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.
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.
What a cute video!
I love the idea of this pasta meal. I’ve got some ripe avocadoes on my counter and I’m looking forward to making this.
We only have one grocery store in our little town too. :-)
i cant remember that last time i bought plain old white pasta.. there are so many variations now to choose from, i love how they have spelt, kamut, quinoa and brown rice available! i literally bought 8 avocados yesterday (on a serious kick..) and this looks so perfect!
Girl, you had me at “creamy avocado”! I’ve been looking for a healthy alternative to vegan butter and such, and ahhhh I cannot wait to try this! :)
Okay, I now know what I’m making for dinner tonight. I have an old family recipe called “green spaghetti”, but this brings a new definition to that term and I want to go home and make it RIGHT NOW. Thank you for sharing!
I love avocado! And now, you’ve just shown me another way to incorporate it into my meals! =)
And yet one more recipe I will have to try. I’ve never tried those noodles before, but I’m definitely a whole wheat noodle sort of girl. Tastes the same as “normal” noodles but is just that much better for you.
That video is adorable! I love that the woman dialed a “555” number when calling the vet’s office. Just like in the movies :)
Yumm! Making this tonight for Sam’s bday dinner.
Thanks pretty girl!
LEIGH!!!!!! =) Hi. I miss you! Have fun tonight!
I think I’m in love with this pasta too and I haven’t even tried it yet! I love a creamy pasta sauce but most of them are so unhealthy, so this is perfect. And avocado? YUMMMMM!
as a creamy pasta-lovin’ girl myself, this recipe gives me great hope! there are some days when you just HAVE to give into the urge and creamy avocado pasta like a pretty guiltless way to do so :)
That looks sooo yummy! I had a craving for pasta last night too, and came up with this super easy and delicious recipe. The sauce also came out kind of creamy and my hubby went crazy for this!
1/2 package brown rice spaghetti
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 leek (white part only), cleaned and thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
splash of white vermouth (or dry white wine)
pinch of dried thyme
1/2 veggie bouillon cube dissolved in 1 c. hot water (or 1 c. veggie broth)
1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
5 roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/2 c. fresh basil, en chiffonade
salt & pepper to taste
– Cook pasta according to package directions, rinse and dress with a little olive oil. Set aside.
– Heat olive oil over med-high heat and saute leeks until soft. Add garlic and thyme, stir to combine.
– Deglaze with vermouth or wine and add broth. Heat to simmer and add white beans. Simmer together until sauce has reduced slightly (enough to coat pasta).
– Add tomatoes and stir to combine (don’t overcook or tomatoes will break down).
– Season to taste and serve over pasta. Top with chiffonade of basil. Enjoy!
This recipe looks delicious. I’ll have to buy some dry white wine and try it. I love tomatoes and basil together, and white kidney beans takes it over the top.
That is the most precious video I’ve ever seen. How CUTE!!
This sounds fantastic! And how perfect because yesterday I bought avocados, lemons, and basil. Guess what I’m making tonight?!
great idea, i am on such an avocado kick lately!
avocado fries
so addictive!
AVOCADO FRIES?! omg I think my heart just stopped. I need to find a way to make them vegan!!
Never ever ever ever ever rinse your pasta!!! Italians will murder you if they find out u rinse it. Dont rinse! This looks amazing i want to make it really bad but im not sure my husband would approve (I live in italy this might be taboo). Great news I just today made the oil free apple muffin tops and they are sooo amazing and delicious. There is alot though, has anyone tried to freeze them?? they make the perfect grab and go breakfast!
Sabrina
Why not rinse? Doesnt it keep it from sticking together and cooking longer?
I froze the apple pie muffin tops and they worked well :)
I agree…what’s the harm with a little rinse? It’s especially helpful for cold pasta dishes.
I’ve hard that rinsing removes the layer of starch that forms on the surface, which helps the sauce to stick (as opposed to just slipping off the noodles). I never used to rinse wheat pasta, but I find that brown rice pasta gets really gummy if I don’t.
bingo!
kay just went and froze most of them. Thanks Angela your so amazing!
Never ever ever ever ever rinse your pasta!!! Italians will murder you if they find out u rinse it. Dont rinse! This looks amazing i want to make it really bad but im not sure my husband would approve (I live in italy this might be taboo). Great news I just today made the oil free apple muffin tops and they are sooo amazing and delicious. There is alot though, has anyone tried to freeze them?? they make the perfect grab and go breakfast!
Sabrina
What a wonderful idea for creamy pasta without all the cream. I love this! Perfect for a veg-head like me. It would probably also be a really good cold, summer time pasta, no?
I have two avocados at home and still haven’t used them…I don’t know I haevn’t gotten into them. Addicted to butters, yogurt and cottage cheese …;) Sigh. But I tried guacomole last week and fell in love! This looks amazing – I love any sauce – particularly spaghetti sauce a la tomato – there is no serving sizes when it comes to that (my downfall).
What is your “take” on sugar? Some blogs seem more extreme with no sugar added, etc.
But I’ve recently discovered Brown Sugar on my oatmeal…and it is divine!
Also just wanted to say thank you for your amazing series about your career change. So inspiring. I took one of the quotes I read from there and did a post on it.
Thank you.
Any recipe that involves avocado…count me IN! and LOVE the video =]
ooooohhhh this looks so good – like a healthy version of alfredo sauce. Genius idea! It’s going on my must-try list.