My Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe adds some Swiss Chard to avoid the too-garlicky flavor that pesto made from Garlic Scapes can sometimes have! And everyone who likes garlic is going to love this tasty pesto made with these garlic shoots that show up in the late spring and early summer.

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Garlic Scape Pesto with Chard ready to be frozen in mini muffin tin

This Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe is something I first made years ago, after I discovered garlic scapes at the farmers market. I liked the pesto I made with garlic scapes well enough, but they’re such a strongly-flavored ingredient that this year when my friend Margarethe gave me garlic scapes that she’d gotten in her CSA box, I thought it would be fun to try coming up with a garlic scapes pesto recipe that combined garlic scapes with something else, for a milder pesto.

I thought of kale, but when I went out into the garden the Swiss chard was calling out to me, and I thought this Garlic Scape Pesto with Swiss Chard was a delightful combination of flavors. If you happen to get some garlic scapes when they show up in the spring, I hope you’ll try this pesto recipe.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

What are Garlic Scapes?

Garlic Scapes are long green shoots that grow out of the top or hardneck garlic, and they’re a delicacy that shows up in the spring. You will probably find them at the Farmers Market if you have one that opens early in the season.

What is Pesto?

Pesto is a fresh herb sauce that originated in Italy, and traditional pesto has fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese. In recent years adventurous cooks are making pesto out of many different types of fresh herbs or vegetables!

What’s unique about this Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe?

You can find recipes for garlic scape pesto all over the web, but when I tried making it, I found it to be a bit too garlicky for my taste. This pesto that combines garlic scapes and Swiss Chard is perfect for my tastebuds.

How low in carbs is the Garlic Scape Pesto?

This flavorful pesto made with Swiss chard, garlic scapes, lemon, pine nuts, and Parmesan has about 8 net carbs and 7 grams of protein in one-fourth cup serving.

Garlic Scape Pesto with Chard collage of recipe steps

How to Make the Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. If you’re not familiar with garlic scapes, the first photo shows what they look like.
  2. I used a cup of chopped garlic scapes. I wanted them cut into short lengths before I put them in the food processor.
  3. It took 2-3 minutes in the food processor before I felt the scapes were chopped enough to start adding other things.
  4. The chard was from my garden, so I chopped it up and gave it a good wash in the salad spinner.
  5. I processed the scapes/chard about 2 minutes more.
  6. Then I added the lemon juice, pine nuts, and olive oil and processed about 2 minutes more.
  7. Last I added the Parmesan cheese and processed about another minute.
  8. I froze the pesto in a mini muffin tin, and then when it was frozen I transferred the cubes to a Ziploc bag
  9. Have fun thinking of interesting ways to use your Garlic Scape Pesto!

How to Use the Garlic Scape Pesto made with Chard:

This pesto is good on pasta, stirred into rice, on cooked vegetables, stirred into scrambled eggs or added to soup. And check out my 20 Amazing Swiss Chard Recipes for more ideas with Swiss Chard!

vertical photo of Garlic Scape Pesto with Chard in muffin tins ready for freezer

Chard and Garlic Scape Pesto found on KalynsKitchen.com
Yield: 12 servings

Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

This Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe adds Chard to avoid the too-garlicky flavor this type of pesto can sometimes have, and it's a delicious combination of ingredients.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup chopped garlic scapes
  • 4 cups chopped Swiss Chard leaves
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts
  • 2 cups Parmesan cheese
  • salt to taste (I used about 2 tsp. salt)

Instructions

  1. Wash and dry garlic scapes; then cut into short lengths until you have one cup of chopped scapes.
  2. Wash, dry, and chop Swiss Chard until you have 4 cups chopped chard.
  3. Add garlic scapes to the food processor and process until they are starting to look finely chopped, about 2-3 minutes.  (It took longer than I thought it would.)
  4. Add chard and process the mixture about 2 minutes more, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
  5. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, and pine nuts and process about 2 minutes more.
  6. Add Parmesan and process 1-2 minutes more, or until the pesto reaches the texture you prefer.
  7. I like to keep it slightly chunky.
  8. I froze the pesto in a mini muffin tin and then popped out the cubes and stored them in a Ziploc bag in the freezer.  You can also freeze pesto in ice cube trays or small plastic containers with a snap-tight lid.
  9. This pesto is good on pasta, stirred into rice, on cooked vegetables, stirred into scrambled eggs or added to soup.  You could also use it as a green sauce on grilled fish or chicken.

Notes

To make this recipe you will need a food processor. There are many good brands, but I love my Cuisinart Food Processor. (affiliate link)

Nutritional information is calculated on 1/4 cup serving size.

Recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 217Total Fat 18gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 14mgSodium 456mgCarbohydrates 10gFiber 2gSugar 1gProtein 7g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Suggestions:
This Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe is suitable for any type of low-carb or Keto diet. Try it over grilled veggies, grilled chicken, or grilled fish for a low-carb meal. Pesto is a calorie-dense and high-fat food due to the cheese, but it’s not something you eat in huge amounts and I’d eat this for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Sauces to find more recipes like this one! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalynโ€™s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes Iโ€™m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This pesto recipe with garlic scapes and chard was first posted in 2011. It was last updated with more information in 2025.

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