Many home cooks toss out carrot tops, believing they're inedible or even poisonous. In reality, carrot leaves are completely safe to eat and surprisingly nutritious.
One TikToker shared a quick and easy recipe, showing how these greens can be used as an ingredient in a delicious pesto sauce.
@sabrina_pare i love this recipe! Quick, easy, and healthy. Here is how you can use carrot tops to make a vegan pesto 🥕 Recipe: 1 cup loosely packed carrot tops, tough stems removed (~1 small or 1/2 medium bunch yields ~1 cup or 20 g) 1 ½ cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves, large stems removed 1/3 cup pine nuts (or sub walnuts, pistachios, or cashews) 2 Tbsp lemon juice 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled 1/2 tsp sea salt 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus more as needed) 1-2 Tbsp water (plus more as needed) 1/4 cup nurtional yeast (optional) #reducefoodwaste #foodwaste #carrottoppesto #carrottop #sustainability #sustainableliving #sustainabilitytok #veganpesto #recipe #foodwasterecipe #growfood #gardening #gardentok ♬ original sound - fa4yzee
The scoop
In the clip, home cook and TikToker Sabrina Pare (@sabrina_pare) encourages people to keep carrot tops and use the leaves in their recipes. They explain that they're a good source of nutrients, containing vitamins K, C, A, calcium, and potassium.
The video shows them removing the carrot tops and washing them. They take the leaves from the carrot tops and put them in a blender along with other ingredients for their pesto recipe, including basil, pine nuts, oil, lemon juice, salt, and garlic.
They explain that they're making it as a pasta sauce, but it can also be a sandwich spread or dip.
"It honestly tasted so good and it's such a quick and easy way to reduce food waste and get a little bit of nutrition in," they say.
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How it's helping
While people often discard them for their bitter taste, these greens can add a nutritious boost to pesto, dips, soups, and other dishes. Sabrina's pesto food hack is a creative way to explore plant-based options while getting the most out of every part of the vegetable.
According to Feeding America, people in the U.S. waste around 92 billion pounds of food annually. This is the equivalent of 145 billion meals ending up in landfills.
As this waste decomposes, it releases gas composed of around 50% methane. This type of gas is highly potent and can trap heat in the atmosphere for 100 years, contributing significantly to rising temperatures around the planet.
Trying hacks like Sabrina's pesto recipe and adopting habits like shopping smarter at the grocery store, doing more with leftovers, and keeping food fresh longer can help people save more money while reducing waste.
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Not buying food I don't need 🧐 What everyone's saying
Commenters were surprised to learn that carrot tops are, in fact, nutritious and appreciated the recipe.
"I didn't know this! Definitely going to try it," one user wrote.
"These homegrown carrots are SO CUTE! Great tip," another person said.
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