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You are here: Home | Gluten Free Vegan Recipes | Fennel Fronds Pesto

Fennel Fronds Pesto

By Vaishali | Updated on April 5, 2019 | Posted on April 5, 2019 | 9 Comments

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A fresh, green and delicious Fennel Fronds Pesto to make you feel like a domestic goddess — or a domestic god.

A fresh and green Fennel Fronds Pesto that's fresh and delicious and nutritious. A great way to use up the feathery leaves you might otherwise throw out. #vegan, #soyfree, #glutenfree, #pesto, #nutfree #holycowvegan HolyCowVegan.net

I’ve been making a Fennel Fronds Pesto for years because it seems a shame to me to throw away those gorgeous, feathery greens. When you grow up in middle class India, one of the things you learn early on is to stretch every resource there is until it squeals. And there really is no reason why anyone should throw fennel fronds away. They are delicious, with a fresh, licorice flavor that lends itself perfectly to fresh salads or pestos.

A fresh and green Fennel Fronds Pesto that's fresh and delicious and nutritious. A great way to use up the feathery leaves you might otherwise throw out. #vegan, #soyfree, #glutenfree, #pesto, #nutfree #holycowvegan HolyCowVegan.net

Fennel, in its fresh form, is not eaten widely in India, or at least it was not along the west coast of India, where I grew up, although fennel seeds are commonly used in Indian cooking. When I moved to the United States, I was intrigued by these juicy, crunchy bulbs and their brilliant-green fronds, and the fact that they tasted so much like fennel seed, only way fresher. I incorporated them quickly into my cooking, and never looked back in disappointment.

When I got two lovely bulbs of fennel in my box of Imperfect Produce this week, I was excited and eager to use them up. This fennel fronds pesto was the first thing that popped to mind. I’d posted this recipe for you a long time back, but it’s gotten buried under the more than 1,000 recipes that are now on this blog, so here it is again.

Fennel Fronds

You can use this pesto for pasta, of course — roast the fennel bulbs and toss them in too for a tasty and nutritious meal — but you can also smear it on a piece of toast or top a tasty tofu or tempeh steak with it. Your imagination is the limit, and you really don’t need to limit it when there’s so much deliciousness on offer.

If you’re worried that the pesto will taste too much of licorice, worry not. The flavor is mild, at best, and it is really quite delicious when combined with pasta. I use pumpkin seeds instead of nuts in the recipe, which makes this recipe even healthier. You can sub with pine nuts, the more traditional choice for pesto, or with walnuts.

I don’t really miss cheese in my vegan pestos, but sometimes I add a dash of miso or nutritional yeast, both for their cheesy flavor and for the nutritional weight they bring. I added it here, but you could leave it out and it wouldn’t hurt the flavor at all.

If you make this recipe or any other on the blog, be sure to let me know in the comments below. Or take a photo and tag me @HolyCowVegan on Instagram. I’d love to see!

A fresh and green Fennel Fronds Pesto that's fresh and delicious and nutritious. A great way to use up the feathery leaves you might otherwise throw out. #vegan, #soyfree, #glutenfree, #pesto, #nutfree #holycowvegan HolyCowVegan.net***

Other recipes using things you might throw away:

Watermelon Rind Dosa

Blueberry Sourdough Pancakes

Vegan Sourdough Waffles

(The sourdough recipes are made with the “discard” portion of the sourdough)

***

A fresh and green Fennel Fronds Pesto that's fresh and delicious and nutritious. A great way to use up the feathery leaves you might otherwise throw out. #vegan, #soyfree, #glutenfree, #pesto, #nutfree #holycowvegan HolyCowVegan.netFennel Fronds Pesto:

A fresh and green Fennel Fronds Pesto that's fresh and delicious and nutritious. A great way to use up the feathery leaves you might otherwise throw out. #vegan, #soyfree, #glutenfree, #pesto, #nutfree #holycowvegan HolyCowVegan.net
Print Recipe
5 from 4 votes

Fennel Fronds Pesto

A fresh, green and vegan Fennel Fronds Pesto with pumpkin seeds and garlic. Vegan, soy-free, nut-free and dairy-free.
Prep Time10 mins
Total Time10 mins
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: gluten-free, Italian fusion, nut-free, Soy-free, Vegan
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 96kcal
Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes

Ingredients

  • 4 packed cups chopped fennel fronds (from two bulbs)
  • 2 cloves garlic (crushed and chopped)
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds (you can use salted, but dial down the added salt in that case)
  • 4-8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)

Instructions

  • Place all the ingredients except the oil in a food processor except the olive oil. With the blade running, drizzle in the olive oil until you have a coarse paste. Check for salt and pepper and add more if needed.

Notes

You can add more or less olive oil, per your preference. For a runnier pesto, you'll want to use more oil.

Nutrition

Calories: 96kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Potassium: 66mg | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.5mg

A fresh and green Fennel Fronds Pesto that's fresh and delicious and nutritious. A great way to use up the feathery leaves you might otherwise throw out. #vegan, #soyfree, #glutenfree, #pesto, #nutfree #holycowvegan HolyCowVegan.net

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Filed Under: All Recipes, Gluten Free Vegan Recipes, Healthy Vegan Recipes, The Basics, Vegan Italian Recipes

About Vaishali


I cook and eat simple, tasty and nutritious plant-based food in my Washington, D.C. kitchen, but I never fight a craving for samosas or French fries. Read more about me here.

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Comments

  1. Julie Beecroft says

    April 7, 2019 at

    In this recipe do I use the bulb or just the leafy part? Julie

    Reply
    • Vaishali Honawar says

      April 7, 2019 at

      Just the leafy part! You can roast the bulbs to toss into your pasta or save for another use.

      Reply
      • Wendi Paster says

        July 4, 2019 at

        Thinly sliced raw fennel makes a great salad with thinly sliced celery, oil and lemon juice, maybe some chopped parsley or other leafy herb, salt, a little pepper ( I prefer white here), etc.

        Reply
  2. Ruth says

    April 8, 2019 at

    Sorry to ask too but really just the fronds or the thin and or thick parts of the stems as well?

    Reply
    • Vaishali Honawar says

      April 8, 2019 at

      You can use the entire stems, including the thick parts. Your pesto might be a little coarser, so if you want it to be finer, discard the stems and use the fronds only.

      Reply
  3. Gail says

    June 6, 2019 at

    5 stars
    I love this! Much better than other fennel pesto I’ve made. So vibrant! Any reason why I couldn’t freeze small containers for the future? I’ve frozen other pestos before with a thin layer of olive oil on top to aid color retention.

    Reply
    • Vaishali says

      June 7, 2019 at

      Hi Gail, you could absolutely freeze it! So happy you tried it. 🙂

      Reply
      • Kor says

        September 20, 2019 at

        is there any recommended substitution for the pumpkin seeds? would walnuts work?

        Reply
        • Vaishali says

          September 21, 2019 at

          Walnuts would be great. Or any nut.

          Reply

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Hi, I’m Vaishali!

I cook and eat simple, tasty and nutritious plant-based food in my Washington, D.C. kitchen, but I never fight a craving for samosas or French fries. More about me >>

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