Don’t Toss Those Garlic Curls! What to Do With Garlic Scapes After Cutting 🌿
……….🗒️Rooted Field Note: 18
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Let me tell you about the first time I saw garlic scapes curling up like little green pig tails in my garden…
…I almost ignored them 😳
I thought, “Are these weeds? Are they gonna seed my garlic? Should I just snap them off and compost them?”
But friend, those curly green shoots are edible gold. And once you know what to do with garlic scapes after cutting, you’ll be waiting all year for scape season like it’s the Super Bowl of garden bonuses 🏆
Today, I’m walking you through exactly what garlic scapes are, when and how to harvest them, and — best part — what to actually DO with them in your kitchen so they don’t end up wilting in the fridge or worse… the compost.
🌱 First Off: What Are Garlic Scapes?
If you’re growing hardneck garlic (the kind that does best in colder climates — like here in my Zone 5 garden), garlic scapes are the flower stalks your plants send up in early summer. They look like long green stems with a single curl and a little bulge near the top — that’s the flower bud.
👉 You’ll want to cut them off or pull them out to direct the plant’s energy back into making big, juicy bulbs underground.
But here’s the kicker: those scapes taste like a sweet, mild garlic — kind of like if garlic and green onions had a baby. They’re tender when young and pack a solid garlicky punch when cooked.
✂️ When & How to Harvest Garlic Scapes
You’re looking for the curl. One full loop is your signal to snip. If you wait too long and they straighten out, they get woody. (No thanks.)
I use my trusty Fiskars Garden Snips (Amazon affiliate) to cut them cleanly where they meet the top leaves.
📸 This is what a garlic scape ready to harvest looks like: Alt Text: “Curled garlic scape ready to be harvested above the garlic leaves.” File Name: garlic-scape-ready-to-cut.png Image Title: What Garlic Scapes Look Like Before Harvest
🧄 What to Do With Garlic Scapes After Cutting
Here’s where the magic happens.
Garlic scapes are one of those “blink and you miss it” seasonal treats. But they’re incredibly flexible in the kitchen and — bonus — easy to preserve.
Here are the top things I actually do with mine:
🧑🍳 1. Make Garlic Scape Pesto
This is the OG. Toss chopped scapes in the blender with:
- Olive oil
- Walnuts or sunflower seeds
- Parmesan (or nutritional yeast for dairy-free)
- Lemon juice
- Salt
👉 Freeze them in some ice cube trays and enjoy the taste of June in your pasta all winter long.
🍳 2. Sauté or Stir-Fry Them
Chop like green beans and fry in butter or oil for a couple minutes. Great with eggs, rice bowls, or as a side with roasted veggies.
Bonus: they caramelize beautifully if you slow-fry them with onions 🍳🔥
🔥 3. Grill or Roast
Toss in olive oil, salt, pepper. Grill until charred. Finish with lemon juice or flaky salt.
Kinda like asparagus but with garlicky swagger 😎
🥒 4. Quick Pickle for Crunch
Chop into jars and pour hot vinegar brine over them (apple cider vinegar + garlic + mustard seed = chef’s kiss).
Store in the fridge and snack on them for weeks. Also makes an amazing Bloody Mary garnish 😉
🧈 5. Garlic Scape Butter
Mince a handful of scapes and mix with a pinch of salt and softened butter, then a squeeze of lemon. Store in the fridge or roll and freeze in wax paper.
👉 Spread it on toast, melt it on grilled corn, or toss with steamed veggies.
❄️ How to Store or Preserve Garlic Scapes
Fridge:
Stick them in a produce bag in the crisper drawer. They’ll stay fresh for 2–3 weeks.
Or stand them upright in a glass of water like a bouquet — change water daily.
Freezer:
Chop, toss in a freezer bag, done. No blanching needed. Use for soups, stir-fry, or pesto.
Dehydrate:
Slice thin, dry until brittle, grind into garlic powder or seasoning salt.
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📫 Coming Soon:
We’re working on a full Garlic Growing & Harvest Guide + Garlic Scape Printable Recipes — be sure to bookmark this Field Note and check back for updates.
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💬 Tell Me Below:
What’s your favorite garlic scape recipe? Or do you just grill ‘em and call it good?
Let me know in the forum, or share a photo of your scapes and tag @SproutingHomestead 🌿