Oh…my….gosh.
Alert the grocery store because there is going to be an avocado shortage in my town. Well, more than usual that is.
[And yes, I said ‘store’. As in singular…We’re small town folk.]
You can whip up this pasta dish in under 15 minutes flat! I know I will be making it again and again, especially for those dinners when we are strapped for time…or just plain old tired after a long day.
15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta
Creamy, thick, and rich with lots of garlic flavour and a hint of lemon. This is my newest favourite pasta dish. The avocado works wonderfully in this recipe to create a sauce so creamy and thick, you will think there is cream hiding in there.
Inspired by My Recipe.org.
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 1 medium sized ripe Avocado, pitted
- 1/2 lemon, juiced + lemon zest to garnish
- 1-3 garlic cloves, to taste (I used 3 and it was super garlicky, but if you are not a big fan of garlic use 1 clove)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
- ~1/4 cup Fresh Basil, (probably optional)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 servings/6 oz of your choice of pasta (I used 3oz of spelt and 3 oz of Kamut spaghetti)
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy.
3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse in a strainer and place pasta into a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper. Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings.
Please note: This dish does not reheat well due to the avocado in the sauce. Please serve immediately.
I used some fun pasta to increase the nutrition factor- first, 1 serving (3oz) of spelt pasta.
Spelt pasta has a great nutritional profile with 12 grams of protein and 3 grams of fibre per serving.
I also used one 3oz serving of Kamut pasta.
Kamut pasta has 13 grams of protein and 8 grams of fibre per serving. Niiiiice.
They both taste AMAZING and are very easy on the digestive system. I purchased both of them in the natural food section of Loblaws/Superstore. Regular white spaghetti has only 1.7 grams of fibre and 4 grams of protein per serving. Eric and I actually prefer the nutty flavour of the ancient grains over the white pasta so it is an easy switch.
If you don’t have a scale or pasta measuring device, one serving of pasta (3oz) is about the diameter of a quarter!
PS- That picture above took me 6 tries to get in focus! lol
A couple of the out of focus ones…
Whoops!
Oh the joys of amateur photography. ;)
While the pasta is cooking away, prepare the ‘cream’ sauce in a food processor. I used 3 cloves of garlic and it was quite garlicky, so if you are not a big fan of garlic I would suggest using 1-2 cloves.
I love that avocado can be used as a substitute for cream in this recipe. The healthy fats in avocado make our skin glow and hair shine as an added bonus. :)
Strain and rinse the cooked pasta.
Add the sauce and mix well.
Garnish with lemon zest and freshly ground black pepper.
I fell in love.
So did Eric.
We are now married to this pasta.
And I’m actually going through withdrawal just looking at these pictures.
Looking for other pasta recipes that I enjoy? Try these recipes below:
* Lightened Up Sundried Tomato Pasta
In other news, it’s Monday and I woke up in a haze today. That is, until I watched this video below! It made my entire day, so I thought I would spread the joy. Animals are just the most fascinating and intelligent creatures and I’m always blown away by stories like this.
I can’t decide what I like more about the video:
1) It has a date of ‘1999’, but it is clearly circa 1980’s, 2) the old married couple that I want to adopt, 3) The crow scaring the cat (minute 3:44), 4) The cat scaring the crow (minute 5:00), 5) The crow squawking at the cat to ‘get off the road’ (minute 4:40), or 6) Is that ALAN THICKE from Growing Pains?!
It kills me, it really does.
{ 434 comments… read them below or add one }
Just made it and loved it. This is a “forever” recipe, thanks so much!
Made this today for “Sunday Dinner” and it was amazing!!!! We used cilantro noodles from a local Cleveland pasta shop and it was the perfect dish!
Cilantro noodles? Sounds fab :)
this was sooo good and creamy <3 <3 <3
Love this recipe! I just tried it tonight and it is sooo good. I used juice from a lime instead of lemon, as that’s what I had in my fridge and it is great :)
This was absolutely fabulous and can’t wait for the glow! I just discovered your site and think it I will be a regular visitor. I love your pictures!!!
Thank you Christine, that is so nice of you!
Do you leave the skin on the avocados?
No, you use the flesh of the avocado.
Can this be eaten cold?
It sounds like the sauce is cold…kind of like cold noodles? good for a texas summer :)
have you had it cold?
Does warm taste better?
This was soooo good, too much garlic and I love garlic but it was too strong for my daughter. Maybe my cloves were too big, I used three. Next time I will use one and change nothing else. Perfect recipe :)
THE BEST PASTA E-V-E-R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi from Italy!!
I tried your pasta today :-)
It was soooo gooood!!!
thanks for sharing the receipe!
Love, marina
This looks so amazing, I’m gonna try it out tonight!
This was good, I really liked the creaminess of the avocado. But the lemon was a bit too strong for me and two cloves of garlic definitely weren’t enough – so I guess I have to try it again! :D
Yea the great part about the recipe is that you can tweak it to your taste! Enjoy it next time.
Tried this last night and it was so easy and delicious! I’m obsessed with avocado and can’t wait to make this again!
Love the video – this is the first recipe off of your blog that I made. It was easy and fantastic! Thanks!
