A fresh, green and delicious Fennel Fronds Pesto made with fennel fronds, which you might otherwise throw away. Use with pasta or use it for bruschetta.
Love pesto? You might also like these recipes for a classic vegan basil pesto, green garlic pesto and carrot top pesto.
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.
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!
More vegan pesto recipes
Recipe card
Fennel Fronds Pesto
Ingredients
- 4 packed cups chopped fennel fronds (from two bulbs)
- 2 cloves garlic (crushed and chopped)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup unsalted pumpkin seeds (you can use salted, but dial down the added salt in that case. You can also use nuts like walnuts, pecans, cashews or pine nuts)
- 4-8 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoon 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
Nutrition Information
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Bronagh Carey says
As you said, very mild flavour despite what you’d expect from fennel. A different pesto which I was happy to try. I used a mix of roasted nuts - walnut, pumpkin seeds and pine kernels. Delicious.
Francine Houle says
I made a small portion of this and it was delicious. I have a lot of fennel, hence of fronds, and I alone eat pesto. Can I freeze this?
Vaishali says
So happy you enjoyed it! The pesto freezes beautifully.
Treena says
I might have used too much lemon juice (bit of a kick), and accidentally dropped in a bit more nutritional yeast, and I’m really enjoying it.
Going to make fennel pesto pasta tomorrow as a side to some halibut I have on hand.
🙂
Kristina Denz says
This is amazing! Didn't want to throw out the fronds and found this recipe. I used walnuts. Will def make again!
K says
Delicious! I used the two fennel bulbs from my farm box and was searching for recipes to use the fronds! This one is a winner! It made the perfect amount to fit in the empty pesto jar I was using too!!
Jamie O says
Wow!!! Delicious! Followed the recipe exactly and turned out amazing. Not super anise-y and so bright and fresh. Was going to use it in pasta but I think a baguette rubbed with garlic and olive oil and toasted is gonna be how we eat this! Thank you so much!
Vaishali says
So happy you enjoyed the pesto! ❤️
Anni says
Hi Vaishali
I came home from the organic market with a giant fennel plant and was dreading having to throw the beautiful fronds out, so thank you. I have a question : how long will this keep in the fridge and can it be frozen, do you think? TIA
Vaishali says
Hi Anni, you can store the pesto in the fridge for a couple of days, and freeze it for 4-5 months.
Barb says
This is wonderful! Light and bright. Used pine nuts because that is what I had on hand. I can see where using different nuts would give it a whole different taste (so many options!). Did not use nutritional yeast. Instead, I spread it in sourdough and sprinkled my homemade vegan feta over it. Wowza! Thank you so much for this pesto idea. It's a winner!
Sally says
Thank you for this recipe. It was delicious and allowed me to use all the fennel fronds in my fridge (I’d hate to waste it). I really like the addition of the pumpkin seeds.
Alexandra says
Lovely recipe, thank you!