Avocado Pesto Pasta – The Almond Eater

June 14, 2023

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This 20-minute Avocado Pesto Pasta is a flavorful and straightforward meal that blends additional creamy avocado-basil pesto sauce with cooked pasta. Each chunk is herbaceous, tacky, and vibrant!

avocado pesto pasta on a plate with a fork

Virtually each pesto recipe, whether or not it’s a basic basil pesto or a variation, like sun-dried tomato, almond, or kale pesto, is irresistibly herbaceous, nutty, and zesty. And this upgraded avocado pesto is not any exception!

It’s made with conventional pesto components (contemporary basil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan, and olive oil) however provides velvety avocado, contemporary spinach, and lemon juice to create a thick, creamy, and lovely inexperienced sauce.

On this straightforward Avocado Pesto Pasta recipe, the sauce is poured over freshly cooked pasta noodles to create a straightforward meal that’s on the desk in 20 minutes or much less. The herbaceous and creamy pesto clings to each noodle, providing you with a downright scrumptious dinner that everybody will love.

Recipe options

It’s an all-around wholesome pesto recipe! The avocado not solely provides it a luxuriously creamy texture, but in addition a lift of wholesome fat and fiber. In the meantime, the spinach sneaks in excessive quantities of nutritional vitamins and minerals, together with carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin Okay, folic acid, iron, and calcium.
It’s prepared in 20 minutes or much less. That features prepping the contemporary components, making the pesto from scratch, cooking the pasta, and tossing the pesto and pasta collectively.
Avocado pesto sauce isn’t only for pasta! Apply it to salad, with grilled meat, and a lot extra. Head to the Suggestions and FAQs for much more methods to savor this sauce.

Components

Pasta – I like to recommend utilizing long-cut pasta, like spaghetti or linguine, or brief ridged pasta, like penne, fusilli, farfalle, or orecchiette. Even gnocchi could be scrumptious right here. All of those choices will lure and maintain the sauce rather well!

Spinach – Including spinach, arugula, or kale to pesto is a sneaky method to eat extra veggies. Alternatively, omit the leafy greens and exchange them with additional basil or contemporary parsley.

Contemporary basil – Contemporary basil leaves are a should whenever you need your pesto to have essentially the most genuine taste. Bear in mind: the more energizing the basil, the higher the pesto.

Pine nuts – A standard, albeit costly, ingredient in pesto sauce. For a extra reasonably priced possibility, use uncooked, unsalted almonds, cashews, walnuts, or pecans. Or omit the nuts for a nut free pesto.

Avocado – A superbly ripened avocado transforms primary basil pesto right into a wealthy and creamy pasta sauce.

Lemon juice – The acidity from lemon juice balances the flavors within the sauce and prevents the avocado from browning too shortly. This manner, the pesto stays contemporary and vibrant for longer.

Olive oil – Good-quality additional virgin olive oil emulsifies the sauce and offers it a extra wealthy and cohesive taste and consistency.

Step-by-step directions

Step 1: Cook dinner the pasta. Deliver a big pot of salted water to a boil, then add the pasta and prepare dinner in keeping with the package deal directions. Save ½ cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta.

Step 2: Make the pesto. In the meantime, pulse the spinach, basil, pine nuts, avocado, garlic cloves, lemon juice, parmesan, salt, and pink pepper flakes collectively in a meals processor. Then, with the motor nonetheless working, slowly pour within the olive oil till the pesto comes collectively.

2 images: the left image shows the avocado pesto ingredients added to a food processor and the right image shows the pesto ingredients blended together

Step 3: Coat the pasta in pesto. Return the cooked pasta to the now empty pot. Pour the pesto overtop, together with a few of the reserved pasta water. Toss to coat.

noodles inside of a large pot with avocado pesto added on top of the noodles

Step 4: Plate and serve. Serve the pesto pasta in bowls and garnish with parmesan and a pinch of pink pepper flakes. Get pleasure from!

avocado pesto pasta in a large pot with tongs

Suggestions and FAQs

Don’t overlook to avoid wasting pasta water! It’s the key to making sure that the sauce coats each inch of pasta. Preserve your measuring cup beside the boiling pot of water so that you don’t overlook to avoid wasting.
To make this recipe vegan or dairy free, omit the parmesan cheese or exchange it with dietary yeast or vegan parmesan-style cheese.
The avocado pesto is nice for extra than simply pasta! Unfold it on grilled cheese, use it as a salad dressing, dip contemporary veggies into the batch, apply it to home made pizza, brush it on grilled rooster and different proteins, toss it with meatballs, or drizzle it over baked or roasted potatoes.

Why add avocado to pesto sauce?

Including avocado to pesto enhances the general style and texture. It creates a wealthy, creamy sauce with a delicate, but satisfying buttery taste. Plus, it provides wholesome fat and fiber!

Are you able to style avocado in pesto?

The avocado enhances the creaminess of the pesto and provides delicate earthy and candy flavors, however isn’t overpowering.

What goes nicely with avocado pesto pasta?

Toss a couple of add-ins to make the creamy pesto pasta extra substantial. Roasted cherry tomatoes, broccoli, artichoke hearts, asparagus, or zucchini would all be scrumptious! Or serve the pasta topped with steak, rooster, or shrimp.

Serve the meal with garlic bread and a leafy inexperienced salad on the facet and dig in!

Storing

Fridge: I extremely advocate utilizing the complete batch of avocado pesto as soon as it’s prepared as a result of the avocado oxidizes and browns in a short time. To extend its shelf life, retailer any additional pesto in a sealed container within the fridge with a skinny layer of olive oil on prime. The oil ought to stop it from browning for about 2 or 3 days.

To retailer the leftover pesto pasta, maintain it in a sealed container with a chunk of plastic wrap pressed straight on prime of the pasta. Retailer within the fridge for 1 to 2 days.

Reheating: Reheat the pasta within the microwave or a skillet with a splash of water, vegetable broth, or olive oil till warmed by means of. Pesto pasta can be good straight from the fridge!

Extra methods to make use of avocado pesto

Should you made this recipe, make sure to go away a remark and star score under. Thanks!