Vegan Sorrel and Garlic Scape Pesto is a fuss-free way to make the most of summery sorrel and garlic scapes! Use this freezer-friendly recipe to add life and flavor to pasta, pizza, and more! It comes together in about 10 minutes and is gluten-free and dairy-free.

It’s early summer and that time of year when curious-looking produce pops up at the farmer’s market and in the local section of your natural grocer. It’s also the time of year that I set aside hard rules for recipe creation and feel free to explore making something yummy out of the random greens that come home in my weekly CSA share. The past two weeks have been a bounty of French sorrel and garlic scapes. I even picked some extra scapes from my friend, Betsy’s garden!

If you haven’t yet become acquainted with sorrel or garlic scapes, let me introduce you. Sorrel (we are using French sorrel in this recipe) is a leafy green that falls somewhere between an herb and a leaf vegetable. It tastes like lemon-kissed spinach with faint sour notes. Garlic scapes are the green stalks that extend from the base of hardneck garlic plants. They grow straight at the base with curly tops ending in a long pointed bulb. They taste…well…like garlic! So much so, in fact, that you can swap out garlic cloves for scapes in most recipes, like pesto!

Sorrel and Garlic Scape Pesto in a basket

Why this recipe works:

Minimal ingredients- Sorrel and garlic scapes are a pesto lover’s dream come true. The natural lemon flavor in sorrel and garlicy scapes keeps the ingredient list minimal because the flavor is built into the greens.

Low effort- Part of pesto’s joy is an uncompromising flavor that is as simple as tossing ingredients into a food processor and blitzing away.

Freezes beautifully- Oily pesto freezes like a dream so you’ll never have to watch a bunch of sorrel or a curly tangle of scapes turn to mush in the fridge.

Wildy flavorful- Seasonal and foraged ingredients are fun to create with, lending a wild charm in the flavor department. If you love lemon and garlic, you’ll want to spread this pesto on everything in your life!

Note: Pop extra garlic scapes in a freezer-friendly bag to freeze for later. They will “chill” out when frozen with less of a raw spicy bite to them. Thaw in the bag at room temperature before using.

Sorrel and Garlic Scape Pesto on a table

Ingredients:

Let’s take a look at what’s in this recipe plus where to find sorrel and garlic scapes.

Sorrel- Sorrel grows from late spring to early fall. If sorrel grows in your area you can find it at the farmer’s market, in the “locally grown” produce section of your grocer, or in a CSA box. Like many forgeable greens, sorrel also grows wild. Look for firm, bold green leaves.
Garlic Scapes- These long curly tendrils emerge from the base of hardneck garlic plants sometime in June. Their growing season is short, ending in July, so take the plunge and grab a bunch when you see them. Choose the bright green ones that haven’t begun to wilt or turn yellow. You’ll find scapes in the same places as sorrel, the farmer’s market, the “locally grown” section of your grocer, or in a CSA box.

Have you heard of Eat Local First? They have a nifty Food and Farm Finder for folks in the state of Washington. Out of state? Local Harvest is another excellent resource!

Pine Nuts- Are-Expensive!!! That being said, you only need 2 tablespoons in this recipe, and I feel the butter flavor they impart is well worth it. Store leftover pine nuts in the freezer. (I have some that are over a year old and still taste just fine.) If you just can’t pull the trigger on pine nuts, use walnuts instead. This recipe uses raw pine nuts.
Nutritional Yeast- This is our easy vegan version of cheese. It gives this vegan pesto a hint of cheesy flavor, tempers any bitterness of the sorrel, and lends a touch of creaminess.
Olive Oil- Yup, pesto is oily! It’s also rich and luscious, making it perfect for tossing with pasta or topping pizza. Choose a good quality olive oil. If it says “extra virgin”, comes in a dark bottle, and was bottled within the last 18 months, you should be good to go.

If the idea of using ½ cup of oil sends you running, try my Stinging Nettle Pesto or Carrot Top Pesto and swap out the oil for water.

Salt- This essential ingredient marries all the flavors together. I recommend Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt or sea salt.

Here’s everything you need to make this recipe:

Ingredients

4 cups (60 g) of French sorrel leaves, roughly chopped (tender stems are okay to use)
½ cup (60 g) of garlic scapes, trimmed just below the bulb and chopped
2 tablespoons (18 g) of raw pine nuts
2 tablespoons (10 g) of nutritional yeast, plus more to taste
½ teaspoon of sea salt or kosher salt, plus more to taste
½ cup (118 ml) of olive oil

How to make Vegan Sorrel and Garlic Scape Pesto

Well hello there garlic scapes!

1.Prep your garlic scapes- Trim the scapes just below the bulb. You won’t blend the bulb or its top. Then chop the stem, which is the curly part, into 1-inch pieces. If the end of the stem is tough and woody, cut that away as well.

2. Blitz the greens- In the work bowl of a food processor, fitted with the metal “S” blade, tumble in your sorrel and garlic scapes. Blitz until the greens are chopped into itty bitty pieces. Scrape down the sides and pulse a few more times, about 30 seconds total.

3. Add the dry ingredients- Next add the pine nuts, nutritional yeast, and salt. Blitz until you have a chunky paste, scraping down the sides as needed. About 30 seconds more.

4. Pour in the olive oil- With the motor running, slowly pour in the olive oil. You’ll see the mixture loosen, break down, and turn from a paste into oily pesto. This takes about 1 minute. Give it a taste. Add a teaspoon or two more nutritional yeast, if needed, to temper any bitterness. Then taste for saltiness, adding more if you like.

5. Store- Scrape the pesto into a glass jar and store covered in the fridge for up to a week. Pesto freezes beautifully too. Freeze the whole jar, or, for individual servings, line an ice cube tray with plastic wrap. Then fill each compartment with dollops of pesto. Once frozen, lift the plastic out and pop the pesto cubes into a freezer-friendly bag.

Ways to use Vegan Sorrel and Garlic Scape Pesto

Pesto is like capturing a taste of summer and can be used in a babillion different ways. I love tossing it with pasta, or Homemade Vegan Potato Gnocchi, mixing it into a Tofu Scramble or dolloping roasted smashed potatoes. It’s also the secret ingredient to my Vegan Minestrone Soup!

Sending a giant hug from my mossy little corner of the globe. Thanks for reading and I hope you get a chance to make this yummy vegan pesto recipe!

X,o,

Carol

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Yield: 4 (¼ cup) Servings

Author: Carol Clayton