If you need something quick, nutritious, and flavorful on a busy weeknight, you’re going to want to make this avocado pesto pasta. Thanks to the avocado, this pasta is rich and creamy, so it tastes luxurious without a ton of effort.
The meal comes together so quickly as you can make the avocado pesto in the food processor while the pasta cooks on the stovetop. Then it’s just the matter of tossing everything together! It’s a nutritious, wholesome meal that the whole family will love. Try my avocado brownies or avocado egg salad recipe if you’ve got extra avocados!
Key Ingredients You Need
- Pasta — Feel free to use your pasta of choice. I recommend using pasta with lots of nooks and grooves to give the pesto something to cling on to.
- Avocado — Avocados come in quite a few varieties. Bacon, Fuerte, Gwen, Hass, and Reed are some of the most common ones you’ll find in stores. Since they vary when they’re in season, I recommend buying whichever avocado is in season.
- Basil — Use fresh basil for the best tasting pesto. You can use the thin stems attached to the basil leaves, but I would leave out the main thick basil stems.
- Olive oil — I use extra virgin olive oil, but you can use any. Remember that richer olive oil has a stronger flavor that may be more noticeable in the pesto.
How to Make Avocado Pesto Pasta
Step 1: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and add some olive oil to keep the pasta from sticking.
Step 2: Meanwhile, as the pasta cooks, in a food processor, add in the avocado, chopped garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. Blend until smooth.
Step 3: Add the parmesan and pulse until well incorporated.
Step 4: Add the basil and pulse until it looks roughly chopped. Add the pine nuts and pulse until the nuts are broken up.
Step 5: If the sauce looks too thick, drizzle in additional olive oil and lemon juice to taste as the food processor runs.
Step 6: Combine the pesto with the pasta and garnish with more parmesan cheese and basil if desired. Salt and pepper to taste.
Tips For This Recipe
- If you want this pesto pasta to be dairy-free, you can swap the parmesan cheese for nutritional yeast for the umami-like flavor that’s very similar to parmesan cheese.
- For a smoother or thinner avocado pesto sauce, reserve some of the pasta water and slowly drizzle it into the food processor until it has reached your desired consistency.
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to add some heat to the pesto.
- Simply use gluten-free pasta to make this pasta gluten-free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pine nuts can be pricey, and if you don’t have any on hand, you can make a tasty pesto without them. Try using walnuts, pistachios, almonds, pecans, or pepitas.
I wouldn’t recommend making this pesto pasta with avocado too far ahead in advance. The avocado in the pesto will darken after a few hours as it oxidizes, so it won’t look like it does freshly made. The lemon juice helps slow down the oxidization, but there will still be a slight discoloration.
It’s best to enjoy leftovers within 2 to 3 days. Keep refrigerated in a closed container to slow down the oxidization of the avocado in the pesto.
You can freeze this pasta for up to 3 months. Thaw the frozen pasta overnight in the fridge before enjoying it. Feel free to reheat the pasta or enjoy it chilled.
Omit the pine nuts entirely to make the avocado pesto nut-free.
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Avocado Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry pasta of your choice
- 1 large avocado skin and seed removed
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp pine nuts
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus more for garnish
Garnish
- fresh basil optional
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and add some olive oil to keep the pasta from sticking.
- In a food processor, add in the avocado, chopped garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. Blend until smooth.
- Add the basil and pulse it looks roughly chopped. Add the pine nuts, pulse until the nuts are broken up.
- Add the parmesan, pulse until well incorporated. If the sauce looks too thick, drizzle in additional olive oil and lemon juice to taste.
- Combine the pesto with the pasta and garnish with more parmesan cheese and basil if desired. Salt and pepper to taste.
Video
Notes
- If you want this pesto pasta to be dairy-free, you can swap the parmesan cheese for nutritional yeast for the umami-like flavor that’s very similar to parmesan cheese.
- For a smoother or thinner avocado pesto sauce, reserve some of the pasta water and slowly drizzle it into the food processor until it has reached your desired consistency.
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to add some heat to the pesto.
- Simply use gluten-free pasta to make this pasta gluten-free.
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