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    Home » Recipes » Pasta & Noodles

    June 8, 2022 Leave a Comment

    Vegan Carrot Top Pesto

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    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.

    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!

    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.

    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.

    Carrot tops are great for making pesto and taste like a cross between parsley and carrots.

    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. Pick out any brown bits and discard them before making pesto

    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.

    add the carrot greens to a blender or food processor with all of the remaining ingredients. Blend into a smooth vegan pesto

    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).

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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

     

    Print Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    Vegan Carrot Top Pesto

    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.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Total Time10 mins
    Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Pasta, sauce
    Cuisine: Italian
    ingredient tag: noodles & pasta
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 121kcal
    Author: Sam Turnbull • It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken

    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
    US Customary - Metric
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    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

    Walnut substitutes: if needed, sub the walnuts for equal amounts pine nuts, blanched almonds, pecans, or cashews.
    Oil-free: to make the pesto oil-free, sub the olive oil for water, aquafaba, or vegetable broth.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving (recipe makes 6 servings) | Calories: 121kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 146mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 160IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg
    Did You Make This Recipe?Tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram and Hashtag #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    More delicious low waste recipes you might enjoy:

    « Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
    Vegan Satay Skewers (soy curls) »

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    Sam Turnbull

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    I'm Sam. Bestselling cookbook author and full-time vegan recipe creator! I LOVE vegan food, but it didn't start that way. As someone who comes from a family of hunters, butchers, and chefs I'm the last person I thought would go vegan. Here's My Story →

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