Using up fresh herbs has been an ongoing struggle in my kitchen, but I’ve tried to be smarter and more on the ball with cutting back on this type of food waste in the past year. Here are 5 Healthy Kitchen Hacks I’ve come up with for using up fresh parsley – regular or flat-leaf varietals (but you could easily use many of these tips with other fresh herbs like cilantro, mint, basil, and more):
1) Top on Toast – Specifically garlic toast! The easiest way to make garlic toast:
- Toast the bread.
- Cut a garlic clove in half and rub the cut half on the toast.
- Brush with olive oil and top with chopped parsley.
2) Toss into Eggs – Whisk eggs with a splash of milk and chopped parsley. Scramble or make an omelet.
3) Top on Pizza – Make fried parsley and top onto leftover pizza slices:
- Finely chop parsley (stems, too!).
- Heat a small saucepan with a little bit of olive oil over medium heat.
- Add parsley and fry for 1 – 2 minutes, stirring often.
4) Mix into Grains – Parsley is often mixed into grains in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes like tabbouleh:
- Cook bulgur according to package.
- Mix with chopped-up parsley (about 1 cup for every ½ cup of uncooked grain).
- Add chopped tomatoes, scallions, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
5) Make Pesto – Instead of basil, swap in parsley in any pesto recipe. And instead of pine nuts, you can use almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, or even peanuts! Try one of these recipes:
Deanna Segrave-Daly is a food-loving dietitian, food blogger, recipe developer, and virtual cooking class instructor. She is also the co-author of two cookbooks, most recently Easy Everyday Mediterranean Diet Cookbook.
