If you’ve not tried Garlic Scape Pesto, put this on your list! Find garlic scapes at your local farmer’s market, farm stand, or Co-Op during mid Spring to early Summer. Their season is short so grab them while you can! Make with pine nuts, walnuts or almonds, this tasty scape recipe takes only 15 minutes to whip up in a food processor. *For a dairy free Garlic Scape Pesto, try my Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Recipe Review: “Perfect use for my garlic scapes!! I could literally eat this with a spoon! (And I did, when my bread ran out 😆). Thank you!!” ~ Julie
Garlic Scape Pesto for Your Garlic Scapes
I had never tried garlic scape pesto until these beautiful curly scapes showed up in a CSA share. I’d had garlic scapes before, roasted, on pizza, in hummus and other delicious dishes, yet I had just not made pesto with them. It was time to try something new… it blew my socks off!
It’s so quick to whirl this garlic scape recipe up, enjoy it, and/or pop it in your freezer for a delicious summertime treat in the middle of winter.
This Recipe Is
- a condiment that’s loud and bold in flavor
- quick to whip up in a food processor
- versatile and delicious
If you make homemade condiments and love the bold flavor of garlic, you’ll enjoy this fun and delicious scape pesto.
What is a Garlic Scape?
A garlic scape is the flower stalk of a hardneck garlic plant. It tastes like garlic, only spicier and bolder. The stem (or scape) of the growing garlic is removed so that the remaining energy goes towards the development of the bulb, or head of garlic, which is good because this helps the plant develop plump, full flavored garlic cloves. So until the garlic harvest later in the season, we feast on scapes!
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How to Make Garlic Scape Pesto
The flavor of this pesto? It’s spicy, creamy and gives any special dish that WOW factor! Garlic scape pesto is a loud condiment, so a little goes a long way.
Freezer tip: I typically put pesto in a Mason jar and freeze it, but pesto can also be spooned into ice-cube trays to freeze, then used later when smaller portions are needed. Also, garlic scapes can be blanched and frozen if preserving them whole or diced is preferred.
Traci’s Tips
- How to Choose Garlic Scapes: Look for garlic scapes at farmer’s markets or local Co-Ops. I tend to prefer smaller scapes as they’re tender and milder in flavor.
- They should be bright green with a firm, yet flexible bottom stem.
- Younger scapes are generally more tender and have a milder flavor, while older scapes can become tougher with a stronger, more pungent and bitter taste.
- Sub those Pine Nuts: Unless purchased in bulk, the cost of pine nuts can be quite high. Feel free to substitute lightly toasted walnuts or almonds – they’re delicious in this pesto!
Ways to Enjoy Garlic Scape Pesto
- Grilled Veggie Sandwich with Pesto Mayo
- Sourdough Pizza
- Gluten Free Sourdough Pizza
- Flatbread Veggie Pizza
- Creamy Farro with Pesto, Asparagus and Peas
- Fresh Marinara Walnut Sauce
- Gluten Free Pizza Crust
- Pesto Spinach Whipped Ricotta Dip
- Broccoli Fritatta
- Spinach Mushroom Pesto Ricotta Lasagna
15-Minute Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 (154 grams) Garlic Scapes, size of scapes vary, use weight for accurate measurement
- 1/3 cup (44 grams) Pine Nuts, *see notes for substitutes
- 1/3 cup (38 grams) Parmesan Asiago or Parmesan , dice or shredded **see note
- 1/2 Lemon, juiced
- 1/8 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- A few grinds of Pepper
- 1/3 cup (70 grams) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
- Trim the garlic scapes by cutting just below the bulb and also if the end of the stem seems woody, trim that too (like asparagus). Discard the bulb and end of stem, then set the remaining scape aside (the curly part).
- In a food processor, add the scapes, twirling them around the center so that they all fit. Add the pine nuts, cheese, juice of the lemon and salt and pepper. Process by pulsing until the mixture begins to break down. Scrape the bowl down.
- With the processor running, slowly add all the olive oil. Continue to process until all the ingredients are incorporated and broken down, about one minute.
- Store in a covered container or lidded jar in the fridge and enjoy within a week. Also, you can freeze the pesto in a jar or in an ice-cube tray. Once frozen, in the ice-cube tray, remove and place in a zip top bag in the freezer.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Made it? Leave a comment below!
The most helpful comment may include recipe rating, feedback, any modifications or helping other commentors.
Harvested the scapes and made 2 batches of pesto. It is so good and spicy. This is my new go to recipes to process my scapes.
Hi Pam! Thank you for your note and giving the pesto a go! SO happy you’re enjoying those spicy scapes!
I’ve had garlic scapes before and loved them. They were a long single stalk that curled around. I ordered some this week from a farmers market and I’m not sure what I got. This time I received bunches that looked like ultra thin ribbon-like floppy green onion stalks with 4 or 5 long leaves/stems attached and the bulbs/roots chopped off. I went ahead and used them and the pesto tastes great and garlicky.
That’s amazing Ess.. so glad they worked for you! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go!
Delicious! Love the addition of lemon, it really brightens the flavor. I only had 5 scapes so I made half the recipe.I added some basil as well. Freezing it future use in my Chicken Pesto Chili.
Love that half batch approach! Thank you for your note, Eva!
I only had enough scapes from my garden to make 1/3 of this recipe. I wish I had more!! Wow!! The flavour is amazing.
SO excited, Barb! Thank you for your note, star rating, and giving the pesto a go. Garden scapes are the best! It’s almost time to plant garlic for next year (more scapes)! Hooray!
I used almonds because that’s what I had. It was delicious. A slightly bitter tang.
Hi Sally! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go. I love almonds in this recipe too!
This was absolutely delicious! I mixed it into zucchini noodles and cherry tomatoes as they were sautéing and it took it to the next level. Definitely a keeper!
Hi Heather! Thank you for your note on IG and FIVE star review here! I love your tip about mixing the pesto with zucchini noodles! SO yumm!
I made this and didn’t really like it. Tasted kind of bitter. I followed the recipe exactly.
Hi Joe! Some scapes, depending on variety and age, can throw bitter notes. I’m sorry it didn’t work for you.
This is an excellent recipe. I didn’t want to make the pesto with basil since I’ll have a lot of that later in the season. I made it from scapes from my garden. I used walnuts and froze the pesto in 1/4 cup size servings. Had some with linguine last night. Delish!
Yes to walnuts and garden scapes, Janet! But with linguine? Heaven!
The flavor and color was so bright and fresh. Really enjoyed this recipe and glad that it gave me a way to use the garlic scapes from my garden. In future, I might halve the amount of scape called for in the recipe, or use the listed amount and double everything else. We used 154 grams of scape and it was insanely spicy for me (tongue went into some serious 4-alarm fire mode). But my co-hort was ok. Funny how the spice level hits people differently. Thanks for the recipe – it’s a keeper for us!
Hi MK! Thank you for your note and giving the pesto a go! I love that you made this from your garden scapes! On spicy things… I *hear* you. Scapes are loud for sure. Something to consider for next time is to reduce the amount of scapes and add basil or arugula to balance or town down the spicy.
I made this recipe with scapes from my garlic garden. Delicious with fettuccine,!
Mmmmmm perfection with fettuccine! Thank you for your note Gail! Hooray!