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    Home » Recipes » Vegan Appetizers, Snacks, and Sides

    Roasted Baby Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto {vegan & dairy-free}

    Published: Aug 26, 2015 · Updated: Aug 17, 2021 · by Nicole · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Roasted Baby Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto
    Roasted Baby Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto
    Roasted Baby Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto
    Roasted Baby Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto

    Delicious baby carrots are roasted to intensify their natural sweetness and topped with a vegan dairy-free pesto made from their green tops. 

    Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto

    I love carrots. Raw, roasted or steamed they are an amazing budget friendly vegetable that almost everyone always has in their fridge.

    My favorite way to eat carrots is raw, in salads, but roasted carrots are definitely a close second. Roasting them intensifies their delicious natural sweetness and adds a wonderful, lightly caramelized flavor.

    When roasting, I like to go for baby carrots which are sweeter, and less woody than their adult counterparts.

    And you'll usually find them with their tops still attached, which is where this lovely carrot top pesto comes in.

    baby carrots with their green tops still attached

    While myths abound that carrot tops are poisonous - they aren't. And what I love about this pesto is that something that so many of us simply trim off and throw in the rubbish, turns into something so delicious that you'll soon find yourself buying baby carrots simply for their delicious leafy tops!

    Yay for less food waste!

    In fact, there are so many delicious recipes that you can make with carrot tops!

    So tell me, do you eat carrot tops? What are your favorite ways to eat them? Let me hear your ideas in the comments.

    More Recipes

    If you love this carrot top pesto, be sure to check out these other delicious recipes:

    • Easy Vegan Pesto Pasta
    • Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
    • Coriander and Cashew Pesto
    Roasted Baby Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto

    Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto

    Delicious baby carrots are roasted to intensify their natural sweetness and topped with a vegan dairy-free pesto made from their green tops. 
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Save Saved!
    Course: Main Course, Side Dish
    Cuisine: dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian
    Keyword: carrot recipe, Roasted Baby Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto, roasted carrots recipe
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 45 minutes
    Total Time: 55 minutes
    Calories: 422kcal
    Author: Delicious Everyday
    6 servings

    Ingredients

    • 1 bunch baby carrots tops still attached
    • 2 tsp olive oil
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • 2 cups arugula aka rocket leaves

    For the Carrot Top Pesto:

    • ¼ cup sunflower seeds
    • 1 ½ cups carrot tops
    • ¾ cup flat leaf parsley
    • ½ cup nutritional yeast
    • 1 tsp dijon mustard heaped
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • zest and juice of 1 lemon
    • 1 cup olive oil
    • salt and pepper
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit (180 celsius). Wash the carrots well and leave the skins on, unless they are particularly gritty. Trim the tops and set aside. Add the carrots to a roasting dish and toss with the oil and salt and pepper. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. The exact timing will depend on the size of your carrots, so check after 25 minutes to gauge how they are doing.
    • While the carrots are roasting, place a frying pan over a low heat and add the sunflower seeds. Toss or stir every couple of minutes until they are lightly golden and smell nutty. Place ¼ cup of the seeds aside to sprinkle over before serving.
    • To make the pesto, place all of the pesto ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary. Note: If this is your first time making a parmesan free pesto you will need to add a lot more salt than you would normally to counteract the fact the naturally salty parmesan is replaced by the nutritional yeast.
    • When the carrots are ready you have a choice. You can serve them hot or leave them to cool. I personally prefer to let the carrots cool to room temperature and eat this as more of a salad, but the choice is yours. When you are ready to serve place the rocket (arugula) on a large serving dish and top with the roasted carrots and dollops of the pesto before adding a final sprinkling of the reserved sunflower seeds.

    Notes

    This will make more pesto than you need. Enjoy the leftover pesto with crudites, crackers, spread on sandwiches, on pasta, or as a dressing on salads. I'm sure you will have trouble finding ways to use it.

    Nutrition (Estimated)

    Calories: 422kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 5gFat: 41gSaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 75mgPotassium: 353mgFiber: 4gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 11133IUVitamin C: 25mgCalcium: 102mgIron: 3mg
    Shop our Cookbooks!Check out our collection of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks for more tasty meatless recipe ideas.

    More Vegan Appetizers, Snacks, & Sides

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    • Oven Roasted Zucchini and Squash
    • How to Make Arepas (The easiest recipe!)
    • Strawberry Chia Jam

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jay says

      July 12, 2016 at 6:04 am

      This was fantastic, massive hit with adults and children alike. It's hard to find nutritional yeast in the UK so I used a teaspoon of marmite and a chunk of soy hard "cheese" (alternative to parmesan) which is widely available in supermarkets instead. Worked really well!

      Reply
    2. Arianna says

      September 22, 2015 at 5:43 am

      Too good these carrots. And congratulations for the beautiful blog

      Reply
    3. The Clever Carrot says

      September 13, 2015 at 10:25 pm

      Hey Jennifer! What can I say, I'm all about my namesake. LOL. But I will say, though I've used the tops for soups, I've never tried them to make pesto! And I LOVE the idea of adding Dijon. I even have nutritional yeast on hand so this is going right on my list to make. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    4. Simone says

      September 09, 2015 at 2:54 pm

      I love carrots. Roasting them is definitely wonderful but I also adore them in juices, or grated as pancakes and the list goes on! I do prefer baby carrots usually as I find them tastier. This looks amazing!

      Reply
      • Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says

        September 11, 2015 at 3:15 pm

        Aside from being sweeter I also find baby carrots less woody. 🙂
        Grating carrots for pancakes is quite interesting, thanks for the idea, Simone!

        Reply
    5. Tania | My Kitchen Stories says

      September 04, 2015 at 9:13 pm

      Carrots are my absolute favourite and I don't are f they are raw or cooked but these little baby ones would be what dreams are made of.

      Reply
      • Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says

        September 05, 2015 at 12:12 pm

        Thanks, Tania!

        Reply
    6. kankana says

      September 04, 2015 at 5:21 pm

      I like to take a similar route when I get some of these stunning baby carrots! Just not pretty, always tasty.

      Reply
    7. May EatCookExplore says

      August 31, 2015 at 8:04 pm

      Love the idea of using carrot tops. Shame, we don't see carrots sold like this in the shops, only from the markets, sometimes.

      Reply
    8. Dani @ Dani California Cooks says

      August 29, 2015 at 7:27 am

      What a fun and creative idea! I love the concept of using the whole vegetable! So glad I stumbled upon your blog today 🙂

      Reply
      • Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says

        August 30, 2015 at 1:50 pm

        Thanks Dani 🙂

        Reply
    9. Jenn @ A Toast to the Good Life says

      August 29, 2015 at 1:39 am

      what a great idea! love this recipe. certainly a must-try. beautiful photos as well! the dish looks delicious.

      Reply
      • Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says

        August 30, 2015 at 1:51 pm

        Thank you so much Jenn. 😀

        Reply
    10. Shannon says

      August 28, 2015 at 5:33 am

      I love chopped up carrot tops added into a green salad with celery tops!

      Reply
      • Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says

        August 28, 2015 at 12:55 pm

        Yes, I use carrot tops and celery tops too 🙂 It's always wonderful whenever you can use the whole vegetable.

        Reply
    11. Laura (Tutti Dolci) says

      August 28, 2015 at 4:24 am

      What a delicious side dish and I love the idea of carrot top pesto! Perfect way to use the entire vegetable.

      Reply
    12. Sonya says

      August 26, 2015 at 11:43 pm

      I love recipes which show how to use the whole vegetable! It annoys me to see discarded carrot tops, broccoli stems, beetroot leaves and the like. Love the idea of a pesto 🙂

      Reply
      • Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says

        August 27, 2015 at 8:23 am

        Me too Sonya! Pesto is a great way to use up veggie scraps as is stock. 🙂

        Reply
    13. Sarah | Well and Full says

      August 26, 2015 at 11:27 pm

      I love repurposing ingredients that would otherwise be thrown away! Carrot tops are one of my favorite greens.... to me, they taste like parsley infused with carroty flavor! 😀

      Reply
      • Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says

        August 27, 2015 at 8:23 am

        Mine too! I'm so glad I'm not alone 🙂

        Reply
    14. Rosa says

      August 26, 2015 at 5:12 pm

      They look delicious! This is such a great idea. Roasted vegetables have so much flavour.

      Cheers,

      Rosa

      Reply
    15. kat@theorganisedhousewife.com.au says

      August 26, 2015 at 12:47 pm

      What a delicious and healthy salad! Presentation looks amazing too.:)

      Reply
      • Nicole @ Delicious Everyday says

        August 26, 2015 at 1:31 pm

        Thanks Kat! I love a good salad 🙂

        Reply

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    Nicole - Vegetarian Food Blogger

    Nicole is a 25+ year vegetarian, and author of a vegan cookbook. She shares her recipes on Delicious Everyday, an award-winning vegetarian and vegan food blog.  About Nicole

    the one pot vegan cookbook, by nicole malik
    5 day vegetarian challenge

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