AVOCADO PESTO PASTA

Hey there! Dear meat lovers out there, I’m one of you but I promise , you won’t be disappointed in this Avocado Pesto Pasta.

It’s so creamy and fulfilling. If you like pesto sauce, you should consider giving this recipe a try. I added the creaminess to the pesto sauce by using avocado instead of cream. Boy oh boy, it’s so creamy and so good. I don’t think you’ll miss the meat or cream. At least I didn’t. Pesto sauce is usually pretty simple and no cooking required for the sauce itself. This one is no exception. 🙂

Let’s cook some food!

Cook pasta according to the package’s instructions. I used spaghetti, but you can use any kind of pasta you want. Once it’s cooked, drain it and add it back to the pot. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water just in case you need to add it later to the sauce.

While waiting for the pasta to be cooked, start making the sauce. Toast sliced almond in a pan for a few minutes. You can use pine nuts or walnuts if you don’t have almond.

Add avocado, almond, fresh basil, garlic, toasted sliced almonds (or pine nuts or walnuts) a large pinch of salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil to a food processor and chop until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

Add grated Parmesan cheese.

Blend again until smooth. Taste to see if it needs more salt or pepper.

Add the avocado pesto sauce to the pasta and toss everything together. This is happening off the heat by the way.

Add a little bit of reserved pasta water if it’s too dry and do another quick toss.
Drizzle with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese before serving.

If you happen to have leftover which I didn’t because we finished it all, save an avocado pit and put it in the leftover. You will be surprised, it keeps it from turning brown.

Enjoy! and if you like pasta in pesto sauce, perhaps you should try the Italian Sausage Pasta in Spinach Pesto Sauce as well. They are both delicious. The recipe for Avocado Pesto Pasta is below.

5.0 from 1 reviews

AVOCADO PESTO PASTA

 

Save Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Author: Mink

Recipe type: Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 cup of fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup of toasted nuts such as pine nuts, almonds, or walnuts.
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese plus more for garnish
• 18 oz. pasta of your choice
• ¼ cup pasta water (in case the sauce needs more liquid)
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to the package's instructions. I used spaghetti, but you can use any kind of pasta you want. Once it's cooked, drain it and add it back to the pot. Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water just in case you need to add it later to the sauce.
2. While waiting for the pasta to be cooked, start making the sauce. Toast sliced almonds in a pan for a few minutes.
3. Blend the avocado, fresh basil, garlic, toasted sliced almonds, a large pinch of salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil in a food processor until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add grated Parmesan cheese. Blend again until smooth. Taste to see if it needs more salt or pepper.
4. Add the avocado pesto sauce to the pasta and toss everything together. This is happening off the heat by the way.
5. Add a little bit of reserved pasta water if it's too dry and do another quick toss.
6. Drizzle with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese before serving.

Notes

If you happen to have leftover, save an avocado pit and put it in the leftover. You will be surprised, it keeps Avocado Pesto from turning brown.

3.5.3208