What to do with carrot tops + 12 Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What can I do with the tops of carrots? ›

Carrot tops are high in vitamin C, vitamin K, and potassium. Use them as you would parsley, or in place of parsley in recipes. Strip the leaves from the tough stems, add them to stock or soup, put them in salads, or make chimichurri. Or make this carrot top pesto.

As soon as you get a bunch of carrots with bright green tops, clip off the greens. Wrap them up and store them in the crisper drawer in your fridge until you're ready to use them, or freeze them to make vegetable stock. Wash and dry them well. It's no secret that carrots grow in dirt, so wash the leaves well!

Put a couple of inches (5 cm) of potting soil or marbles into your container and then place the root tops into the soil, cut side down. Trim the greens until they are only about half an inch (1.5 cm) long, and place the potted carrot tops in a sunny window.

Store your carrots in the crisper drawer with high humidity. The tops should be stored in a separate bag and wrapped with a paper towel to prevent them from becoming soggy. Change out the paper towel every few days to maximize how long you can store your carrot tops.

In fact, their bitter flavor is what makes carrot tops so unique for use in the kitchen. They can be enjoyed raw or cooked (cooking them will soften the bitterness), and bring an earthy flavor to all sorts of savory dishes.

A: Yes, you are correct that you can cut off the top of the carrot and regrow the leaves only. Once the taproot (carrot) is removed it cannot grow another. When cut from the top, the growing point for the taproot is removed, however the growing tip for new leaves is not removed.

Freezing carrots is such a great way to avoid waste. It will also make cooking them a little quicker from frozen. Like most vegetables, if frozen raw, the texture, taste, colour and nutritional value of carrots deteriorates. Make sure you blanch the veg to preserve these elements.

Freeze on a baking sheet: Spread the cooled and dried carrots on a baking sheet and freeze for about 5 hours or until frozen solid. Freeze in resealable bags: Transfer the carrots to resealable plastic freezer bags or freezer-safe reusable bags, label and date the bags, and freeze for up to one year.

Just remove the tops from the vegetables and store them separately. The tops won't last very long so plan to use them as soon as possible. Wrap a damp paper towel around them and store in a plastic bag for a day or so.

(In fact, the perkiness and freshness of the greens are a good indication of how fresh the carrots themselves are.) But that's not the only reason to buy intact, green-topped carrots. The greens themselves are pleasantly bitter and tart—flavors that can perfectly balance out carrots' earthy sweetness in a dish.

Why cut tops off carrots? ›

Cut the greens off the top after harvest to about ¼ - ½ inches above the shoulder. This will help the carrot to keep longer as the greens can take moisture from the root. Carrots store best at 32-38 degrees F at 98% humidity.

Too much nitrogen will give you splendid, big green carrot tops that make you think your carrot crop is thriving. However, beneath the soil the carrots will lack root development or get multiple or hairy roots. Remedy: Avoid using too much nutrient rich compost in your beds or using nitrogen rich fertilisers.

Your carrots might just need a big gulp of water. If you notice that your bag of carrots is bendy, place them in a glass jar or zip-top plastic bag and fill it with water to cover them.

Cut the green tops off your carrots to lock in nutrients. The leaves of root veggies steal their nutrients - even after they've been picked!

You can use a food dehydrator to dehydrate your carrot greens. Place them on trays in a single layer and use the low/herb setting until they're dry. Then, remove the stems and store the leaves in an airtight jar.

In addition, carrot tops contain several vitamins and minerals essential to overall health, including vitamin A, vitamin C and potassium. A diet rich in these nutrients has been associated with many health benefits, such as improved immune function, reduced risk of chronic disease and improved heart health.

First of all, trim any green tops off the carrots. While they can be saved and eaten, you want to store them separately from the actual carrots, since the greens will suck up the moisture from the carrots, leaving them limp and dry.