10 ways to use up celery leaves

This fantastic, slightly bitter leaf has so many uses; there's no legitimate excuse to throw them away. From a celery leaf cocktails to celery leaf pesto, here's a little compilation of the ten tastiest and most creative ways to use up your celery leaves.

Image by Evaldo Darzoves

1. Use them as a substitute for coriander leaves. Use celery leaves when coriander/cilantro is scarce, or when cooking for people that dislike the saponaceous taste of coriander.

2. Make celery salt. This is a popular ingredient in Bloody Marys, or use it to flavour soured cream, coleslaw or other condiments. Trust 101 Cookbooks to have a recipe for that.

Homemade Celery Salt. Image by 101 Cookbooks

3. Celery leaf pesto (or salsa verde). Slightly milder than basil, but just as delicious, according to Leela Punyaratabandhu from SheSimmers. In the relentless search for new ways to make pesto, her recipe makes a lot of sense. 

4. Add them to smoothies. A few veggies seem to be acceptable to use in smoothies. I believe the rule of thumb is that if you can bend it round your finger, it can go in. And last time I checked, celery leaves fit this quota.

5. Celery leaf tea. Sounds a little dodge, but healthy.

Celery leaf pesto. Image by She Simmers

 6. Add them to pickle jars.

 7. Add to scrambled eggs. Same as you would with parsley.

 8. Use them in soup, stock and casseroles. This is the most common way of using up the leaves.

 9. Add to Green Salads. A few bitter greens like finely chopped celery do a heck of a lot for green salads.

 10. Cocktails! Last, but by no means least. Okay, a celery leaf cocktail which featuring the leaf would be grim, but try making a syrup from the leaves, then top with soda water, lemon or lime juice, elderflower cordial and gin. Or top with ginger ale. Just gives it a bit of extra je ne sais quoi.