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.
The result is a highly original pesto, with an astonishing pinkish-green color and a delicious little bitterness.
1,806 5/5 (1 reviews)
20 min.
Easy
500 g
8 IngredientsLast modified on: June 4th 2025
3.5 oz walnuts
5.3 oz beet tops
2 
3.5 oz Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano)
4 pinches 
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 15 min.
Cooking: 5 min.
All in all: 20 min.
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.
Place 3.5 oz walnuts in a small frying pan over medium heat...
Stage 2 - 5 min.
Stage 3 - 5 min.
Wash then spin-dry 5.3 oz beet tops, keeping only the leaves.
Stage 4 - 1 min.
Place the leaves in a food processor, sprinkle with half the 2 lemons juice, and blend for a few seconds.
If necessary, process the beet leaves in batches - we just want to reduce their volume a little.
If necessary, process the beet leaves in batches - we just want to reduce their volume a little.
Stage 5 - 2 min.
Add the rest of the lemon juice, the zest of half the lemon, the walnuts, 4 pinches vitamin C if necessary (to avoid oxidation and keep a nice color), salt, pepper and a little olive oil.
Stage 6 - 3 min.
Stage 7 - 3 min.
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.
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 recipe | 60 RDI=30 % | 50 RDI=5 % | 90 RDI=10 % | 1,160 RDI=60 % | 4,840 RDI: 60 % |
| Per 100 g | 8 RDI=3 % | 7 RDI=1 % | 10 RDI=2 % | 150 RDI=8 % | 640 RDI: 8 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 500 g : 3.40 €
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
Like these other recipes: Tenderloin steak with beetroot tops and mushrooms, Gratin of beet tops and potatoes, Polenta with beetroot tops, "Au vert" beef, ... See them all 4
Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano)
Like these other recipes: Spinach and ricotta ravioli, Gratin of purple artichokes, Eggplant Polpette, Harichou salad, Spring Bread, ... See them all 58
Walnuts
Like these other recipes: Bistro-style endive salad, Poitevin twist, Jura bread, Caramelised walnuts, ... See them all 4
Lemon
Like these other recipes: Caesar salad, Little caramelized peach tarts, Poivrade artichoke Salad, Arlesian Biscuits, Quince paste, ... See them all 123
Other recipes you may also like
Lettuce "chiffonade"
Chiffonade is a French term meaning "made of rags.", it consists of shredding the heart of a lettuce into thin ribbons.February 21th 2011226 K 15 35 min.
How to make marzipan decorations
Making marzipan decorations for cakes or desserts is fairly simple. Here are some tips to make it even easier.October 13th 2010217 K 24.3 15 min.
Greek salad
This is a classy version of that perfect summer food, Greek salad. The only difficult part is the care and patience needed for dicing the vegetables.July 13th 2010200 K 14.9 60 min.
Potato purée
The French have fond childhood memories of this, and while nothing will ever be as good as "Maman" made, here's a fairly straightforward way to make it.October 3rd 2010241 K5 1 hour 35 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-06-08)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
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.
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.