OMG! Made this for dinner & LOVED it so much i sent this link 2 a few of my guacamole lover friends! The basil SO make it & i topped it off w/ some grated parm…WINNER WINNER PASTA DINNER =)
I used quinoa pasta, lots of protein. Great recipe. I’ll def make this again.
This was really, really good! You say in the recipe that basil is probably optional, but I think it makes a BIG difference–use it!
I’ve made this a few times now, I like it with Chilli and chopped Cherry Tomatoes added. My teenage daughter loves it too, we shall certainly be trying out more of your recipes.
I love it, I must now try it!
Your blog is truly a gem. So glad I found it. You should be very proud of such wonderful work. Can’t wait to try some recipes! Avocado pasta…….
Hi Suz, Thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy the blog. Take care!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I had an overripe avocado that I had been dying to get rid of and I’m glad I used this recipe. I added mushrooms and tomatoes, so delicious!
This was absolutely amazing!!! Months ago, my husband swore that he would never be able to “eat vegan”. Things changed (mainly health) and we are now in week 2 of “eating vegan”. Every recipe that we’ve tried of yours has been amazing! I looked over at him at the dinner table last night and he has the plate up to his face….licking every last drop of this amazing avocado sauce!!
Holy Moly, this is freakin’ delicious! I made a few changes (sorry, can’t help myself!) used penne, lime instead of lemon and added a can of white beans and a couple tablespoons of pine nuts. topped it with some chopped fresh tomatoes from the garden. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know you said the fresh basil is optional, but to me the basil was essential.
I want to make this for everyone who thinks that vegans just eat boring, bland salads!
I am so thankful for this recipe. It’s delicious! This sauce has become the perfect foundation to pack a 1/2 cup of chickpeas into and add italian seasoning, nutritional yeast, onion powder and almond milk. After reading Eat To Live, I’ve been avoiding oils as much as possible. So to bypass this I used the almond milk to get the right texture and only enough to get there (maybe 1/3 C). It’s sort of become a bit of a new creation, but the foundation is due incredible thanks as I would have never come up with this without it. Thank you thank you!
Sounds like a great recipe but a tip I learned from an italian chef is to never rinse pasta at all. The starchy delicious flavors are all dead when you rinse it. Instead, boil the pasta with some lightly salted water and a drizzle of oil to keep it from clumping. Then drain it and leave it aside, it will cool down without taking away the flavors.:)
I have since learned that tip too and I’ve been doing it most of the time! It’s a hard habit to break when you’ve grown up with parents rinsing the pasta. ;)
This pasta was ah-maz-ing! And I don’t even love avocado. Truth be told, I don’t like avocado unless it’s loaded with onion and jalapeno in guac. But this pasta sold me. I’m going to look at avocados in a whole new light. Thank you!
I had this avocado pasta last night with some sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas, and toasted walnuts. Fantastic, easy recipe! My boyfriend and I loved it even more sprinkled with nooch.
Made this the other night w/some mushrooms, tomatoes, parm cheese and nutritional yeast. amazing recipe!
This was fabulous! Thank you so much for the recipe. I am certain this will be a much requested dinner at my house.
Hi! Thanks for sharing this. I made it the other night and really enjoyed it. Even my kids loved it. I think that says it all.
I just made this for dinner. It was awesome. I added steamed zucchini and some spicy ground Italian sausage to please my meat loving husband. This recipe is a summer keeper!
I saw this recipe on Pinterest and I wanted to try it asap. I went to buy the ingredients last night and made it this morning for brunch. It came out good, it just came out too salty because I accidently put in too much salt. For the next time, I will be careful. Above all, it was good and will make it again soon.
I finally got around to making this pasta sauce (minus the basil and garlic) and it was fantastic. I will definitely be making this again!
I also blogged about it (with photos) here:
http://onesmallvegan.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/creamy-avocado-pasta-faux-parmesan/
Hi Angela! This recipe was so delicious and satisfying. I didn’t have any basil (which I will make sure to have on hand next time to punch up the flavor) and I love to experiment with ingredients so I pureed some cooked kale with the mixture for added nutrition and added some steamed kale at the very end for some more texture. It was fantastic! Thanks so much! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
This was super delicious! I got all my kids to eat it, which is usually pretty darn tricky! I made with regular fettuccine noodles, and with lemon juice out of a container so I didn’t have the zest.. regardless, everyone loved it. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this recipe! It was delicious!
Going to make this for my mom for her birthday. I think she’ll love it.
I just made this sauce but added walnuts to it and served it over grated zucchini and yellow zucchini with chopped cherry tomatoes. Awesome raw salad.
Love that you can make this under 15 minutes. My family stays away from all gluten containomg foods so I don’t get to enjoy pasta at the dinner table anymore sadly. I’m going to make this for myself to enjoy!
have they tried brown rice pasta yet? I use it from time to time and it’s a decent sub in a pinch!
Angela, Have been thinking of trying this with spaghetti squash as a pasta sub. Have you tried it? Karen
Yes I have! In fact I have a post on this coming up in a couple weeks :)
Boyfriend out of the house, only avocado and lime in the fridge. Stumbled over this dish, ate a big portion. Nam nam. I especially loved the lemon giving a fresh kick in this creamy dish. Actually I added a bell pepper to the cream, since it did not want to sit alone in the fridge, and it worked well – lots of vitamins right there :) Greetings from Denmark.