A Delicious Dandelion Recipe for Vegan Pesto with Roasted Potatoes
Whip up this vibrant vegan dandelion recipe featuring a bold dandelion greens pesto and crispy roasted potatoes. A delicious, plant-based way to use wild greens!
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Let’s talk dandelions. Yes, those dandelions—the ones your neighbors wage war on with weed killer and passive-aggressive sighing. But while they’re busy cursing the lawn gods, we’re over here turning those misunderstood little greens into a pesto so good, it might just make you cry a little (in a good way).
This dandelion recipe is vibrant, peppery, and unapologetically green. We’re ditching the basil, skipping the cheese (unless you’re into parm, in which case—go off), and letting those spicy little greens shine alongside crunchy pepitas, sunflower seeds, and a hit of lemon. Oh, and it’s vegan. But like… the cool kind of vegan. No soapbox, just flavor.
And because pesto needs a co-star, we’re pairing it with crispy roasted baby potatoes—golden, garlicky, and the kind of thing you could eat straight off the baking sheet while pretending you’re “just tasting.” (We all know you’re not stopping after one.)
We enjoyed this dandelion recipe as a dipping sauce for some garlicky roasted potatoes, but it would also work well in the usual applications like a sauce for grilled chicken, over pasta or spread onto a pizza crust. It was a hit with the whole family and zero people could guess that the pesto was made from dandelion greens.
FAQs About Dandelions (Because You Know You Were About to Google This)
What can you make out of dandelions?
Honestly? A surprising amount. You can make dandelion tea (hello, detox culture), sauté the greens like spinach, batter and fry the flowers (highly recommend), infuse the roots for coffee alternatives, and of course—whip up this absolute banger of a dandelion greens pesto. They’re basically nature’s most underrated multitasker.
What is the best way to eat dandelions?
Depends on your mood. If you want something zippy and raw, the younger, smaller greens are best tossed into salads or blended into pestos. For a cozier, cooked approach, sauté them with garlic and olive oil to mellow out their bitterness. And if you’ve never had dandelion fritters, well… you haven’t lived.
What should you not mix dandelion with?
Dandelions can play surprisingly nice with a lot of ingredients, but steer clear of pairing them with other super bitter greens (unless you’re into punishment), or anything too heavy on tannins—like strong black tea or red wine—which can make the whole thing taste like chewing a penny. Also, if you’re on certain medications (especially diuretics), check with your doctor. Nature’s wild, but so is your pharmacist.
Is it better to eat dandelions raw or cooked?
Raw dandelion greens bring a bright, peppery punch—perfect for pestos, salads, or smoothies if you’re into green sludge with a purpose. But cooking them softens both the texture and the bitterness, which can be helpful if you’re just getting into your leafy-foraged era. Think of it like arugula’s moodier cousin: raw for spice, cooked for comfort.
I never thought that I could love something like this Vegan Dandelion Greens Pesto with Roasted Potatoes because bitter greens, like dandelion leaves, have always been a bit of a struggle for me as I have (or had) very strong bitter receptors. But over the past several years I’ve begun to tolerate bitter flavors more. It’s either my “maturing” palate, or the fact that I’ve burned my taste buds to death with my strong preference for very spicy foods. Ether way I enjoy them so much more now; from kale to rapini and arugula to dandelion greens, they make their way to my plate a lot.
Want more dandelion recipes or ideas for what to smear that pesto on? (Spoiler: it’s everything.) I’ve got you. Let’s make weeds delicious.
Love greens? Try some of our other heathy recipes!
- Delicata Squash Stuffed with Collard Greens
- Kale Sausage Vegetable Soup
- Winter Salad with Radicchio Apple and Walnuts
Did you make this dandelion recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and star rating below (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) and post a picture and tag us on Instagram using the hashtags #agirldefloured #deflouredrecipes! Thank you!
A Delicious Dandelion Recipe for Vegan Pesto with Roasted Potatoes
Equipment
- Sheet Pan
Ingredients
For the potatoes:
- 1½ pounds baby potatoes washed and cut in half
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt and pepper to taste
For the dandelion pesto:
- 1 bunch of dandelion greens washed and dried
- ¼ cup shelled pepita seeds or nut of your choice
- ¼ cup shelled sunflower seeds or nut of your choice
- 2 large cloves of garlic chopped
- ½ cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast or Parmesan cheese
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Roast the potatoes. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Toss the potatoes, olive oil, garlic (and salt and pepper to taste) on a sheet pan until evenly coated. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown and tender when pierced with a knife.
- Make the pesto. Chop the dandelion greens down a bit and put in a blender (or food processor fitted with the steel blade attachment) with the pepita seeds, sunflower seeds and garlic and pulse until finely chopped.
- With the motor on, drizzle in the olive oil in a thin stream.
- Add the sea salt, pepper, lemon, and nutritional yeast (or Parmesan cheese), and pulse a few more times to combine. If the mixture seems very thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to thin to your desired thickness.
- Taste for seasoning and add additional salt to taste. This will keep well in the fridge, in a tightly sealed container, for a few days; top the pesto with a layer of olive oil to decrease any browning.
Nutrition
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