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 looks amazing! Love, love, love avocado. I’ve never been a big pasta fan (which nobody ever understands!), but I am definitely going to try some of your pasta suggestions of spelt and kamut (which I never heard of before). I was wondering what you thought of possibly adding roasted garlic to this. It would add a little more flavor and a bit of sweetness to it. I am a horrible cook, so if this is disgusting, trust me, I won’t be offended, but I am trying to get better since I am getting married in September and I’d like to have a few recipes in my repertoire! Love all your ideas.
I’ve already made this two nights and a row, and I’m not even kidding… I still want to have it again tonight. I’ve got extra avocados.. so why on earth not?! So, SO good and ridiculously easy. I tossed in some shredded parmesan and some kale, and seriously, it was DIVINE. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to the heavy cream alfredo ever again.
Hi – is this pasta ok to freeze?
That avocado dinner was horrific. One of the worst things I have ever eaten. And I once ate a shoe.
Made this tonight for dinner (after eyeing this recipe for literally years, ha! Sometimes I’m a bit slow on the uptake.) It was so awesome! I forgot fresh basil and so used a pinch of dried. I’m sure the fresh takes it up a notch and so will have to try it that way next time. There WILL be a next time!
Made this last night for dinner and it was delicious. I used fresh dill instead of basil and added a sprinkle of parmesan out of habit, but honestly it wasn’t needed. The dill was yummy though. I also think some roasted chilli and some toasted, chopped hazlenuts mixed in with the lemon zest would be nice in the basil version: a take on gremolata to add texture.
This recipe was absolutely delicious! Incredibly creamy and filling. It was quick and uncomplicated, a great beginner’s recipe. I will recommend that you use a minimum amount of garlic however. I doubled the recipe, but only used one large clove of garlic, and it was plenty garlicky enough. I will definitely use this recipe again, and I highly recommend it to others.
Sounds yummy. Can’t wait to try it!
For those not keen on strong, fresh garlic, try roasting the garlic ahead of time. A simple way to “roast” a few cloves quickly: place cloves, still in their husk but separated from the bulb, in a dry non-stick pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for about 15 minutes. You can do this while the pasta is cooking or ahead of time. Cook until each side is mostly browned and clove inside is soft. Large cloves are going to take longer. Peel and add to sauce preparations. Be careful, the cloves will be hot.
Just tried this tonight and it knocked my socks off!!!! So absolutely delicious :)
I forgot to mention: I cut up a bunch of grape tomatoes and them into the boiling water (like the last 30 seconds or so). It added some color and additional texture :)
I made this tonight and LOVED it! Now I’m going to share it with all my friends. Thank you so much
I have used this recipe twice now and am in love with it! Added cherry tomatoes the first time and rock melon the second, they really complimented the flavours. Would it be okay for me to feature this on my blog? With you as a source of course!
Thanks for the great recipes!
Emma
I just made your avocado pasta recipe and whoa Nellie! Delicious!! Rich and creamy goodness and so fast! I used brown rice pasta for a gluten free option. I had it with your carrot, grapefruit and ginger juice for a light and sweet balance to the garlic and lemon pasta sauce. Dessert? Of course your peanut butter cookie dough balls! I took a beautiful photo I’d love to share. :)
Oh my word. This was by far the best pasta I’ve ever had. I mean ever. I knew this was going to be good, but this was amazing. Unbelievably amazing. My husband and I are in love with this! Thank you so much for sharing!!
Tried it! LOVE IT! Can’t wait to make again! Wonderful with fresh basil from the garden, my mouth is watering for more now
I made this and added roasted mushrooms and it tasted so good, knowing that this is the first vegan pasta I ever had (I’m a vegetarian in transition to vegan)
Hi Angela,
Just commenting to let you know that I made this recipe for dinner and it was FANTASTIC. I did a review on my blog that can be found here: http://eatforcolor.blogspot.com/2014/07/recipe-review-ohsheglows-15-minute.html
I made sure to link back to your website and make is clear that this was YOUR recipe. I hope I did that correctly!
Love the cookbook and the website!
Beautiful recipe! Tastes incredible! And your right, it’s really surprising how the avocado can be so creamy and delicious! :)
My toddlers and I adore this recipe … my partner, not so much, but that leaves more for us! My favorite way to eat it is massaged into kale. The fresh basil is definitely not optional, and I think that it is best with plenty of garlic! Thanks so much!!
Just had this for lunch and it was Amazing! Instead of regular pasta i made my own raw zucchini noodles(ofcourse if you wanted a true raw meal you could substitute the olive oil for unrefined raw coconut oil and i think would be great too!) , and because i love spice i added cayeane pepper to your avocado sauce recipe and that added just the right amount of spice and extra flavor for me! I will be making this again, Thanks a bunch!