes to sub with nutritional yeast
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a dry pan over low-medium heat (no oil), lightly toast the pine nuts or any other nuts you’re using. Remove from heat, allow to cool.
- Cut off the carrot tops and wash the leaves. Pat dry using a kitchen towel, and place in a food processor.
- Place all of the ingredients except for the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until completely broken down, scrape off the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the olive oil gradually with the food processor running until you get a slightly emulsified sauce. Thin out with extra oil or water if needed.
Notes:
- I use table salt to make the pesto. If you’re using kosher salt, you will need to add around 1 teaspoon. Start with ½ teaspoon, taste the pesto, and add more if needed.
- Use fresh carrot tops and basil leaves without the stems to make the pesto.
- Substitute the pine nuts with walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pecan, macadamia, pistachios, almonds, brazil nuts, or even peanuts.
- For a vegan pesto, substitute ½ cup of parmesan with ¼ cup nutritional yeast.
- For a nut-free version, substitute the nuts with sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
- Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. A thin layer of olive oil can prevent the pesto from oxidizing and turning brown. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Yield – This recipe makes about 1 cup of pesto, we divided it into 8 portions.
- Nutrition values are calculated per 1 portion of pesto (⅛ a cup)
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Becca says
Love this! I usually make pesto with spinach but find this even better! I use walnuts, nutritional yeast and add a squeeze of lemon and red pepper flakes.
Diana says
Awesome! I love this recipe and I’m glad you love it as well!
Cassia says
Why did you change the recipe? The old one was perfect for my vegan and nut free family members. Is there anything was to get recipe before updated?
Diana says
Hi Cassia, I don’t think that I changed the recipe. To make it vegan use nutritional yeast, and sub pine nuts with sunflower or pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!
Jessica says
How much walnuts or sunflower seeds do you use?
Diana says
Hi Jessica, about a third of a cup. Enjoy!
Kyra says
This recipe was perfect and great for Delicious and great for using some extra greens I had on hand!
Diana says
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Kyra, and I appreciate you leaving a review too!