Cooking-ez.com

1,531 easy and fully explained recipes, with +66K photos and 78 videos

Beet leaf pesto

Beet leaf pesto
Here's a pesto recipe made with beet leaves, where the pine nuts are replaced by roasted walnuts.

The result is a highly original pesto, with an astonishing pinkish-green color and a delicious little bitterness.
14 K 5/5 (1 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
duree20 min. difficultéEasy prix1.70 € pour combien250 g ingredients8 Ingredients
Keywords:
Last modified on: June 4th 2025
For this recipe: Comment Send to a friend Ask me a question Follow Printable Diaporama Video
For 250 g, you will need:
Change these quantities to make:
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 15 min.
Cooking: 5 min.
All in all: 20 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe

Stage 1 - ⌛ 1 min.
Beet leaf pesto : Stage 1
Place 50 g walnuts in a small frying pan over medium heat...
Stage 2 - ⌛ 5 min.
Beet leaf pesto : Stage 2
...and roast them, stirring regularly.

Note: You can also put them in the oven, but it's a shame to start your oven for such a small quantity.

Set aside and leave to cool.
Stage 3 - ⌛ 5 min.
Beet leaf pesto : Stage 3
Wash then spin-dry 150 g beet tops, keeping only the leaves.
Stage 4 - ⌛ 1 min.
Beet leaf pesto : Stage 4
Place the leaves in a food processor, sprinkle with half the 1 lemon juice, and blend for a few seconds.

If necessary, process the beet leaves in batches - we just want to reduce their volume a little.
Stage 5 - ⌛ 2 min.
Beet leaf pesto : Stage 5
Add the rest of the lemon juice, the zest of half the lemon, the walnuts, 2 pinches vitamin C if necessary (to avoid oxidation and keep a nice color), salt, pepper and a little olive oil.
Stage 6 - ⌛ 3 min.
Beet leaf pesto : Stage 6
Blend again, drizzling in more olive oil until smooth.

Check the seasoning and your pesto is ready.
Stage 7 - ⌛ 3 min.
Beet leaf pesto : Stage 7
Place in a jar, pour a film of oil over the top, close tightly and store in the fridge.
Remarks
We don't use the stems, just the leaves, so there's no need to blanch.

The proportions are only indicative, so feel free to adapt them to the beet tops you have and your own taste.
Keeping: Several days in a closed jar in the fridge.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe30 RDI=10 %30 RDI=3 %40 RDI=6 %580 RDI=30 %2,420 RDI: 30 %
Per 100 g8 RDI=3 %7 RDI=1 %10 RDI=2 %150 RDI=8 %640 RDI: 8 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman
Possible allergens in this recipe: Nuts, milk
How much will it cost?
  • For 250 g : 1.70 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Beet tops
Beet tops

Like these other recipes: Polenta with beetroot tops, Tenderloin steak with beetroot tops and mushrooms, "Au vert" beef, Gratin of beet tops and potatoes, ... See them all 4

Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano)
Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano)

Like these other recipes: Special Parmesan baguettes, Purple Pesto, Brussels sprout salad, Broad bean salad with Parmesan, Spaghetti Carbonara, ... See them all 63

Walnuts
Walnuts

Like these other recipes: Jura bread, Bistro-style endive salad, Caramelised walnuts, Poitevin twist, ... See them all 4

Lemon
Lemon

Like these other recipes: Dandelion flower jelly, Vol-au-vent, Mushrooms à la grecque, Raspberry sorbet, Sliced veal with leeks and mushrooms, ... See them all 125

Other recipes you may also like
Chestnut cake
Chestnut cake
This delightful cake is doubly chestnutty: it contains chestnut flour, and sweet chestnut purée.
August 28th 2025352 K5 1 hour 15 min.
Fruit crumble
Fruit crumble
A fruit pudding: very easy to do and delicious: just a layer of fruit with a golden crunchy topping.
February 21th 2011371 K4.0 1 hour 15 min.
Epiphany galette
Epiphany galette
Here is the recipe for the very classic but delicious "galette des rois" (Epiphany galette) in puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée) with almond cream or frangipane . You will also see some professional tips to easily handle the dough, and obtain a nice and regular galette.
January 1st 2025313 K 24.5 3 hours 8 min.
Nanou's chocolate cake
Nanou's chocolate cake
A moist melting cake, very very chocolaty...
June 22th 2013296 K4.6 1 hour 45 min.
Exotic fruit tart
Exotic fruit tart
An exotic fruit tart (bananas, kiwi and pineapple), with crisp pastry and almond cream which are cooked beforehand. It's a rather simple recipe, but the final result will impress your guests.
May 27th 2020336 K5 2 hours 25 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-11-16)

*Your e-mail Your first name or nickname
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing

Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page