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.
Can’t wait to try this!
This is oober delicious! I baked a spaghetti squash to make a low carb version and it was amazing. Soooooo creamy its like an alfredo and your hardly miss the dairy… Or the pasta for that matter. I want to try this with some veggie chunks, I’m think portobellos and roasted red peppers…. Mmmmmmm.
I just made this and it tastes awesome.. Very easy to cook and very healthy.. :)
Made this last night….SOOOOOO Good!!!! thank you for sharing!
I’ve been making a very similar avocado cream sauce with Earth Balance or homemade vegan yogurt forever now. I recently discovered that it is AMAZING on rosemary lemon baked tofu.
Truthfully, I can’t remember if I’ve already commented, but in case I haven’t, you need to know that I LOVE this recipe. Everytime I have an avocado, it’s already slated for this. I’ve shared it with so many people and everyone enjoys it as well.
I make it in the measuring cup that my immersion blender came with. Super easy to clean! I also often toss in a handful of spinach leaves and a tiny bit of pasta water to get it all blending.
Thank you for sharing!
Eating this as I type! It’s delightful, even though I didn’t have any lemons around the house to use (just added some water in place of lemon juice to thin the sauce). You weren’t kidding about the garlic – I added two large-ish cloves and my breath could burn someone’s face off right now.
I used ronzoni noodles..it created a very heavy feeling for my tummy..I juiced the rest of night..
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made for family tonight with some roasted veggies as someone else suggested. It was delicious! I will def be making this again!
WOW! My toddler ate his whole bowl and he rarely eats anything that isn’t rice these days! My partner and I thought it was delicious. I think this will be a weekly dinner thing! Thank you!
Oh my goodness! This is so delish! Instead of pasta noodles, I put the sauce on zucchini noodles and the clouds parted, angels began to sing…..I was in heaven! Love this to pieces! Thank you for sharing this yummy goodness with us! <3
So, I saw this recipe and ran straight to the kitchen. It was yummy! The sauce would also make a great guacamole! :)
i went home and immediately made this earlier in the week. it’s so fast and tasty – thanks so much for the recipe and inspiration!
Angela- thank you! Another incredible recipe. I am so excited to share this one with friends and family. Thank you for sharing your creativity in the kitchen. You are making such a difference.
UN. REAL.
You’ve converted my carnivorous boyfriend! We added a whole pack of spinach to the pasta water for more greens. MAGIC!
This dish was on my ”Recipes to try list” and decided to try this for a quick lunch today and it turns out really good, I loved it and I will make this again for sure!!! Thank you Angela for this great recipe!!!
Just made this for dinner and I can’t wait to make it again! I did include the basil and also tossed in a couple of Tblsp. of chopped parsley too. Before draining the pasta I reserved about 1/2 cup of the pasta water and used that to thin out the sauce while tossing it with the pasta if needed so that it wouldn’t be too thick. FANTASTIC RECIPE!!! Thanks so much.
I tried this tonight and it was so good! I served it over a bed of arugula, with roasted asparagus, cherry tomatoes and a poached egg on top. Highly recommend it!!
I made this and it was heavenly. Basically I’ve been starved for new, good, vegan recipes and am totally gorging on your site. :) The cold leftovers were good, too. This recipe produced a creamy, flavorful pasta and very contented bellies around here! Thanks again!
P.S. I know a recipe is good when I don’t feel the need to improve upon it. I can’t make any suggestions here. It was prefect as it was, no improvements needed! …And that says something since the first time trying a new recipe sometimes yields if-y results!
Raw garlic makes my tongue itch! Weird I know, but I really wanna try this! I know it wont be ‘raw’ anymore, but if i cooked the garlic first, do you think it’ll still taste good?