Dairy free carrot top pesto is not only a great use for carrot tops but a delicious way to add herbaceous flavor to just about anything. Fresh and zingy notes of vinegar, lemon and Calabrian chili will wake up your taste buds and create a great balance to savory ingredients, walnuts and nutritional yeast.

Carrot Tops?

Chances are, you won’t see a carrot top in sight in the produce aisle of a grocery store. Instead, all the carrots will be neatly trimmed, packaged in plastic with 20 other carrots. Carrots are a root vegetable. Typically, we eat the roots, but the plant doesn’t care what we want. Its goal is to grow greens that suck up sunlight, to eventually flower and reseed itself to keep the circle of life going. When a carrot is pulled, the green tops live off the root, sucking liquid from it like its life depends on it (because it does!). Therefore, grocery stores just about never leave the tops attached, and if they do, chances are, the veg looks pretty sad from lack of water.

So.. where do I find them?

Not all hope is lost! Talk to local growers at farmers markets and request carrot tops. The cost should be similar to parsley or cilantro. Option two, grow your own! If you’re anything like me, you will be completely infatuated with the beautiful, colorful world of variety that opens up to you. Now, you don’t have to stick to your typical grocery store carrot. Cosmic purple carrots are stunning with their purple skin that retains color even after cooking. Parisian carrots are fun, with their stout, chunky bodies, perfect for a kid’s garden. The greatest advantage of growing your own carrots, in my opinion, is the second harvest of carrot tops! I find very little pest pressure on carrots, so I never have had to spray anything, even organic solutions. Harvest tops the same time as the root. The roots do need the tops to grow to their full potential.

Flavor Breakdown.

So, you now know carrot tops are edible, but do they taste good?

The answer is yes. The taste is similar to parsley. Pesto is a great option for them because they add herby flavor but are not overpowering.

Basil is still welcome to this pesto party, just not as much. Make no mistake, carrot tops are the star. The floral, peppery, flavor of Genovese basil rounds out the slight bitterness of carrot tops.

Bitter isn’t always bad. Slightly bitter greens like radicchio, escarole, and carrot tops can hold up very well to bright flavors, like lemon, vinegar and spice. Which is why in this carrot top pesto recipe, acid is key! Lemon juice, citrus Champayne vinegar (I like O California brand) and jarred Calabrian chilis are all utilized. The vinegar is a bit more pungent than lemon juice and the Calabrian chilis are packed in oil and vinegar. The heat from the chilis prickles your taste buds but is well balanced with the fat from Extra-Virgin olive oil.

Walnuts are mild and give good texture when ground. Nutritional yeast is used here as a cheese substitute, not because I have any problems with cheese, but I genuinely like nutritional yeast in this recipe. It adds umami and nuttiness.

Roasting or air frying the garlic before combining with the carrot top pesto gives the garlic a sweetness, cutting the pungency. The garlic clove will easily slip from its skin and be soft when done cooking. A little color is fine but be sure not to overcook it. Garlic will take on a bitterness when overdone and not the good kind!

Bringing it all together.

This isn’t complicated. Add all ingredients in a food processor except olive oil. Start to blend and stream in the oil until the texture is similar to a tapenade. Scrape the sides down a few times if necessary. You do want the stems of the carrot tops well broken down to avoid a stringy texture. Scrape your beautiful, aromantic pesto into a bowl. Smash the roasted garlic and mix it into the pesto with a fork. Drizzle more olive oil on top.

What to do with carrot top pesto.

Carrot top pesto makes for an excellent sauce, dressing or marinade. Try marinading chicken breasts and serving more pesto on the side. Toss roasted veggies in pesto like I did with honey roasted carrots.