Celery Leaf Pesto (Gluten Free, Whole30, Paleo, Keto)

Here, in Israel, for the most part, when you buy celery, it comes untrimmed. You open the package and out bursts more leaves than you can imagine and often they wind up in the garbage. Personally, I like the leaves better than the stalks. The leaves have so much flavor and I always make sure to add a whole bunch to my chicken soup along with the stalks. Recently, I had to open a few packages at once and was left with a crazy amount of leaves that I hated to waste. I tasted them raw, and they were delicious- super vibrant tasting with a little peppery flavor reminiscent of arugula and uber nutritious as well! I knew they would make the perfect pesto. I made this pesto pareve but you could also go the dairy route and add some Parmesan as well. The celery pesto goes great with things that are mildly sweet like fish or even chicken as the leaves give the pesto a pleasantly bitter and peppery bite. So next time you find yourself with an unruly bunch of celery leaves, you know what to do with them! Enjoy!


6 cups loosely packed celery leaves (that have been washed well and dried)
1 cup loosely packed parsley leaves
2 large cloves of garlic
3 Tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
pinch red pepper flakes, optional
3/4 cup olive oil


Place the celery leaves, parsley leaves, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and process it until very finely chopped, almost paste like. Add the zest and juice, salt, and pepper and pulse to mix. With the food processor running on low, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until combined. Don't over process or the olive oil will get bitter. Refrigerate until ready to eat.