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Home » Cook » Sauces and Condiments » Dandelion Pesto

Dandelion Pesto

May contain affiliate links or sponsored content. Please see my privacy policy and affiliate disclosure.

Originally published on March 4, 2017. Last updated on April 25, 2025

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Dandelion ingredients on a wood background, and a bowl of dandelion pesto.

I have an exciting foraged food recipe to share with you today! I’ve wanted to make dandelion pesto for a long time, but have recently been inspired by a brand new book by Rosalee de la Forêt, Alchemy of Herbs. This book is full of amazing herbal recipes, I really want to try them all! But, I really love pesto and the dandelions are starting to pop up, so this pesto made with bitter dandelion greens was first on my list. It’s tasty and gives you some beneficial herbal actions, all at once!

A bowl of dandelion pesto on a wood background with a bunch of dandelion greens.

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Harvesting Dandelion Greens

Since it’s so early in the year, combined with the fact that we’ve had a rather cold winter, our local dandelion greens are rather small and not quite abundant yet. They are still around, though.

I didn’t think I had quite enough to forage for this recipe, so I cheated slightly and bought a beautiful bunch of dandelion greens at my local food co-op.

In a month or two there will probably be so many dandelion greens in and around my yard that I won’t have to do this, but for now I thought I’d leave them be to grow a bit bigger.

Anyways, I feel lucky to have access to such awesome food in my community! And these dandelion greens are absolutely gorgeous. They must come from a cultivated variety that are grown just for their large greens.

Get recipes for food, drinks, infusions, and self-care using dandelion flowers, leaves, and roots in my ebook, Dandelion Recipes From Flower To Root!

How to Make Dandelion Pesto

This dandelion pesto recipe is fairly standard as far as pesto recipes go, with a few minor changes. First, dandelion leaves replace basil, making it great for digestion and for the liver.

The addition of lemon zest and juice tempers the bitterness of the dandelion greens, and the turmeric and black pepper gives the pesto anti-inflammatory properties.

If you can’t find any dandelion greens, perhaps you’ll have better luck making homemade pesto with arugula pesto or chickweed pesto. They’re both delicious!

Place the dandelion greens, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, and spices into a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. If it’s too thick, slowly add a bit more olive oil.

Add the Parmesan and continue to blend until the mixture has a smooth consistency.

Refrigerate, and eat within 3 days. You can also freeze the pesto into ice cube trays for later use.

This dandelion pesto is so amazingly delicious! It has a little bite from the dandelion greens, but not overwhelmingly so. It’s bright and fresh, and full of nutrition. I even made a double batch and froze some for later!

I highly recommend the Alchemy of Herbs book! It has so many great herbal recipes that you and your family will love.

Alchemy of Herbs book

I hope you try this dandelion pesto this spring! I definitely think it’s going to be a new favorite in this household.


More uses for Foraged Dandelion

Did you know there are over 50 ways to enjoy this amazingly versatile backyard “weed”? I love dandelions and write about then frequently! Here are some of my other dandelion posts: 

  • Dandelion Mead Recipe
  • Infused Dandelion Vinegar
  • How to Make Dandelion Tea
  • Dandelion Jelly: Low-Sugar or Honey
  • Dandelion Lotion Bar Recipe
  • How to Make Dandelion Salve
  • Dandelion Soap Made With the Whole Plant
  • Dandelion Root Muffins (paleo & gluten free)
  • Dandelion Salad
  • Dandelion Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream Frosting
  • Roasted Dandelion Root Coffee with Chicory Root & Cinnamon
  • Dandelion Fritters
  • Dandelion Kombucha

Do you ever cook with dandelion greens? What is your favorite thing to make?

A bowl of dandelion pesto next to a pile of dandelion greens on a wood surface.
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4.35 from 29 votes

Dandelion Pesto

Go foraging for dandelion greens, then make this bright and nutritious dandelion pesto!
Course Appetizer, Condiment
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Total Time 10 minutes minutes
Servings 1 cup
Calories 99kcal
Author Colleen @ Grow Forage Cook Ferment

Equipment

  • Food Processor

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 cups chopped fresh dandelion leaves loosely packed
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • Place all ingredients except the Parmesan into a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. If it’s too thick, slowly add a bit more olive oil.
  • Add the Parmesan and continue to blend until the mixture has a smooth consistency.
  • Refrigerate, and eat within 3 days.

