Easy Carrot Top Pesto Recipe

Carrot top pesto is a sauce made of fresh carrot tops, or carrot leaves, with pine nuts, pecorino or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, olive oil, and garlic. Traditional pesto recipes feature fresh basil leaves, but using the tops of discarded carrots in place of basil is an excellent way to avoid food waste. Carrot greens are high in vitamin K and potassium and give the pesto an earthy flavor. You can also use a combination of carrot tops and basil to make a carrot top-basil pesto.

To make pesto, blend the ingredients using a mortar and pestle, blender, or food processor. Follow these tips to learn how to make pesto right every time:

1. 1. Add a pinch of salt. Adding salt to the carrot tops helps break down the leaves while blending.
2. 2. Brighten the pesto. Though not a traditional pesto ingredient, lemon juice or and/or zest can help brighten a lackluster pesto.
3. 3. Clean the carrot tops. Carrot tops naturally trap a lot of dirt, especially at the base. To ensure you get them extra clean, rinse them in a bowl of cold water, gently shaking the greens. Change the water out until it’s completely clear to avoid a gritty pesto.
4. 4. Make it vegan. To make this pesto vegan, substitute Parmesan with nutritional yeast and a couple of teaspoons of vegan yogurt or ricotta to compensate for some of the fat usually provided by cheese.
5. 5. Store leftover pesto in the fridge, covered in a layer of olive oil. For longer-term storage, freeze pesto in ice cube trays and cover with plastic wrap. (Pesto won’t retain its beautiful bright green color after defrosting, but it’s a good trick when you’re overloaded with carrot tops.)
6. 6. Toast the nuts. Many recipes toast pine nuts to add a rich, roasted flavor to pesto, but leaving them raw is also perfectly acceptable. Using raw pine nuts saves some time vis à vis toasting and cooling, and it also preserves their sweetness. You can substitute cashews, pumpkin seeds, pecans, pistachios, or sunflower seeds for pine nuts.

You can serve carrot top pesto as a sauce or condiment with various dishes. Consider the following applications:

1. 1. Crostini: If you plan to enjoy carrot top pesto on crostini (toasted baguette slices) or as a sandwich spread, make sure it’s on the thicker side so it spreads nicely but won’t drip over the edges of the crostini. Finish your pesto spread with shaved Parmesan cheese and freshly cracked black pepper.
2. 2. Crudités: Purée the carrot top pesto and serve it as a dip with a crudités platter (a tray of raw, cut vegetables), zucchini fries, or even pizza. Since the pesto has a bright, herbaceous flavor, it pairs well with sweeter vegetables, such as bell peppers and carrots.
3. 3. Over veggies: Carrot top pesto is a great way to use up leftover carrot tops, but it can also be a part of a whole carrot dish. Spoon carrot top pesto over a platter of roasted carrots and finish with some Parmesan cheese and lemon zest for a nutritious side dish. The bright flavor of the carrot tops would also make a delicious pairing for earthy roasted beets, or even roasted chickpeas.
4. 4. Pasta: Carrot top pesto is a good alternative to red sauce on pasta. It adds a distinct texture and flavor and adheres much better than a traditional marinara sauce to penne pasta and other types of pasta. You can add a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of red pepper flakes to complement the garlicky flavor in a carrot top pesto pasta dish.
5. 5. Salad: You typically dress a pasta salad with mayonnaise or a vinegar-based dressing, but substituting carrot top pesto sauce will add a unique flavor and increase the veggie content. Or try it in place of dressing on your favorite green salad.