Cannabis Infused Garlic Scape Pesto: A Seasonal Twist on a Classic
Welcome, friends! If you’ve ever found yourself at the farmer’s market, staring at a bin of curly, bright green stems and thinking “what on earth do I do with these,” this one’s for you. Garlic scape pesto is one of those recipes that sounds fancier than it is, tastes better than you expect, and comes together in about ten minutes flat.
It’s also a natural fit for cannabis infusion. The bold flavors cover any herbal notes from your infused oil, and the olive oil base makes dosing clean and consistent. Whether you’re new to edibles or you’ve been making them for years, this is a recipe worth keeping.
Listen to this episode:
The Recipe: Cannabis Infused Garlic Scape Pesto
Yield: About 2 cups | Prep Time: 10 min | Chill Time: None
Ingredients:
- 8 garlic scapes, trimmed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup (250 ml) fresh basil leaves, packed
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) walnuts (almonds or cashews work too)
- 1/2 cup (60 g) Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) salt, or to taste
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) olive oil, plus more as needed
- Optional: replace a portion of olive oil with cannabis-infused olive oil
Do the math before you eat. This recipe is built from scratch, which means you can calculate your exact dose per serving if using infused ingredients. Use the free Bite Me Dosage Calculator before your first batch.
Instructions:
1. Prep the scapes. Trim off the bulbs and any tough ends. Chop into 1-inch pieces for easier blending.
2. Combine ingredients. Add garlic scapes, basil, walnuts, Parmesan, lemon juice, and salt to a food processor or blender.
3. Pulse. Blend until everything is coarsely chopped and starting to come together.
4. Add olive oil. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until you reach your desired consistency. Some like it chunky, others smooth. Your call.
5. Taste and adjust. Add more salt, lemon, or oil as needed. The flavor is garlicky but gentle enough that you can use this pesto generously.
6. Store. Transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to one week, or freeze in ice cube trays for single servings.
What Are Garlic Scapes?
If you’ve never worked with them before, garlic scapes are the flower stems of hardneck garlic plants. They’re harvested in late spring and early summer, and farmers markets are usually your best bet for finding them. They look like a long, curly green stem with a pointed tip.
Their flavor is milder than a raw garlic clove. There’s a fresh, grassy quality to them that disappears when overcooked, so pesto is one of the best ways to use them. Raw enough to keep that brightness, blended enough to play nicely with everything else in the bowl.
They’re also high in protein, vitamin C, and calcium. Not a bad bonus.
Always trim off the bulb at the end and any tough stem sections. Give them a rinse. They’re usually pretty clean.
Why These Ingredients Matter
Garlic Scapes: The whole point. Milder than raw garlic, but not timid. They bring a grassy depth that you don’t get from the clove alone.
Basil: Classic pairing, and for good reason. It rounds out the scape’s edge and gives the pesto that familiar green backbone.
Walnuts: High in omega-3 fatty acids with anti-inflammatory properties. Great for heart and brain health, and they blend into a texture that’s richer than pine nuts at a fraction of the cost.
Parmesan: Adds a salty, savory depth that pulls the whole batch together. A little goes a long way.
Lemon Juice: This is the ingredient people skip, and that’s a mistake. A single tablespoon brightens every other flavor in the bowl.
Olive Oil: Your base, your binding agent, and your infusion vehicle if you’re going that route. Use a good quality oil. You’ll taste the difference.
Cannabis-Infused Olive Oil (optional): Swapping in infused oil is the simplest way to medicate this recipe. Because you control exactly how much you add, dosing stays precise and consistent. Use the Bite Me Dosage Calculator and keep notes. “Fucking around and finding out” is not a dosing strategy.
Ingredient Substitutions
This recipe is flexible. Don’t get stuck if you’re missing something.
- No basil? Try spinach, arugula, or carrot tops. Each one gives you a different flavor profile.
- No walnuts? Almonds or cashews do the job. Pine nuts are classic but expensive. Don’t stress it.
- Making it vegan? Replace the Parmesan with nutritional yeast or a plant-based hard cheese.
Cannabis Infusion: How to Do It Right
You don’t have to infuse the whole batch. That’s one of the things I love most about this recipe. You can make a full batch of regular pesto, then add a measured amount of cannabis-infused olive oil to individual servings. This is especially useful if you’re sharing with people who want different experiences, or no infusion at all.
If you do infuse the whole batch, label it. Clearly. No one wants a surprise high, especially not your roommate who was just trying to make toast.
I keep separate dropper bottles for CBD and THC oils. It makes customizing each serving quick and removes any guesswork about which bottle is which.
Storage and Nutrition
Garlic scapes keep for weeks in the fridge. Store them in a loose plastic bag in the crisper drawer, or for longer storage, trim the roots, wrap in paper towels, and seal in a bag.
Pesto itself stores well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. For longer storage, freeze it in ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop the cubes into a bag and pull them out one serving at a time. It defrosts quickly and tastes just as good.
Creative Ways to Use Garlic Scape Pesto
Don’t stop at pasta. This pesto is adaptable.
- Grilled meats: Brush on chicken, steak, or fish before or after grilling.
- Eggs: Swirl into scrambled eggs or use as a topping on a frittata.
- Sandwich spread: Try it on grilled cheese, burgers, or wraps. Seriously, try it on a grilled cheese and report back.
- Veggie dip: Mix with Greek yogurt or sour cream for a quick dip.
