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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Beet Tops Pesto
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 1/2 cups 1x
Description
Don’t toss those beet greens! Use them to make a flavorful pesto that’s perfect with pasta.
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.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Sauces
- Cuisine: American
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
Julia says
Great way to use the whole beet – thanks for sharing this! I used less oil (little over 1/4 cup) and toasted pecans because I was out of walnuts. Added it to angel hair pasta and topped with some sliced Greek olives, crumbled feta and sliced cherry tomatoes- so good!
★★★★★
April Anderson says
That sounds so good!
Diane Asoyuf says
I thinned my beets out in the garden and used these beet leaves, It is a little more liquidy than basil pesto, but still good
★★★★★
April Anderson says
Glad you liked it!
Victoria Keir says
We’ve been growing our own beetroot and had been pickling that ready to be picked. Was about to put the leaves in the compost bin before I came across your recipe. It was super tasty, we enjoyed it so much I bottled some up for my brother to try. We ended up using pine nuts instead of walnuts as that’s what was available and used a little more than the recipe recommended. So thank you, it was nice being able to put the the whole plant to use!
★★★★★
April Anderson says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Becky says
This recipe sounds delish! I started snipping both beet greens and swiss chard yesterday and would love to make this for Christmas gifts. Can this be canned to last longer?
April Anderson says
I haven’t tried canning this recipe so can’t say how that would work – sorry about that!
Amy says
Flavor is yummy, but mine was watery in texture. I must have received really juicy beet greens! I added more walnuts to improve the texture.
chris says
I normally use my beet leaves in my smoothies. It was hard to give them up for pesto but, worth the wonderful results! Can this be heated before use or best tossed with warm noodles? I am new to making pesto.
★★★★★
April Anderson says
I usually just toss it with hot pasta – so glad you enjoyed it!
Kelly says
How long do you recommend it keeps for?
April Anderson says
It will keep in the fridge for up to a week – you can also freeze it for a few months.
Kristin says
Just a few months?
April Anderson says
Like anything frozen, it will lose some of its quality over time. I think it’s best within a few months. Hope that helps!
Anniebugz89@gmail.com says
What but would you recommend if one doesn’t have walnuts or pine nuts?
April Anderson says
Almonds would work, too, but if you don’t have any nuts on hand you could just skip them – it will still be good just won’t have the nutty flavor and the texture will be thinner/smoother.
Kathy Polzin says
I used 1+ cup of pine nuts, as my husband doesn’t like walnuts. I used lemon juice from a whole large lemon, and 7 lg garlic cloves – we LOVE garlic!! It was delicious!! We love beet greens, and this was another way to use them in a delicious way! Thank you for the inspiration to branch out!!
★★★★
April Anderson says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Rebecca Hubbell says
What a fantastic way to use up beet tops, normally I just toss them, but no more! Can’t wait to enjoy this recipe!
★★★★★
Carla says
First time making pesto. Had these beautiful beet greens and didn’t want to toss them. My daughter suggested pesto and I am grateful for your delicious recipe!
April Anderson says
So glad you loved it!
Lane Patten says
This is delicious and I LOVE the fact that it uses the WHOLE vegetable! Perfect!
★★★★★
Karin A Crichton says
WOWSERS!!! Last week I sautéed my beet greens. They were “ok”. Your Pesto is PHENOMENAL!!!
★★★★★
April says
Oh that’s so great to hear! So glad you liked it 🙂
XavierMC says
Nice spread for a BLT. Easy to make too! I can’t wait to use it with pasta or with chips. Thank you!
★★★★★
April says
I love that idea! Thank you for letting me know 🙂
Rosemary @anitalianinmykitchen says
Wow, what a great idea. Sounds delicious. Happy New Year to you and your family April.
Bridget Smith says
that is so clever, i love it. bet it would be really good on a sandwich too..mozzarella, tomato , pesto panini?
April says
I like the way you think! 🙂