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This flavorful beet green pesto recipe shines with the addition of fresh garlic and shredded parmesan cheese.  It is the perfect use for beet greens that avoids waste.

Do beets arrive every year in your CSA box, but sit forgotten in the back of the refrigerator? If so, this recipe is perfect – it’s simple, delicious, and reduces waste.  This flavorful pesto shines with the addition of fresh garlic and shredded parmesan cheese.  It is the perfect use for beet greens.

I was making my Sheet Pan Pork Loin With Roasted Root Vegetables for dinner one night and was about to toss the beet greens.

Now, I don’t toss them into the garbage, I toss them into a ziplock freezer bag to keep them for making chicken stock the next time I roast a chicken.  To do this, take the chicken bones, add the saved vegetable scraps from the freezer, put it all into the crockpot, fill it with water and let it cook all day.  Then simply strain, flavor with salt and pepper, and you have fresh chicken stock to either use right away or freeze for later!

I was motivated to use those greens fresh, due to the ReDux challenge.   I decided to turn the beet greens into a nutrition-packed, delicious pesto.

What exactly are beet greens?

• Beet greens are young, leafy tops of the beetroot plant
• Beet tops carry more minerals, vitamins, and health benefiting antioxidants than its root, yet they are one of the very low-calorie leafy-greens
• You can eat beet greens at any stage of plant growth, but they are at their best while the plant is young and its stems are soft and tender.

Pro Tip: To de-stem beet greens, or any other green, simply place your hands around the stem and firmly pull, separating the greens from the stem as seen below.

This recipe is wonderful to make with children.

Kid get to see first hand how all parts of a plant can be utilized.  They get to play with the food while de-stemming the greens and can press the buttons to puree the pesto.  Getting your children involved in the preparation of meals is one of the best ways to get them trying new foods.

Toss the greens into a food processor or blender.

Add the rest of the ingredients and puree.

Simply toss the pesto with the cooked pasta and serve either hot or cold!

If you haven’t used the bottom of the beet plant yet, consider peeling, dicing, tossing with a bit of olive oil and roasting them.  The beetroot (beets) are delicious in this pasta!

Beet Green Pesto Pasta

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Jodi Danen, RDN | Create Kids Club
• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 10
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 6 1x
• Category: Main Course
• Method: Boil
• Cuisine: American

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Description

A delicious pasta recipe packed with nutrition that takes less than 30 minutes to make.

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Ingredients

• 8 oz. box whole grain penne pasta, cooked
• 1 bunch beet greens, de-stemmed
• 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen basil (optional)
• 1 tbsp. fresh minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

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Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to blender
2. Blend until smooth
3. Toss pesto with pasta
4. Serve hot or cold

3041.4 g281.9 mg14.3 g36.5 g1.8 g8 g

Have you ever thought about using the tops of beets before?  I’d love to hear if you have suggestions on other things to do with them!  

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