Don't toss away your carrot greens, use them to make this delicious Vegan Carrot Top Pesto! This zero-waste recipe is easy to make, taking less than 10 minutes and only 9 ingredients. Perfect for tossing with pasta, use as a dip, tossing with roasted veggies, or spreading onto crusty bread.
I love a good pesto recipe, and my new favorite is this vegan carrot top pesto! Carrot tops are the leafy green part of the carrot that is often discarded. It is fully edible and tastes like a cross between parsley and carrots. Yum! Using them in this vegan pesto recipe not only saves the greens from going to waste, but it enhances the pesto flavor with an absolutely delicious garden-fresh taste! This recipe is a must-try!
Common Questions:
Can I eat carrot tops? Are carrot tops poisonous? Yes, you can eat carrot tops. Carrot greens are not only edible, but they are delicious, and they are packed with nutrients including vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, calcium, and iron.
What can you do with carrot tops? My favorite way to enjoy carrot tops is to make vegan carrot top pesto! You can also chop them up and add them to salads, blend them into smoothies, add them to chimichurri, or use them as a substitute for parsley.
What can you do with carrot top pesto? You can toss carrot top pesto with hot pasta, spread it on crusty bread or in a sandwich, toss it with roasted veggies, dollop it onto soups or stews, stir it into mashed potatoes, serve it with vegan seitan steak, or dip tofu bites into it.
How to make Vegan Carrot Top Pesto:
Prep your carrot tops. Use the carrot leaves and top part of the stems. Discard the remaining stems which may be too tough.
Wash the carrot tops well as they are sometimes quite sandy, and discard any brown bits. I used 1 cup packed of carrot top greens, but a little more or a little less will not make much of a difference.
To a food processor or blender, add the carrot tops, a bunch of fresh basil leaves, walnuts, nutritional yeast, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and black pepper, and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed. If your pesto is a bit too thick, add a splash of water or more olive oil until you reach the desired consistency. (I only had the jarred pre-minced garlic on hand this time, but feel free to use 2 whole cloves of garlic).
Use the pesto right away or store it in an air-tight container or dish in the fridge for up to 5 days or you can store it in the freezer.
This vegan carrot top pesto is...
- incredibly tasty
- garden fresh
- zero waste
- easy to make!
Now for some ways to use up your carrots:
Easy Vegan Carrot Muffins
Carrot Fingers
Quick & Easy Pickled Sandwich Veggies
Carrot Fries
My Go-To Vegan Soup
If you try this recipe let us know by leaving a comment, rating it, and don't forget to tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Carrot Top Pesto
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Ingredients
- 1 cup carrot top greens, (from about 4 - 6 carrots) washed, see step 1
- 1 cup fresh basil
- ½ cup walnuts, (see notes for substitutes)
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Prep your carrot tops. Use the carrot leaves and top part of the stems. Discard the remaining stems which may be too tough. Wash the carrot tops well as they are sometimes quite sandy, and discard any brown bits. I used 1 cup packed of carrot top greens, but a little more or a little less will not make much of a difference.
- To a food processor or blender, add the carrot tops, basil leaves, walnuts, nutritional yeast, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and black pepper and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed. If your pesto is a bit too thick, add a splash of water or more olive oil until you reach the desired consistency. Use the pesto right away or store it in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or you can freeze it.
- Ways to use carrot top pesto: toss carrot top pesto with hot pasta, spread it on crusty bread or in a sandwich, toss it with roasted veggies, dollop it onto soups or stews, stir it into mashed potatoes, serve it with vegan seitan steak, or dip tofu bites into it.
Notes
Nutrition
More delicious low waste recipes you might enjoy:
linnie says
OMGosh!!! This is just delicious!! Carrot tops, where have you been all my life??
Thanks so much for another yummy recipe!!
linnie
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
So happy you loved it linnie!!
Debbie says
I stopped buying pesto in the store because of the added milk or cheese. I made a double batch of this pesto and love it. I eat it on everything. I might even try it on pasta (if I don't use it on everything else first). Thank you for bringing pesto back into my world!
Dawn says
My friend showed up for our morning walk with some fresh garden carrots for me! I took one look at the lovely green tops and said “time to make some carrot top pesto!” So delicious and so easy to make. I make a double batch so I can freeze some for later.
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
That's wonderful! Doesn't get much better than fresh garden carrots for pesto!
Kim says
This is a great way to use carrot tops and its an amazing flavor. Just a little different. Give it a try. I try to get Farmers Market carrots for freshness for this.
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Wonderful!
Leola says
I’ve had a carrot top basil recipe before that was good - this one is way better, love it, thank you!
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
We're happy to hear it!
Dayna says
Loved this! I added the lemon zest from the lemon, and cut the oil to 1 tablespoon (and used water instead for the rest of the oil amount). Next time I’ll try pistachios instead of walnuts.
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
That's terrific! Thanks for sharing!