How to Make - Beet Leaf Pesto
Don’t toss those beet leaves—turn them into garden gold!
If you’ve been pulling fresh beets from your garden and wondering what to do with those leafy tops, here’s the answer: make pesto! This easy beet leaf pesto recipe is a great way to use more of what you grow and add some serious flavor to your meals.
In this post, I’ll walk you through how I made it, from garden harvest to blender. It’s simple, it’s delicious, and it’s another way to keep growing and eating what you grow.
🌿 Garden-Fresh Ingredients
For this pesto, I used a mix of ingredients right from the garden:
Fresh beet leaves
Basil
Garlic
Not from the garden, but pantry staples:
Walnuts (you can also use pine nuts, sunflower seeds, or almonds)
Extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
Salt
The combo gives you a creamy, flavorful pesto with a beautiful green color and earthy taste.
🧊 Prepping the Beet Leaves
To start, I trimmed the stems and kept just the beet leaves. The stems can be tough and don’t blend as well. Give the leaves a good rinse to get rid of any dirt.
Here’s how I prepped them:
Boil water and toss the beet leaves in for about 2 minutes to blanch them.
Quickly move them to an ice water bath to stop the cooking.
Squeeze out the excess water after cooling, and set them aside.
This blanching process helps brighten the color, remove any bitterness, and keeps your pesto tasting fresh.
🥄 Making the Pesto
Once the beet leaves were cooled and squeezed, it was time to blend everything up.
Here’s what I added to the food processor:
Blanched beet leaves
4 garlic cloves
A handful of basil
1 cup of walnuts
Salt to taste
A drizzle of olive or avocado oil
Start blending and slowly drizzle in more oil until you get the texture you like. I went for smooth and creamy with just a touch of chunkiness from the nuts.
Taste as you go—add more salt, oil, or garlic if you need to tweak the flavor.
🥗 How to Use It
This pesto is super versatile. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use it:
Spread it on sandwiches or wraps
Toss with warm pasta or roasted veggies
Add to pizza as a sauce base
Mix into grain bowls or soups
Use it as a dip with crackers or veggies
You can store the pesto in the fridge for a few days, or freeze it in small containers or an ice cube tray for longer shelf life.
🌱 Why It’s Worth Making
This pesto doesn’t just taste amazing—it’s a smart way to reduce food waste and stretch your garden harvest. Beet leaves are packed with nutrients, and when paired with basil and garlic, you get a fresh, slightly nutty flavor that’s truly unique.
So next time you're harvesting beets, don’t throw out those greens—turn them into something delicious.
Thanks for following along!
If you haven’t seen the full video yet, check it out here and be sure to like, share, and subscribe.
Keep growing,
Matt
🧢 Grab your garden gear here
🥕 More garden recipes on the blog
