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This leftover greens pesto recipe is the perfect way to use up greens that often get thrown away. Have some lettuce, carrot tops, or radish greens hanging around? Buy too many fresh herbs this week? You can make any greens into delicious pesto! It’s a great way to save money on your grocery bill and help prevent food waste.
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Pesto is a tasty way to get more leafy green vegetables into your diet. While there is a lot of controversy in the world of nutrition, almost everyone agrees that greens are a healthy food. Most of us don’t get enough of them, so why not try this easy recipe?
Pesto makes every dish more appetizing!
– Dennis 
🥬 Leftover Greens Pesto Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make fresh low carb pesto sauce:
- 2 cups fresh leafy greens or herbs (loosely packed)
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- ¼ cup nuts or seeds
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil (i.e., EVOO)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Get a printable recipe card at the end of the post!
I find my large-capacity food processor to be a handy tool that whips up pesto fast. To store pesto without freezer burn, I recommend using ice cube trays and a vacuum sealer.
➕ How to Make Leftover Greens Pesto Sauce
Making pesto is very simple! When you use tough or bitter greens to make pesto (think carrot leaves, kale, or radish greens), I recommend blanching your greens first for 1-2 minutes. With lettuce or fresh herbs (I’m using a mix of basil, chives, and sage), you can skip the blanching step.
Plunge blanched leaves in ice cold water to stop the cooking process and drain them well. Rinse other leaves and herbs in cool water and dry them in a salad spinner. Then give them a rough chop and throw them in your food processor. Add the nuts or seeds, garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt, and black pepper.
Drizzle everything in the food processor with the olive oil. Blend your any greens pesto until it reaches the desired texture. You don’t want it completely smooth; I think a little grit is best in finished pesto.
Are the ingredients for pesto are sticking to the sides of your food processor? Stop the processor and scrape down the sides with a spatula. Then put the lid back on and continue blending.
You may need to stop the processor and scrape the sides a few times before you’re done. Sometimes my pesto ingredients seem a bit stickier than others.
After blending, you can use your finished pesto in recipes or store it for later use. Easy!
Is pesto keto?
Pesto sauce is a keto friendly condiment, as it is naturally low in carbs. This pesto will remain low in carbs regardless of the leafy greens and herbs you use. You’ll love having this keto pesto sauce on hand, ready to use on veggies, fish, and meats!
How do you make vegan pesto?
To make this pesto dairy free, you will need to either skip the Parmesan cheese or swap it out for a vegan alternative. UPrise foods has a nutritional yeast-based Parmesan alternative that may work in this recipe.
If you have lactose intolerance, aged, hard cheeses like Parmesan have very little lactose. You may find that you can enjoy this recipe comfortably without any modifications.
🌡️ How to Store Pesto Sauce
IMO the best way to store pesto is to freeze it in an ice cube tray. A regular-sized tray for ice cubes (with 2-tablespoon compartments) works perfectly. Each cube of leftover pesto is equivalent to one serving.
After the pesto cubes are frozen, I use a vacuum sealer for packaging the cubes. Then I simply pop them back in the freezer until I am ready to use them. The vacuum sealing step helps to prevent my pesto from getting freezer burned.
When I want to add some pesto to a meal, I take the number of servings I need out of a vacuum sealed bag. (If there are still cubes left in the bag, I simply reseal it and stick it back in the freezer.) To defrost pesto, either leave it in the fridge overnight or use the microwave. Easy!
🌱 Greens for Pesto
Just about any green you wish to use will make a terrific low carb pesto, so don’t be afraid to get creative! Here are a few ideas for pesto greens:
- Basil (for a classic pesto recipe)
- Spinach
- Kale
- Arugula
- Collard greens
- Beet greens
- This Carrot Leaves Recipe for pesto that uses carrot tops
- Radish tops (a great way to use the greens from radishes that have bolted in the garden)
- Parsley
- Cilantro
- Pineapple sage
- Fennel fronds
These are all options for making green pesto. You could also experiment with red pesto recipes using sun dried tomatoes and roasted red peppers as a base. I’ve also seen black pesto using olives. YUM!
🌰 Nuts for Pesto
Pretty much any nut or seed could be used in keto pesto. Use your favorite nuts and seeds, or use what you happen to have on hand! I made a low carb pesto with pecans here, but there are so many other options to explore:
- Pine nuts (for a classic low carb pesto)
- Keto pesto with walnuts
- Pistachio pesto
- Macadamia nuts
- Sunflower seeds (makes a great nut free pesto!)
- Pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
- Almonds
- Hazelnuts
- Peanuts
👩🍳 Recipes Using Pesto
One of the most common ways to use pesto is to stir it into pasta dishes. However, if you think outside the box, there are actually lots of ways to use pesto sauce.
For example, you can use pesto as your new secret ingredient for salvaging meals. Revive your leftover dried out chicken or overly dry roasted veggies by stirring in some pesto! You’ll be amazed at how well pesto can cover up certain culinary indiscretions. (I promise, I won’t tell!)
Here are some other ways to use pesto:
- Keto Caprese Chicken Recipe
- Keto Mini Quiche
- Use it to top Air Fryer Frozen Tilapia
- It’s also super on Air Fryer Spaghetti Squash
- Stir it into your favorite cooked veggies, like these Air Fryer Frozen Vegetables
- Make the pesto vinaigrette from my Wildflower Bread Chopped Salad recipe
You could also try this savory condiment over zucchini noodles. Low carb pesto zoodles are SO delicious!
Watch How to Make It!
Leftover Greens Pesto Recipe (Use Any Leafy Greens or Herbs!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh leafy greens or herbs (loosely packed)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup nuts or seeds
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- If you use tough or bitter greens to make pesto, chop and blanch your greens first for 1-2 minutes. With lettuce or fresh herbs, you can skip the blanching step.
- Plunge blanched leaves in ice cold water to stop the cooking process and drain them well. Rinse other leaves and herbs in cool water and dry them in a salad spinner. Then give them a rough chop and throw them in a food processor.
- Add the nuts or seeds, garlic, grated Parmesan cheese, salt, and black pepper to the food processor. Drizzle with the olive oil last.
- Blend your pesto until it reaches the desired texture. You may need to stop the processor and scrape down the sides with a spatula if ingredients are sticking to the sides. Enjoy your homemade pesto!
Equipment
Notes
💭 Expert Tips from Dietitian Summer Yule
This is a level 3 recipe (weight maintenance and active lifestyles). Many of the most popular condiments in the American diet (think BBQ sauce, ketchup, and many salad dressings) contain sugar. Pesto is different because it does not typically contain any added sugars at all. It always brings me joy to help people bring more variety to their plate in a delicious and nutritious way. That said, something to understand about pesto is that it is essentially an added fat, and the portion size is SMALL. This recipe makes approximately seven 2-tablespoon servings of pesto. Each small serving will add over 200 calories to your meal. Even if you follow a keto diet for weight loss and aren’t explicitly counting calories, you still need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. I tend to think of pesto as a heart healthy way to pack more energy into meals. With energy dense ingredients like olive oil (120 calories per tablespoon) and nuts (150-200 calories per tablespoon), pesto is a high calorie food. Nutrition information is for one serving of the recipe. Carbohydrates listed are net carbohydrates (total carbohydrates minus fiber).
nutrition info disclaimer
All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.
The nutrition information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be inaccurate, so please don’t sweat the numbers too much.
“To taste” means to your preferences, which may have to be visual to follow food safety rules. Please don’t eat undercooked food x
Nutrition
👨🍳 More Low Carb Recipe Ideas
If you enjoyed this recipe for leftover green pesto, here are some other low carb recipes that you may like:
- Cloud Bread with Greek Yogurt
- Air Fryer Egg Cups
- Keto Trail Mix
- Air Fryer Parmesan Crisps
- Chorizo Recipe (Fresh, Homemade Mexican Chorizo Sausage!)
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Hello! I’m Summer, a registered dietitian and home chef who loves to cook, eat, and create recipes for you! Every recipe on this site has been tested by me to help ensure your success in the kitchen. All eaters are welcome here 🙂
Thank you for the recipe! Pesto makes every dish more appetizing!
I agree! Thank you so much for leaving a rating!
What a beautiful recipe! Making pesto with sage is a really intriguing twist I’m going to have to try now, Summer.
So, my compliments to the chef. Also, my compliments to the gardener. Those are some gorgeous leaves! Nearly too exquisite to eat.
Thank you! Sage pesto and fennel frond pesto might just be my two favorite pesto varieties. I hope you get to try this!