How to Make Carrot Top Pesto + 5 Ways to Use It!
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Don’t throw away those leafy greens! Did you know that you can make a delicious carrot top pesto that goes great with about anything? Pasta? Of course! Eggs? You betcha! And it’s actually ridiculously easy to make. So let’s get started!
The Easiest Carrot Top Pesto
Gather your ingredients together. You’ll need lots of carrot tops. Make sure you get them clean and dry, and you’ll also want to remove the stems. It’s not bad to use them, but they do not break down as nicely as the leafy parts. I also recommend using a salad spinner to get your greens really dry after washing them.
You’ll also need pepitas, garlic, parmesan, olive oil, water, and salt.
I like pepitas because it seems like very few, if any, people are allergic to them. However, this recipe also turned out great using pistachios, walnuts, and pine nuts. Pick your favorite and use that instead, if you want to.
For the pistachios, you want unsalted and shelled nuts. Don’t worry about the papery skin on them, but if it bugs you, you can remove it. Then, with the garlic, you can use 2 teaspoons of pre-minced garlic instead of whole cloves. You can of course use as much garlic as you like.
The same goes for the parmesan. I actually did get a really nice fancy wedge of parm for something else, so this recipe got a little sprinkle of stardust. If you have the chance, I’d recommend using a good cheese. Please don’t use the kind that comes in a shaker and lives in the dry goods aisle. At least get cheese from the deli section. It will turn out much better.
Then, you just throw it all into a blender, blitz it, and you’re done!
5 Ways to Use Your Fresh Pesto
It’s so easy to make this recipe, but what do you do once you have a whole bunch of pesto? Here are 5 ways you can use your carrot top pesto!
Garlicky Carrot Top Pesto-Mozzarella Rolls
Make up a batch of my pizza dough to start! Roll the dough out into a 12″ x 8″ rectangle. Spread the dough with as much of your prepared pesto as you want. Coat with about a cup of shredded mozzarella. Roll up like you’re making cinnamon rolls from the short side. Slice the resulting log into 8 rolls, and place them in an oiled cast-iron pan. Let them rise for an hour or until doubled in size. Then, brush each roll with garlic butter and bake for 20 minutes at 350ºF. Sprinkle with fresh parm when they’re hot out of the oven.
Carrot Top Caprese Salad
Top thick slices of fresh, juicy, heirloom tomatoes with creamy, sliced fresh mozzarella with your pesto! This pesto is, of course, pretty thick. To drizzle it nicely on your caprese, whisk in a little white wine vinegar and oil until emulsified for a pesto vinaigrette. It’ll loosen up and you can pour it over generously for an amazing flavor boost. Serve atop a bed of arugula, and garnish with some fresh basil!
Quick and Easy Carrot Top Pesto Pasta
Boil up your favorite kind of pasta. It really doesn’t matter what shape it is. Set aside 1 cup of your pasta water. When you add the pesto (use as much as you want) to your pasta, stir in the water as well. You might even want to mix in a little butter for glossiness. The water and butter will make the pesto even richer and saucier. Let the pasta finish cooking in the sauce, and serve up! It’s great all on its own or with some nice grilled protein.
Green Eggs and Ham
Beat your eggs with some of your carrot top pesto. Brown some cubed ham in an omelette pan and add in the beaten eggs. Cook them to a soft scramble. Add a sprinkle of parmesan to serve! This is one of my favorite breakfasts!
Roasted Pesto Carrots
Use the carrots from your carrot tops, too! Peel them and spray lightly with olive oil. Give them a nice sprinkle of sea salt, and roast at 400ºF for 30 minutes until they gently bronzed and soft. Now, you’ll just drizzle on some of your pesto (thin it out with white wine vinegar and olive oil as you would for the Caprese Salad). Finish with a sprinkling of crumbled feta and pepitas for a real treat.
If you choose to use a different nut or seed in your pesto, sprinkle that on top instead of the pepitas.
The Tools You’ll Need for This Recipe
The only two tools I recommend for making carrot top pesto are:
Comment below if you have questions, concerns, or opinions. And tag me @ellejayathome on Instagram or Twitter if you share pictures from any of my recipes. I love to hear from you!
Carrot Top Pesto
Equipment
- Nutribullet blender
Ingredients
- 4 cups carrot tops cleaned and destemmed
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- ¼ cup pepitas (substitute with pistachios, walnuts, or pine nuts)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp pink himalayan salt
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to the cup of your blender. Screw on the bladed lid and set into the blender.
- Pulse the mixture until it's a nice smooth texture with small but still noticeable herby bits. Stop before it's perfectly smooth. It should still be a bit grainy.
- Store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to a week. You could also portion your pesto in an ice cube tray and freeze. Pop out a cube of pest any time you want to add pesto to a dish.
