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.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
15-Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta
Yield
3 servings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Creamy, thick, and rich with lots of garlic flavour and a hint of lemon, this is one of my favourite pasta dishes. The avocado works wonderfully in this recipe to create a sauce so creamy and thick you will think there is cream hiding in there.
Ingredients
- 9 ounces (255 g) uncooked pasta
- 1 medium garlic clove
- 1/4 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving
- 1 to 2 tablespoons (5 to 10mL) fresh lemon juice, to taste
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
- 1 ripe medium avocado, pitted
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) water
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Lemon zest, for serving
Directions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. For a lighter option, serve the avocado sauce with zucchini noodles.
- While the pasta cooks, make the sauce: In a food processor, combine the garlic and basil and pulse to mince. Add the lemon juice, oil, avocado, and 1 tablespoon water and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed. If the sauce is too thick, add a bit more oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Drain the pasta and place it back in the pot. Add all of the avocado sauce and stir until combined. You can gently rewarm the pasta if it has cooled slightly, or simply serve it at room temperature.
- Top with pepper, lemon zest, and fresh basil leaves, if desired.
Tip:
- Because avocados oxidize quickly after you slice them, this sauce is best served immediately.
- Make it grain-free: Serve this avocado sauce with spiralized or julienned zucchini or on a bed of spaghetti squash.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
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 use and love my Cuisinart 14 Cup Food Processor and Cuisinart Mini Prep 3 Cup Processor, which is great for smaller jobs. 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.
After wanting to try this recipe for ages I finally did the other night (added a tomatoe and replaced the basil with spinach) and it was AMAZING! I will be making this again and again :) PS – even my boyfriend who is scared of all forms of fat LOVED it :) Thanks!
OMG…ok…I saw this recipe a couple days ago and kept thinking about it…finally made it today for lunch and it was TO DIE FOR. You, my friend, are a genius.
It would be rude of me not to let you know how WONDERFUL and a BLESSING this site has been to me. I have made the avacado pasta, the detox salad, and the breakfast parfait….all were incredible and enjoyed by my family. You certainly have a knack for cooking! Again, thank you so much.
As an Italian I have almost every combination possible on pasta. This however is such a hot mess of starch, mint, zest and overall mush. Perhaps you have an open mind and a mild pallet, but I found this to be quite inedible.
It does not call for mint, basil!
Wow! Made this tonight. It was so yummy! I didn’t have enough fresh basil so I added 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil. I also topped it with some toasted almonds. I used one garlic clove. Otherwise followed it exactly and so flavorful! You really need the food processor for this. I have made an avo pasta before simply by mashing it with things but processing it really blends it and makes it a real sauce. I may add some sundried tomato next time and skip the lemon to experiment. Everyone enjoyed this dish.
Goodness! This is so tasty! I made it 10 minutes though ;) and had to restrain myself from eating everything – delicious!
Now I’m going to try and experiment with avocado for other sauces too…
just made this recipe since I had avocado and pasta to use up. So glad I found it! Either my lemon was too big or my avocado too small. Still so amazingly good. I always use my Magic Bullet for these things and since I also had spinach to use up I stuffed the Bullet to the brim with spinach. Also added about 1/8 cup (“ish”) almond milk cuz the sauce was so thick.
Thankyou Thankyou!
A little pasta water might help to thin out the sauce. Since the water has starch in it (if your using pasta that has starch in it,) it will thicken up slightly after adding the water. I always try to remember to save a cupful of water just in case I need it for this reason.
I absolutely LOVE this recipe and have made it several times now. Thanks for sharing!
I love your recipe. It’s so much easier + more concise than another recipe that is similar to yours. I cant wait to try yours. Loved the video + the older couple. They were adorable too. I have just discovered Quinoa. I did have it 1x at the Barefoot Contessa in the Hamptons around 15-18 yrs ago + loved it. But everything I read or heard about it, at that time, made it seam like an unenjoyable thing to make + eat. I just this week made a big batch of it + loved it. I had always understood that it needed a vinigret to taste good. To get back to the point, do you think your Advocado Sauce would taste good on Quinoa?
I cant see why it wouldnt taste yummy on quinoa :)
I didn’t realize the pastas you used are easier on the digestive tract. I have IBS w/o C. + will be trying that out. Thank-You.
Just made this for lunch and it was so yummy! I’m lactoste so it was wonderful finding a creamy pasta sauce without any dairy. I did not have basil on had so I used thyme instead but it was still amazing. Thanks for sharing this:)
We made this tonight and it was delicious. We used quinoa pasta (gf) and I omitted the basil because I didn’t have any on hand, and it was great (although I would love to try it with the basil). We are also dairy free and both my husband and I agreed that is was so nice to have a creamy pasta dish that didn’t have tomatoes. ;-) Anyway great recipe! Thanks.
Can’t believe how delicious this is! Made it tonight and all four kids had second helpings and they’re already asking me to make it again. So easy and so good, thanks for sharing!
I am soooo excited to try this, but i am a HUGE vegetable eater and always need veggies in my meals, especially pasta (so i don’t just go crazy eating pasta). what would be good additions for this recipe without drastically changing the taste?
asparagus and peas maybe? would be nice for spring… :)
This looks amazing! I’ll be making that with a friends tonight (I’m livin in the Netherlands right now), but I think I want to add some veggies too. I thought zucchini, but cant imagine the taste properly, so I’m not sure.. Does anyone have better suggestions?
peas and asparagusÉ
This was great!! A little lemony, a little garlicky – made whole wheat pasta bearable. If you like avacado, you will love this as much as I did.
Hello! I have just discovered your blog & have decided to work my way through your recipes :D Although I’ve considered going vegan for a long time, I finally committed to doing it & I’m really looking forward to trying out new dishes that will fit my new lifestyle & budget! lol This is the first recipe I tried & I just HAD to comment… My daughter does NOT like avocados however, she LOVED this recipe & so did I!!! I think I’ll add a bit more lemon to it next time but that’s probably just because I don’t have a juicer so I was squeezing it all by hand. :P The fact that it only took 15 minutes was also awesome for those after-work/school days when you just want something fast for dinner. Thank you very much for this recipe & I will be trying out the rest as I go along in my new vegan life! ^-^
Hey Honey, Thank you for your kind words…so glad to hear you enjoyed the pasta! It’s a fav of ours too. Goodluck with your dietary changes :)
I just made this tonight and my husband praised that it was the best pasta he had in his life!! He LOVES avocado and pasta, so this was a pefect dish for him. Thanks for another amazing recipe :)
This is seriously THE BEST. Thank you!! I’ve enjoyed it twice already this week. I think it’d make a great dip for sweet potato fries too.. or as a spread in a wrap. Mmmmmmmmmm…
3 Things I love the most put together .. Spagetti, Avocado and Lemon … Can’t wait to try it!!!
I have to tell you, I found this recipe on Pinterest and didn’t even realize it was Vegan until after I had made it and was eating it. This is the first vegan recipe I’ve ever tried that made me think I could actually go Vegan if I had to! Even my husband loves it and he usually frowns at anything that doesn’t have meat.
Also, I wanted to mention that I did reheat it the next day and it was still amazing. Perhaps a darker green, but not brown or icky.
Also added some lemon zest into the sauce before blending along with some parsley and that made it even better!!
I LOVE THIS RECIPE! Thank you so much!!
Hey Renee, Im glad you enjoyed it!