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Garlic Scape Pesto

July 13, 2019 By Sarah

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Garlic Scape Pesto is a unique and delicious pasta sauce, packed with a bright garlic flavor.  But don’t wait to make it—garlic scape season is short!

overhead view of garlic scape pesto with text overlay

This post was originally published in July 2014. | As an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Pasta is a go to in our family.  We love pasta salad, mac and cheese, spaghetti—basically, if it’s pasta with a sauce it’s a dinner that will make everyone happy.  I try to mix it up, alternating between mac and cheese, cooked tomato sauce, fresh chopped tomatoes and basil, peanut noodles, and pesto.  I love pesto because it is so simple to make, and the flavor is always so bright and vibrant.  It’s perfect for summer time.  And while I make my basil pesto year round, thank you modern agriculture, garlic scape pesto really steals the show during a brief window each summer. 

close up of jar of garlic scape pesto

What are Garlic Scapes?

Let’s back up to talk about the scapes themselves.  Have you ever heard of them?  I hadn’t!  Garlic scapes are only available in June and July, so they are a rare commodity.  Scapes are the “flower” of the garlic plant, and by trimming off the green shoots it will divert the growth back to the garlic bulb.  Scapes have a mild garlic taste—they are quite tangy but they aren’t nearly like biting into a bulb of actual garlic! 

pile of garlic scapes used for making garlic scape pesto

Garlic Scape Pesto

A few years ago I saw a recipe for garlic scape edamame hummus on Daily Garnish’s blog.  Emily said she wanted to try something new since everyone makes garlic scape pesto.  But I’d never even heard of scapes at that point, I love pesto, and was curious, so I googled garlic scape pesto and found all kinds of recipes!  I had to try my own cheeseless version, which brings us to this recipe!

overhead view of a bowl of garlic scape pesto with a jar of pesto and stray garlic scapes in the background

How do you make Garlic Scape Pesto?

Making Garlic Scape Pesto is as simple as throwing a few ingredients into your food processor, pulsing, and dolloping on top of pasta, potatoes, rice, a sandwich—basically the carb of your choice!  To prepare the garlic scapes you simply trim of the bulb and the cut end of the scape.  You can chop them down to smaller pieces to make less work for your food processor.  Then toss in hemp seeds, arugula, olive oil, and salt.  Pulse and you are done!  So simple. 

making garlic scape pesto in a food processor

Nut Free Pesto

We are mostly nut free in our house—Jonny is allergic to peanuts and all tree nuts, except for almonds and walnuts.  In this recipe I used hemp seeds.  They are my go to when a recipe would normally call for nuts, to accomodate Jonny’s allergies.  If you aren’t nut free blanched almonds are also delicious!  Salted macadamia nuts are a decadent choice that we have used in the past—increase the amount to 1/2 cup of salted roasted macadamia nuts and be sure to reduce the salt overall if you use them.  

close up of bowl of garlic scape pesto with garlic scape on the side

More Pasta Recipes you will Love!

  • Pasta with Vegan Vodka Sauce — Nut Free!
  • Uncle Jon’s Pasta Salad
  • Classic Vegan Pesto
  • Mac and Cheese with Pumpkin
  • Walnut Feta Pesto

overhead view of a bowl of garlic scape pesto with stray scapes and a jar of pesto in the background

So head to your local farmer’s market or natural foods store quickly and grab a few bunches and get to blending!  Remember, the season is super short—just part of June and July!  Leave me a note in the comments below and let me know how you like this unique garlic scape pesto!

fried dandelions

Print Recipe

Garlic Scape Pesto

Prep Time10 mins
Total Time10 mins
Course: Entree
Cuisine: vegan
Keyword: garlic scapes, pesto
Servings: 8 people

Ingredients

  • 12 garlic scapes
  • 1 cup arugula packed
  • 1/4 cup hemp seeds (see notes)
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt (to taste)
  • water as needed, to achieve desired consistency

Instructions

  • Chop off ends of garlic scapes and the bulbs on the opposite ends.  Discard.  Chop remaining scapes into 1 inch chunks.  
  • Place in food processor.
  • Add arugula, hemp hearts, olive oil, salt and pepper to food processor. Pulse until well processed, adding water as needed/desired. 
  • Enjoy on pasta, potatoes, or even as a sandwich spread!

Notes

In this recipe I used hemp seeds.  They are my go to when a recipe would normally call for nuts.  I have also tried blanched almonds which taste great!  And salted macadamia nuts are a decadent choice—increase the amount to 1/2 cup of salted roasted macadamia nuts and be sure to reduce the salt overall if you use them.  

 

Filed Under: Entree, Recipe

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