These Paleo Roasted Carrots uses every part of the vegetable by making pesto with the carrot tops, and they are so flavorful and make a beautiful holiday side dish!
Less than a week away from Thanksgiving! For the first time in a long time, we are not doing anything for this one and I’m pretty happy about it. No stress of traveling or cooking for a group. We just came back from a vacation and I could really use a month of going absolutely nowhere and doing absolutely nothing so this is perfect.
Paleo Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto Recipe
I do plan to cook us a delicious meal for 2 though. We’ll just have plenty of leftovers to eat for an entire week, which makes me so happy to think about. When it comes to Thanksgiving, side dishes are my jam. I love them so much more than the turkey. There’s just so much versatility and variety when it comes to the sides, especially in the different vegetables you can eat. And that’s what I thought of when I saw this pretty bunch of carrots!
Don’t Throw Out the Carrot Tops!
When I was buying these at the farmers market, the cashier asked if I wanted her to take the tops off, and I quickly replied, “No, thank you.” I hate throwing out any part of a vegetable, and I figured I could use them for something. Well, that something turned into this easy carrot top pesto recipe, perfect for a Thanksgiving side dish.
Perfect For the Holidays
These paleo roasted carrots are packed with flavor. They are like nature’s candy, and their earthy sweetness goes perfectly with the garlicky nuttiness of this pesto. Make it a crowd favorite at your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. This dish will even please your vegan guests!
Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 lb small carrots with tops attached
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup basil packed
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for consistency
- 3 garlic cloves
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black peppers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Wash the carrots and cut off the tops, setting them aside.
- Place the carrots on a baking dish in a single layer, drizzle with avocado oil, and generously sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, tossing and flipping them half way through.
- While the carrots are roasting, remove the thick stems from the carrot tops and place the tops in the food processor.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, and blend until smooth.
- If the consistency is too thick, add more olive oil. Taste and add more salt if necessary
- Once the carrots are done, serve them with pesto.
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This recipe sounds amazing. I have never used the tops of carrots, what I do always use are the leaves of the kohlrabi or beets. I cannot wait to go shopping again, I want to give this a try immediately.
They work really well! I hope you try it out. I’ve been using the pesto on everything recently. So delicious!