- Pizza base: Use instead of tomato sauce. It’s a different kind of Friday night.
Variations and Add-Ons
Once the base is dialed in, here’s where you can play:
- A pinch of red pepper flakes for heat
- A handful of hemp hearts stirred in for extra omega-3s
- A squeeze of extra lemon if you want more brightness
- Swap walnuts for toasted almonds for a slightly sweeter, softer result
Your kitchen is the best dispensary you’ll ever have. That’s especially true with a batch of this in the fridge.
Pair this with these episodes:
Join the Community
If you haven’t found your people in the edibles space yet, come check out the Bite Me Cannabis Club. It’s a private, supportive space for home edibles makers to connect, share recipes, and learn together. I’d love to see you there.
That’s it for this week friends. Please email me any questions, comments, pictures of your creations or anything else, I love hearing from listeners! Direct messages to stayhigh@bitemepodcast.com, or the podcast hotline.
You can also support the show by subscribing, sharing episodes, leaving a review or buying me a cookie! Whatever way you choose, I’m grateful that you’re listening.
Stay high,
Margaret
FAQ: Cannabis Infused Garlic Scape Pesto
What are garlic scapes and where do I find them? Garlic scapes are the curly green flower stems of hardneck garlic plants. They appear at farmer’s markets in late spring and early summer, usually from May through July depending on your region. Look for bright green stems with a spiral shape and a pointed tip. Grocery stores sometimes carry them, but the market is your best bet.
Can I use regular garlic instead of garlic scapes? Yes, but the flavor will be sharper and more pungent. If you substitute, start with one to two cloves and taste as you go. Garlic scapes have a milder, grassier flavor than raw cloves, so a direct one-to-one swap will produce a noticeably different result.
How do I dose this recipe with cannabis? Replace some or all of the regular olive oil with cannabis-infused olive oil that you’ve already made and tested. Use the Bite Me Dosage Calculator to calculate the dose per serving before you eat. Keep notes on your batch so you can replicate or adjust next time.
Do I have to infuse the whole batch? No, and for most home cooks, not infusing the whole batch is actually the smarter move. Make regular pesto, then add a measured amount of infused oil to your individual serving. That way you can share the pesto with anyone, infused or not.
How long does this pesto last? Refrigerated in an airtight container, it keeps for up to one week. For longer storage, freeze it in ice cube trays. Each cube is roughly one to two tablespoons, which makes single-serving defrosting easy.
What can I substitute for walnuts? Almonds and cashews are both excellent substitutes. Pine nuts are the traditional choice but run expensive. Any neutral-flavored nut will work. If you need a nut-free version, sunflower seeds are a reasonable substitute, though the flavor will be slightly different.
Can I make this vegan? Yes. Replace the Parmesan with an equal amount of nutritional yeast or a plant-based hard cheese. The savory depth will be slightly different but still delicious.
My pesto turned brown quickly. What happened? Oxidation. It’s normal when basil is blended. To slow it down, press a layer of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pesto before putting the lid on. The less air contact, the slower it oxidizes. It’s still safe to eat when it browns, but the color isn’t as appealing.
Can I use this in a dispensary-style tincture or dropper format? Not quite. This is a culinary preparation, not a sublingual. The olive oil base means the cannabinoids are absorbed through digestion, not mucous membranes. Onset will be slower and longer-lasting than a sublingual product. Plan accordingly.
Timestamps For Cannabis Infused Garlic Scape Pesto Audio
Introduction & Episode Overview (00:00:05)
Margaret introduces the episode, the topic of cannabis infused garlic scape pesto, and the seasonal context.
Summer Reflections & Family Anecdotes (00:01:13)
Margaret shares personal stories about summer, her daughters, and the joys of living close to family.
Dog Ownership & Life Choices (00:03:01)
Discussion about not owning a dog, helping with her daughters’ pets, and enjoying her current lifestyle.
Stoner Trivia: Cannabis History (00:04:03)
Margaret presents a cannabis-related trivia question about marijuana use during World War II.
Upcoming Interviews & Cannabis Club (00:05:14)
Teases interviews with Steve Stacey and Wesley Holloway, and promotes the Bite Me Cannabis Club.
What Are Garlic Scapes? (00:07:22)
Explains what garlic scapes are, their origin, and their role in garlic farming.
How to Use Garlic Scapes (00:09:29)
Describes the flavor, texture, and various culinary uses for garlic scapes.
Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe Introduction (00:10:26)
Introduces the cannabis infused garlic scape pesto recipe and its versatility in different dishes.
Recipe Ingredients & Simplicity (00:11:25)
Lists the ingredients for cannabis infused garlic scape pesto and emphasizes the recipe’s simplicity.
Ingredient Substitutions & Infusing Olive Oil (00:12:22)
Discusses substituting nuts, the cost of pine nuts, and how to infuse olive oil for edibles.
How to Make Cannabis Infused Garlic Scape Pesto (00:14:14)
Step-by-step instructions for preparing and blending the pesto, with tips on dosing and consistency.
Creative Uses & Dosing Advice (00:16:16)
Suggestions for using cannabis infused garlic scape pesto, advice on dosing, and reminders about labeling and safety.
Storage Tips & Nutritional Value (00:17:59)
How to store garlic scapes, their nutritional benefits, and encouragement to eat more greens.
Closing Thoughts & Serving Suggestions (00:18:55)
Wrap-up, additional serving ideas, and invitation for listener feedback.
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