AVOCADO PESTO PASTA
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
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.
Recipe by Let's Cook Some Food at https://www.letscooksomefood.com/avocado-pesto-pasta/