In late spring, when the delightfully loopy garlic scapes appear between the leaves of my fall-planted garlic, I know it’s almost garlic scape pesto season. This bonus, flavorful harvest can be used in a variety of ways, but blending the scapes into pesto is my favorite way to preserve them.

Whether I make my garlic scape pesto recipe or I chop the scapes into my cooking, it’s impossible to eat all the scapes at once. That’s why I freeze some so that I can enjoy it later. You can use garlic scape pesto as a spread on sandwiches, in soups, to make garlic bread or compound butter, as a coating for fish, and my favorite: in pasta with sautéed shrimp and loads of parmesan.

How do you know when garlic scapes are ready to harvest?

If you planted hardneck garlic, scapes will emerge from the leaves (one scape per plant) in late spring or early summer. Where I live, that is usually around the middle of June. The scapes start to curl, forming a bit of a double loop. That’s when they’re ready to pick. I go into detail about harvesting garlic scapes and garlic here.

If you didn’t plant any garlic yourself, but you’d like to try making a pesto, keep an eye out for the scapes at a local farmer’s market.

How to eat fresh garlic scapes

Garlic scapes are delicious when roasted with potatoes or other veggies. Simply chop them into small pieces. They are way too tough to eat raw, so it’s best to roast or stir-fry small pieces, or blend them. It’s worth noting that younger scapes aren’t as tough. If you wait too long to harvest them, they start to get woody. My favorite way to eat scapes is to blend them into a pesto.

I’ve adapted this garlic scape pesto recipe from a few that I’ve discovered over the years. I add a little to a fry pan to warm it up and then stir it into pasta topped with lots of fresh parmesan. When I make too much to enjoy at once, I freeze it into ice cubes so I can enjoy fresh pesto until my scapes are ready again the following year!

Garlic scape pesto recipe ingredients

It goes without saying that just like raw garlic cloves, garlic scape pesto has a pretty extreme garlicky flavor. That’s why I include basil in mine. It cuts some of the garlic flavor a smidge, while adding its own delicious flavor. Salt and lemon juice are two other ingredients that you can really play around with to balance the flavor to your liking.

Ingredients list

• 8 to 10 garlic scapes
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil (more if you’d like a more liquid consistency, less if you prefer a more crumbly texture)
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ⅓ cup of sunflower seeds (These are optional, but I enjoy the nutty flavour they add. You could also use pine nuts)
• Sea salt to taste
• Grated parmesan cheese to taste Note: if you’re freezing your pesto, do not add the cheese. It doesn’t freeze well.
• A small bunch of basil or other herbs (optional)

How to make garlic scape pesto

Place the scapes, lemon juice, sunflower seeds, sea salt, grated parmesan (if using) and basil in a food processor and blend until smooth. Gradually add the olive oil. The pesto can be used immediately. Store any leftovers in a glass jar in the fridge. Be sure to consume it within two or three days.

Keep some to enjoy later by spooning the pesto into ice cube trays to freeze. Once the cubes have frozen, pop them out and store them in a resealable freezer bag. Then you can just grab one or two when you need them.

Learn more about growing and harvesting garlic

• The difference between hardneck and softneck garlic
• Spacing requirements for garlic
• How to grow garlic in pots
• Planting garlic in the spring
• Choosing garlic varieties to grow in your garden
• What to plant after garlic