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.
This recipe is SO easy, and SO delicious! I ate it with zucchini noodles and it was perfect. Thanks for another fabulous recipe!!
Okay, so I don’t eat pasta, I just don’t like the bland squishy texture. But the idea of using spelt pasta, and using AVOCADOS to make a sauce made me want to try this recipe. I did last night, fed it to my mother (who is not vegan) and we both LOVED it! I used maybe twice the basil, and just two garlic cloves. If you are sensitive to garlic, I’d recommend just using one, as it is “raw” in this dish. But wow. Wow wow wow. I will make this again.
P.S. I love your blog, so many great ideas!
Bre
Thank you so much for this recipe, it’s absolutely delicious! <3
I found your recipe on pinterest and quickly gathered the ingredients for lunch. My mistake in the recipe was using the juice from half a lemon. That juice overpowered everything but the garlic. I added some white sugar and it balanced everything out. Tastes delicious! Ill try it with less lemon juice and only one clove of garlic next time. Thanks!
WOW!! I just made this for dinner and for a non vegetarian this is an amazing dish that is worth having in ones repertoire for those days that you feel like having something light and decadent at the same time, the only thing that I did differently was add some Pecorino Romano :D amazing will definitely make it again and again and again ……….
Eating this right now. Yum is the only way to describe it! I am not usually one to stray the standard pasta sauces, but this is awesome.
Hi, I tried your sauce. it is nice but I used much less basil and garlic (only 2 cloves) and still found it overwhelming. My lemon was very citric sharp in taste but after mixing with pasta it actually wasn’t bad. thank you.
Just a note; if you don’t have real lemons on hand the lemon substitute is 2 tablespoons. I mis judged the amount and though the sauce smelled fabulous, it tasted like lemons… Just lemons. Lol. Definitely trying this recipe again (with the correct amount of lemon juice
I made this tonight for dinner, and it was absolutely perfect! I didn’t have any lemon so I used a scant half teaspoon of red wine vinegar. I will definitely be making this recipe again!
Hi,
I am keeping a blog for a college course that I am taking and I chose to feature this delicious recipe of yours on it. I am a college student with sub par cooking skills and I have to tell you that I am so proud of being able to make this! It is yummy and simple. You explain it so well. I directly used your recipe, directions, and two pictures. I credited you for all of it, but I wanted to let you know. I hope that is okay. Thank you again for this lovely meal!
Jessica
Going to try this sauce on spaghetti squash tonight!
This is now my go-to pasta! I’m a student so I like to make to easy and quick meals with few ingredients. I used to make a cream sauce because I always have cream and butter – but this is so much healthier. When I make this, I like to panfry some mushrooms too just for an added texture and flavour. Great recipe!
I have lime juice & lemon thyme, thoughts on subbing these for lemon juice & basil?
I love everything avocado. Yummy!
I made this and it is awesome!!! I used spaghetti squash and cooked it last night, then I quickly whipped up the sauce this morning but kept it separate from the squash. I was able to reheat the squash at work for lunch and just mix in the sauce and it was perfect! So you can reheat it.. just keep the sauce and pasta separate and only heat the pasta :)
This was a great sauce, I used it on spaghetti squash and it was amazing with the crunch.
Fantastic! Can;t wait for more!
I made this pasta this afternoon…love that the recipe is super easy and healthy. We didn’t have lemons, so I substituted lime and it still came out well. The taste is a little mild (added more seasonings & basil to achieve more flavor) and different than any other pasta I’ve had in a good way. Thanks Angela for a wonderful, simple recipe. : )
great recipe. thank you.
i have made this twice and it’s been wonderful both times.
I used coriander (the actual leaves, not the seeds) instead of basil. It definitely goes better with avocado. Trust me! I’m a latinamerican (we put coriander and cumin in everything) living in Italy (basil all over the place) and give it a try!