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.
I usually to look at the reviews of recipes before I decide to actually make it, unless it’s in a cookbook. And may I just say..Reading comment after comment of people saying it “looks” great and delicious and they plan on trying it…does NOT help! I look for comments from people who have actually made and tasted the recipe before giving commentary. Is it just me?
This is so fabulous! I am currently eating vegan and gluten free so thought I would try this. This is a recipe ANYONE would love. I’ve been raving about it and sharing it with all my friends. Thank you!!
I made this tonight and well, it did not taste so good. I do not have a food process so I tried making in my Vitamix, but the ingredients keep getting stuck under the blades. Anyway, I was disappointed. It looks so good.
This was sooo delicious. What a wonderfully creamy and nutty taste the avocado gives off. Thank you for sharing this exquisitely simple recipe!
Hi! Looks great. In the picture in the right rail, the dish doesn’t look as creamy, as ‘wet.’ How do I create this drier texture? I do not like foods that are too wet/creamy.
http://ohsheglows.com/2015/02/13/a-simple-valentines-day-menu-vegan-gluten-free/
That’s a link to the same picture, to which I am referring in my original post. How can I achieve a ‘drier’/less creamy version like the one in this picture?
Thanks! Can’t wait to try it!
I don’t have a food processor at home so I used the basil that comes in the squeeze tubes (sacrilegious, I know) and just mashed the avocado with all the other ingredients, and have to say it worked perfectly!
I made this avocado pasta yesterday and today and oh wow – this was absolutely heavenly! Definitely the best avocado pasta recipe I have ever tried!
So yum!
Finally got to make this recipe last night and it blew me and my family away. My dad who’s typically not into anything vegan or “strange” absolutely devoured it! The best part is I kept the leftover sauce and used it as a veggie dip today as a snack. Great great versatile sauce, thank you for this one!
I thought this was great, but I felt like it was missing something. Something to round out the flavors and hit the rest of my taste buds. My 2 yr old son did not like it and grimaced when he tasted it, which was disappointing. So the next time I make it, and I definitely will, because you can’t get any easier than this, I think I will add less lemon juice and likely try a different herb that pairs well with avocado and maybe some spices and see what I wind up with. I will caution those who make this recipe…once you add the lemon juice, it’s too late to remove it, so I advise not adding too much. Less is more.
Great article!
I will try the pasta recipe today & the cat crow friends video was adorable :D
Light & Love,
Ben (from Germany)
I stumbled upon your website through a friend’s instagram yesterday – I decided to give this a shot – for the record, I despise cooking and have been struggling to eat healthier. This recipe was so ridiculously easy and fun (I also bought a food processor today so that was half the fun) and DELICIOUS. Thank you, thank you. Now I’m off to buy your book!!
This was fabulous! One of my pet peeves is when people “review” recipes when they never even made them so I thought to let you all know that this was super delicious!!!! I got a very ripe avocado and this was soooo creamy. 5 stars
I never thought Avocados could make it in pasta recipes… We have our own avocado in our backyard and the whole family loves the shake we made from its fruit, but other than that we know no other recipe to feast. But when I was a little, I used to play with tiny avocados I picked from the ground as some tiny fruits fall during the time when it just started to flower and grow fruits. Here’s my blog post describing how I played with avocado back then http://www.letmeshareyou.com/lets-play-lets-play-with-avocado/
Making this tonight! I’m roasting some cherry tomatoes for on the side, will let you know how I like the pasta!
It was absolutely delicious! Creamy, and less salty than pasta pesto, which is a good thing!
Hiya! This looks absolutely amazing! The only thing I don’t have right now is basil, but I do have fresh spinach… do you think that substitution would be okay?
Thanks for all of your incredible recipes!
Angela I haven’t had a chance to tell you that your blog and all recipes have helped me maintain my weekly goal of starting a vegetarian diet. Its been over a week now and I no longer “desire” what I thought I couldn’t live without. Your page has become a daily route in my life.
Thank you!!!
-Amar
This avocado sauce was a perfect alternative to a cream sauce. After blending it in with ancient grains rotini and drizzled balsamic vinegar on top which seemed to make the flavors pop!! ( i used blueberry balsamic)
So easy & so delicious! Fast too. Very good recipe!
Made this tonight for dinner. DELICIOUS and so easy. My 2 and a half year old LOVED it too. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe