Carrot Top Pesto
Carrot Top Pesto is a sustainable way to use every last bit of your farmers market or garden-grown carrot bunch. This no-cheese version is naturally vegan.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
This Carrot Top Pesto fits right into my goal of reducing food waste in the kitchen. While I might have thrown the leafy green parts of carrots into the compost or trash in years past, these days I do my best to use up as much of the vegetable as I can.
Carrot tops have a flavor that’s earthy and slightly peppery, closer to parsley than anything else, which makes them a natural fit for a pesto. Blitzed with a bit of parsley, garlic, cashews, and lemon, they turn into something you’ll want to spoon over roasted carrots or mix with some mayo for an oven fry dipping sauce.
A quick note before you start: this pesto works best with carrot tops that are still fresh and attached to the root, which usually means farmers market carrots rather than grocery store ones that might not be as fresh. If you don’t have access to fresh carrot tops, my Dairy-Free Pesto is a great alternative.
What Makes This Recipe Work
- Zero-waste by design. Carrot top pesto uses the leafy greens most people toss, so a single bunch of carrots gives you both a vegetable and a sauce
- Naturally vegan, no cheese needed. The cashews add the same richness a traditional pesto gets from parmesan, without it
- Ready in about 10 minutes. No cooking required. You just need a food processor and a few pantry staples.
- Bright, balanced flavor. Lemon zest and juice cut through the earthy, slightly peppery greens, so this doesn’t taste like a “use it up” recipe.
Making Carrot Top Pesto
Unlike a traditional basil pesto, this one starts by mincing the cashews and garlic first, before the greens go in. Carrot tops and parsley are leafier and less dense than basil, so they need something to grip onto as they break down. Mincing the nuts and garlic first creates that base, giving the greens something to catch against instead of spinning loose around the blade.
Before adding your carrot tops, run your hands down the stems and pull off anything that feels woody or thick, usually the parts closest to the carrot itself. These won’t break down and can leave stringy bits in an otherwise smooth pesto. Even with the toughest stems removed, carrot tops and parsley are still more fibrous than basil leaves, so don’t be surprised if this pesto needs more pulsing than you’re used to. Stop, scrape down the sides, and run it again if it still looks coarse.
Don’t skip the lemon zest. It’s easy to juice a lemon and call it done, but the zest is doing real work here. The oils add a brightness that juice alone can’t match, cutting through the earthy, slightly peppery flavor of the greens.
Serving Suggestions
This pesto was made to naturally pair with roasted carrots. Once you cut off the greens for the pesto, wash the carrots and toss with olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 25 to 30 minutes at 425 degrees F. You’ll know they’re done when they’re tender and the edges have started to caramelize. Serve them on a plate with some carrot top pesto drizzled on while they’re still warm.
Freeze extra pesto in a silicone mold for individual portions that you can pull out at any time. It can be thawed and spooned into soups, drizzled over eggs, or mixed with mayonnaise for a dipping sauce.
Using the Whole Plant
If saving carrot tops from the trash or compost bin has you thinking about produce differently, you’re not alone. Radishes are another vegetable where the greens usually get tossed before the roots ever make it home. Similar to this recipe, my Radish Top Pesto uses garden-grown radish greens, or those fresh from the farmers market, to minimize waste.
That’s the whole idea behind recipes like these. You are getting a little more out of every bit of produce.
Carrot Top Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 cups carrot tops, from 1 bunch carrots
- ½ to 1 cup fresh parsley
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ cup raw cashews, or toasted pine nuts
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- ¼ to ½ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Add cashews and garlic clove to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 8 to 10 times to start breaking down and forming a paste.
- Tear the carrot tops, using mostly the leafy portion, into the bowl. Add the parsley. Put the lid back on and run on low until well combined.
- Zest the lemon into the food processor, then squeeze in the lemon juice. Add the kosher salt and black pepper.
- With the food processor running on low, drizzle in the olive oil until desired texture is reached. You don’t want it to be runny, or a thick paste.
Notes
- The carrot top and parsley amounts scale together: 2 cups carrot tops pairs with ½ cup parsley, and 3 cups carrot tops pairs with 1 cup parsley. Use the same ratio for your olive oil: about ¼ cup for the smaller batch, closer to ½ cup for the larger one.
- This recipe originally was published using pine nuts, but it has been adjusted to use cashews as they’re more approachable. You can substitute pine nuts, walnuts, or even macadamia nuts if those are available to you.
- If you don’t have parsley, use additional carrot tops, mint, or basil. Mint or basil will give the pesto a sweeter finish, while parsley and carrot tops are more earthy.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
