Simple Uses for Parsley

When you have a large crop of parsley from the garden or farmstand, you don't have time to casually include it in complicated recipes or to frantically figure out how to use it up before it goes bad without getting sick of it. You want to make the most of your harvest and to actually enjoy it.

Here at Plant to Plate, we like to keep things simple! Here are some of my favorite ways to use or preserve parsley:

Sauté it with radishes.

Sauté it with onions and thyme.

Sauté it with celery and chicory.

Sauté it with cauliflower and pine nuts.

Sauté it with asparagus, peas, and lemon juice, lemon balm, or lemon verbena.

Sauté it with mushrooms and garlic.

Add it to other stirfry dishes and sautés.

Grill it with radishes.

Add it to rice, quinoa, or amaranth. Although it certainly can be mixed in after the fact, parsley is best added to the grains while they are cooking.

Mix it with quinoa, cucumbers, and tomatoes or bell peppers.

Add it to risotto, orzo, couscous, or other small pastas along with cucumbers and parmesan.

Add it to other pasta dishes, stovetop or baked.

Bake it with radishes.

Bake it with carrots and parmesan.

Bake it with salmon, garlic, and lemon juice or lemon balm.

Bake it with potatoes and garlic or chives.

Add it to egg dishes like omelets and quiches.

Add it to turkey, beef, lamb, and pork dishes.

Make a simple soup with parsley, potatoes, and onions or leeks.

Add it to other soups and broths.

Add it to rice bowls and other grain bowls.

Toss it with corn and garlic for a tasty side.

Toss it with white beans and celery.

Toss it with celery and chickpeas.

Make chimichurri with parsley, cilantro, basil, oil, and vinegar.

Make gremolata with parsley, garlic, and lemon slices or lemon zest.

Make a creative pesto with parsley, cilantro, parmesan, and pine nuts or pepitas.

Add it to hummus, homemade or store-bought.

Make a Simple Salad. A few ideas for Simple Salad combinations with parsley are as follows:

Bell peppers and feta
Lettuce and almonds
Chicory and apple

Use it as Decor in an Interesting Salad. (Wondering why I capitalized those letters? Read more about Interesting Salads here!)

Add it to other salads.

Pair it with lemon and feta in a variety of contexts.

Make herbal vinegar. Parsley-infused vinegar makes a great salad dressing. Infuse parsley in vinegar alone or with lemongrass, leeks, shallots, and/or a mint such as spearmint or peppermint.

Make an herbal oil. Parsley-infused oil can be used as a salad dressing or drizzle. It can also be processed further into salves, lotions, and more.

Make an herbed butter with it, alone or with garlic.

Make an herbal salt.

Make a tea or add it to other tea blends. Parsley leaf tea is best prepared as an infusion.

Make a tincture. Parsley leaves, stems, seeds, and roots can all be tinctured. For the leaves and stems, the suggested herb:solvent ratio is 1:5 in 40% alcohol. For the seeds and roots, the suggested herb:solvent ratio is 1:2 in 40% alcohol.

Dry it to preserve it for later use. See our How to Dry Your Herbs articles here for more information.

Freeze it, whole, minced, or in herbal ice cubes. Learn more about these different freezing methods in our Freezing Overview article here.

Add it to pickles. Parsley goes well in almost any pickles, but a few suggested pickle pairings are radishes, cucumbers, and carrots.

Further Reading

Growing parsley? Check out these quick facts like its best growing conditions, companion plants, and expected yields.

Parsley is also featured in these articles:

Quick Facts: Growing Parsley