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.
Wow! This recipe is AMAZING. It has become a new staple for me. :) Thanks so much for introducing me to avocado pasta!
If I don’t have basil leaves can I just make it without it ? Will it be nice.?
OMG I’M WRITING IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE I JUST MADE THIS AND WOW IT IS SO SO SO SO GOOD! IT TASTES SO CREAMY AND YUM OMFG MAKE THIS! NOW BACK TO EATING
Great pesto, super creamy, easy to make, good use of natural ingredients. It took me longer than 15 minutes, more like 30, or i would rate it a 5.
Definitely needed to add the water, or it wouldn’t have melded together well enough. Great on some leftover pasta from the fridge and the lemon zest is a great touch. Thank you Angela!
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was amazingly delicious and easy peasy! Thank you so much!
Brilliant :) It`s so easy and so amazingly tasty. Thank you
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Just made it and didn’t like it.
It is very creamy, but in my opinion it does not have much taste.
Have a good day
My daughter in Melbourne recommended your avocado pasta. She just said goodbye to a friend from Germany who has been staying with her for two weeks and liked your avocado pasta so much that she pestered my daughter to make it for her – had it for dinner four or five times! So I’m trying it tonight here in Sydney, in sunny Australia. Love your recipes and your stories. The kitten and crow video reminded me of a crow that used to visit our garden every afternoon for nine months or so when our children were little. She used to peck on the window of our family room to get our attention when the kids came home from school and she’d walk around with us in the garden. We called her Pica and she seemed very smart for a bird. Then she suddenly stopped coming. We all grieved a little when she failed to return. She was a friend to us. Maybe there’s more to crows than we realise. Have a wonderful Christmas with your little family, Angela!
O-M-G. Two of my most loved things together and I have never thought of this combo before!
Thank you, thank you, and more thank you
http://anotherfreakyblog.blogspot.com.es/
AMAZING!!
I added a little more olive oil and 1/4 of raw cashews to the blend, and I’ve had it twice this week.
This is one of my all-time favorite recipes! I’ve made it too many times to count! Thank you SO much!
Oh my Goooooooodddddd, this was delicious! Lovely recipe. Zingy flavour, garlicky and filling.
Hi Matt, glad you enjoyed it!
Even kids I know have really enjoyed this one! Healthy too!
hi! great recipe. i just wd like to say, i think it is not gluten free, it shouldnt be billed so. spelt and kamut are not wheat but they are cereals that contin gluten, i believe. they shd not be billed as gluten free or wheat alternatives. other than that, tasty and healthy. thanx
This post made my day, five years after it was posted. Avocado pasta to animals friends: what else could I want to stumble upon on the web on a cold April day in Canada?
Thanks for posting!
Aw, thanks for the comment, Rose! Knowing I made your day helped make MY day. :)
Made this multiple times and added some of my own ingredients to the sauce: kale (taste and extra vegetable), nutritional yeast (extra protein), and oregano (taste and to make it a bit spicy and to smell good).
Those sound like delicious modifications, Maaliyah! Thanks for sharing. :)
I tried this and added almond milk to make it a little creamier, worked great:)
Oh yes! I used to hate avocado taste, but now I love it. Especially as a pasta sauce. I also love it on rye bread with some hard boiled eggs. Yumm…
Been looking for some healthy pasta option and who knew avos make awesome pesto! I thoroughly enjoyed it! I didn’t have any basil, so I put in corriander instead…I love corriander in everything. Thank you for sharing such a simple and tasty recipe! x
Although I liked this recipe, it was a little bland for me. I added a little soy sauce (would use tamari but can’t find it in Ecuador, where I live), roasted tomatoes, and a tiny bit of olive juice to enhance the flavor, and it helped a lot!
Those sound like delicious recipe additions, Kay! :)