Notes

This recipe for dandelion pesto is from the Alchemy of Herbs book by Rosalee de la Forêt.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Tablespoon | Calories: 99kcal | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 112mg | Potassium: 58mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 0.5mg
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Previous Post: « Dandelion Root Bitters: Homemade Herbal Bitters Recipe
Next Post: Chaga Chai With Carob and Coconut »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ashley Sherrod says

    July 27, 2024 at 11:56 am

    5 stars
    Delicious! I made it once with just the dandelion greens and my 1 yo and I loved it. This time I made a double batch with half basil leaves (bc I had a bunch on hand that needed to be cut back) and it was also great!!

    Reply
    • Grow Forage Cook Ferment says

      July 29, 2024 at 11:37 am

      I’m so glad you and your 1 year old loved this recipe! Enjoy!

      Reply
  2. linda says

    February 28, 2024 at 11:30 am

    Instead of grinding cashews and olive oil ( I’m afraid of bacterized oil) could I use cashew butter with its’ additional cashew nut oil.

    Reply
    • Grow Forage Cook Ferment says

      February 29, 2024 at 7:19 am

      I haven’t tried, but go for it!

      Reply
  3. Elaine says

    April 26, 2021 at 12:01 am

    5 stars
    I made dandelion pesto after harvesting all the dandelion leaves from my garden last week. I added some fresh basil and fresh mint too, along with the rest of the ingredients used in this recipe. I usually make wild garlic pesto, but the wild garlic is coming to the end of the season now. I doubled up on ingredients as my neighbours love home made pesto too. I made a nice tea from some of the Dandelion heads and a few of the leaves. I have left the roots in the ground but will pull some up on my next harvest to dry and try dandelion coffee.

    Reply
    • Grow Forage Cook Ferment says

      April 26, 2021 at 2:47 pm

      Wonderful! Sounds delicious!

      Reply
  4. melissa joanette says

    June 8, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    I was wondering why mine turned out so bitter!

    Reply
    • E says

      June 15, 2021 at 7:24 pm

      3 stars
      Mine too!! I got about halfway through the bowl and couldn’t finish it… :(

      Reply
  5. Rene says

    May 3, 2020 at 3:26 am

    I have that excellent book!! thanks so much for all great recipes!
    Do you have a recipe to ferment the dandelion leaves?

    Reply
  6. Eve Irvine says

    May 1, 2020 at 10:34 am

    I believe you are not using a wild dandelion in the photo in this recipe but an Italian endive or chicory, which is not a dandelion (although they look similar)

    Reply
    • Grow Forage Cook Ferment says

      May 1, 2020 at 11:16 am

      Hi Eve, I bought them at my local food co-op and they were labeled as dandelion greens, so I’m pretty sure that’s what they are! They are probably a cultivated variety grown for its greens.

      Reply
  7. nicole cadorette says

    March 13, 2020 at 5:37 pm

    I would try to incorporate nutritional yeast instead of parmesan for additional health.

    Reply
    • David says

      March 15, 2020 at 2:58 pm

      You just ruined the pesto by taking the parmesan out..!!
      real fresh parmesan is the top pesto flavor..!!
      just adding yeast is grat and also licithn granules..!!

      Reply
  8. Susan Kass says

    March 4, 2020 at 11:34 am

    I am allergic to raw garlic, what could I use as a substitute?

    Reply
    • Katrina says

      March 9, 2020 at 3:40 pm

      You could use bittercress leaves instead of garlic. They are in the mustard family. Have a nice slightly spicy zing that would compliment the flavor profile. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardamine_hirsuta

      Reply
      • susan cahill says

        May 8, 2021 at 6:49 pm

        that is a great idea! Thanks!

    • David says

      March 15, 2020 at 3:03 pm

      Roast the garlic with all the skin intact , then squeeze out the garlic with a spoon
      , you are probably alergic to that sharp smelling compound in garlic , this paste should be ok

      Reply
  9. Joan Jones says

    February 24, 2020 at 7:27 am

    5 stars
    Just discovered your blog and love the idea and recipes. I am always looking for ways to use dandelion greens so I’m going to try this recipe tonight on some zucchini spiral noodles.

    Reply
  10. Allison Elligson says

    April 1, 2019 at 5:48 pm

    Can you can this in jars to have some stored for later?

    Reply
    • Sharon R Loomis says

      March 22, 2021 at 1:13 pm

      If you save your small jars, or something of equal size, you can freeze it in the right proportions. That is what I do. Although I must admit, last month was the first time trying pesto. I also read you could freeze it in ice cube trays, then put the cubes into Ziploc bags.

      Reply
  11. Lennessa Shantaya says

    March 23, 2019 at 3:02 pm

    I love adding dandelion greens to lots of recipes, a touch to quiches and salads, a larger serving amount blends well into any tomato sauce/italian pasta or soup and also lends a beautiful green flavor to my red pumpkin dahl or any red lentil curry.
    I’m excited to make this pesto! I love the added benefit of turmeric and black pepper!

    Reply
    • Ines says

      April 12, 2019 at 9:41 am

      When in season, see if you can forage beech nuts. They work as a great substitute for pine nuts.

      Reply
      • Crystal Frank says

        May 14, 2020 at 4:18 am

        And wild hazelnuts!! I made basil pesto last year with foraged American Hazelnuts!! I was hesitant but it turned out so amazing!!

  12. Hazel Shearan says

    January 6, 2019 at 9:16 am

    I’d love to use pine nuts for this but they are soooo expensive. I noticed that someone else used walnuts, any other pine nut replacement suggestions that won’t affect the overall result too much?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Grow Forage Cook Ferment says

      February 24, 2019 at 1:49 pm

      Walnuts or cashews are great substitutions!

      Reply
      • Sharon says

        March 3, 2020 at 10:59 am

        Cashews and almonds are great substitutes, actually I make my pesto with cashew nuts an I think it’s much nicer

  13. Margarita says

    August 16, 2017 at 2:43 pm

    I was impressed. I did not think the recipe could could convert the bitter greens into a tasty pesto.

    I made 2 batches. For the first batch I added about 1/2 the measurement of the lemon zest. The second batch was with a fuller tablespoon of zest. I liked the first batch much better. Also I did 1/2 the measurement of turmeric (1/2 t) for both batches.

    Also I took someone’s recommendation of adding a small amount of basil leaves.
    I added basil to both batches.

    Thank you for the recipe. I will definitely make it again.

    Reply
  14. LM says

    June 13, 2017 at 7:05 pm

    It is really bitter…how can I balance it?

    Reply
    • juliet says

      March 3, 2023 at 10:50 am

      Early dandelion, and smaller leaves are less bitter.

      Reply
  15. Elizabeth Heck says

    April 3, 2017 at 6:26 am

    5 stars
    Dandelions are one of the most nutritious and healthy foods. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  16. William says

    March 14, 2017 at 9:55 am

    The dandelions are slow to sprout where I live in FL, believe it or not. You can bet I’ll be trying the pesto recipe, and thanks for the line on the book deal. I anyone is interested, I use the following recipe for dandelion wine. It’s worked well many times:

    http://allrecipes.com/recipe/162202/dandelion-wine/

    Reply
  17. Lori Nero says

    March 12, 2017 at 8:43 pm

    Awesome! But Vegan~much healthier!

    Reply
  18. Natalie Marie says

    March 11, 2017 at 7:01 am

    Beautiful! Are the dandelions easy to start
    in a pot at home from dandelions I
    pick outdoors?
    Year after year I read about dandelions
    but this helps inspire.
    Congratulations on your book!
    I love flowers and herb gardening and the joy of perranials! Natalie Marie

    Reply
  19. Maria João says

    March 9, 2017 at 1:46 pm

    5 stars
    thank you! What a great idea! Making it tomorrow, but vegan. ;)

    Reply
  20. Renee says

    March 4, 2017 at 1:36 pm

    5 stars
    OK Thanks — making this today! But vegan, with walnuts on hand.

    Reply
4.35 from 29 votes (22 ratings without comment)

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Hello there! I’m Colleen.

I want to inspire you to live seasonally, become more self sufficient, and protect your health. I share information on foraging and wildcrafting, fermenting and preserving, cooking whole foods from scratch, permaculture gardening, and making herbal products. And that’s just the beginning! Learn more.

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