Carrot Top Chimichurri

This is a savory, easy to make condiment you don’t want to miss. Carrot Top Chimichurri is super fast to put together, keeps in the fridge for 2+ weeks, reduces food waste, and tastes amazing on a huge variety of meals.

I am SO excited to be sharing another carrot greens (tops) post with you guys. It’s become a fun challenge in my kitchen to use the commonly discard greens from beets, radishes, and carrots into delicious salads and meals, and this one is a winner. Yay for less food waste!

Carrot top chimichurri is dynamite. I love everything about this super-easy, homemade condiment. It’s got a hint of spice from garlic, notes of herbs, and the carrot greens hold up to the oil and vinegar beautifully.

6 Easy Ingredients

This recipe is so simple, that I’m willing to bet once you have the greens the rest is either in your pantry, or very, very easy to find at the store.

• Carrot tops – I needed almost all the greens from 2 bunches of carrots. This can vary based on how big the bunch is, and the variety of carrot.
• Garlic– This is an essential flavor in the chimichurri, do not skip it!
• Salt – I use Morton’s coarse kosher salt. Adjust to your preferences and brand.
• Dried Oregano
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Olive oil– Any sort of oil-based condiment, like homemade vinaigrettes, will taste much better with quality, authentic extra virgin olive oil. Look for certification and/or harvest dates on the back of the bottle to verify freshness.

A Note on Carrot Greens

Before we move on, I want to quickly chat about carrot greens. They’re easy to get when you buy local or organic produce, especially from farmer’s markets. Any variety of carrot tops will do, but please visually inspect them first.

Just like lettuce, you want them to be bright, green, and perky. Yes, perky. If you choose carrot bunches that have wilted, brown, or mushy greens your chimichurri will not be good – and neither will the carrots! Choosing vibrant greens means good carrots and a bonus ingredient that most people discard.

(If you want extra greens without carrots, ask the grower at the farmer’s market, they often cut them off for customers and have plenty to give away!)

Tips for a Perfect Carrot Green Chimichurri

This recipe doesn’t get much easier, a bit of chopping, a minute of stirring and tasting, and then into the fridge (or your mouth). But, I always have tips to help make sure it comes out as tasty as mine does.

• Thoroughly wash your greens – I find carrot greens to be as bad as leeks, they just hold onto dirt. The best method I’ve found is swishing them in a bowl of cool water a few times, refreshing the water and repeating. Then I spin them in my salad spinner and they’re good to go.
• De-stem and chop finely– Just take the big stems out, little ones are fine, and mince the greens. They handle a sharp blade well, no need to worry about browning.
• Chop the garlic with 1/2 teaspoon of salt – I love this method of prepping raw garlic. It helps it break down more finely, which we want for this sauce. It also draws out the garlic flavor in your chimichurri, just like it does in my homemade garlic bread rolls.
• Let it marinate, then adjust seasoning – It’s tempting to just toss it all in and pop it in the fridge, but you can’t take salt out guys. SO, I highly recommend you add the least amount of salt, let it sit for 5 minutes, stir, and taste. Then you can add salt until it’s at the right level for you.

A Note on Oil

You’ll notice I call for a range of oil here, and that’s for a few reasons:

Personally, I use my carrot top chimichurri to add to dressings, grilled steaks and summer squash or other veggies, and even in my tuna salad. The oil in it enhances those types of recipes, so I tend to add a bit more and so it can absorb all the yummy flavors while it hangs out in the fridge.

Also, I find carrot tops to be a strangely dry green. When you chomp on a plain piece, it leaves a bit of a dry flavor in your mouth. So, just like I did in my carrot top pesto, I like to add a bit more oil which counteracts that nicely.

Add the least amount, and adjust based on your needs and preferences.

FAQ’S

I’ve attempted to answer any questions I might have had reading this, but please ask in the comments section if I missed yours!

Can I use fresh oregano? If you can find fresh oregano, I don’t see why you couldn’t use it (tell me where!). I would triple the amount called for in order to match intensity.

How long does carrot top chimichurri stay good? In the fridge in a sealed container, you can enjoy carrot top chimichurri for up to 2 weeks.

Are carrot greens safe to eat? 100% yes. I use them in salads, pesto, sauces, or as garnish. Please, eat them.

What do carrot greens taste like? I’ve heard people say sweet…but I disagree! They have an earthy, green, almost spicy flavor that I really enjoy!

Help my olive oil solidified! Don’t chuck it out! Welcome to the world of quality olive oil. It’s perfectly normal for it to solidify in cold fridges. Gently warm it in a lukewarm water bath, leave it on the counter for 10 minutes, or if it really bothers you, swap 1/4 of the oil in this recipe for canola, grapeseed, or other vegetable oil.

There you have it! Easy carrot top chimichurri from scratch in 5 minutes. It tastes so good on so many things like grilled steak, chicken, grilled summer squash, and personally, I LOVE mixing it into tuna! Yum! Enjoy, and as always Happy Eating!

Check out my other savory condiments too!

• Carrot Top Pesto
• Red Pepper Aioli
• Asiago Cream Sauce
• Maple Bacon Onion Jam
• Maple Mustard Vinaigrette
• Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette