Can you use beet greens in the kitchen? Yes! So, instead of tossing those beet greens learn how a few simple ingredients turn them into a delicious beet tops pesto that’s perfect with pasta.
Beet Tops Pesto
Every time I buy beets I am amazed by how many greens are attached to them as I stuff them in my crisper drawer. Sadly, before this week, I always tossed the beet greens away never once thinking that maybe those greens could be used for something. That all ends here.
After my spinach and parsley pesto revelation (whaa? Pesto isn’t just for basil?) I’m more creative turning random green stuff into pesto and this beet tops pesto is such a quick and easy way to use up odds and ends. Some beet greens, some nuts, some cheese, some garlic, some olive oil, and poof! you got yourself a tasty sauce for some pasta.
Hello, easy weeknight dinner.
Since I just shared a roasted beet salad I wanted to take advantage of the situation and show you how I used the beet greens. This recipe makes a good cup and a half of pesto – I tossed some of it with fusilli pasta and froze the rest. Pesto keeps great in the freezer (store it in small containers with a layer of olive oil on top), which means there’s always something to make for dinner as long as you have some kind of pasta on hand. There’s never a shortage of pasta in our house (I just counted and turns out we have 15 boxes of pasta!), but there’s always a need to have different types of sauces. This beet top pesto is a great one to have around.
Ways to Use Beet Tops Pesto
- Toss it with pasta for pasta salads, side dishes, or main course.
- Spread it on sandwiches.
- Mix it with cream cheese and enjoy it with your morning bagel.
- Top a piece of toast with it along with avocado and tomato slices.
- Stir it into store-bought tomato sauce for an extra nutrition boost.
- Spread it on pizza dough and top it with your favorite toppings for pizza night.
Happy pesto-making!
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30-Minute Steak Carbonara for Two
PrintBeet Tops Pesto
Don’t toss those beet greens! Use them to make a flavorful pesto that’s perfect with pasta.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 1/2 cups 1x
- Category: Sauces
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 5–6 cups beet top greens (just the green leaves from approximately 2 bunches of beets)
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 garlic cloves
- Juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Toss the greens, walnuts, grated Parmesan cheese, garlic cloves, and lemon juice and zest in a blender or food processor. Blend them all together until everything is chopped up.
- With the blender or food processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil until the sauce is smooth. Season to taste with salt (start with a couple pinches).
Notes
Toss the pesto with pasta, slather some on sandwiches, top some toast with it, or stir it into store-bought tomato sauce for a nutrition kick.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 257
- Fat: 26.2g
- Carbohydrates: 3.9g
- Fiber: 1.9g
- Protein: 4.6g
Keywords: beet tops pesto, beet green recipe, beet green pesto
Mary says
I made the recipe exactly as you did but added some garlic scapes from my garden. It is delicious !!
★★★★★
April Anderson says
Sounds delicious!