Avocado Pesto Pasta – The Almond Eater

June 8, 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 chew is herbaceous, tacky, and shiny!

avocado pesto pasta on a plate with a fork

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

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

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

Recipe options

It’s an all-around wholesome pesto recipe! The avocado not solely offers it a luxuriously creamy texture, but additionally 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 Ok, folic acid, iron, and calcium.
It’s prepared in 20 minutes or much less. That features prepping the contemporary substances, 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 Ideas and FAQs for much more methods to savor this sauce.

Substances

Pasta – I like to recommend utilizing long-cut pasta, like spaghetti or linguine, or quick ridged pasta, like penne, fusilli, farfalle, or orecchiette. Even gnocchi can 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 solution to eat extra veggies. Alternatively, omit the leafy greens and exchange them with additional basil or contemporary parsley.

Recent basil – Recent 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 inexpensive choice, use uncooked, unsalted almonds, cashews, walnuts, or pecans. Or omit the nuts for a nut free pesto.

Avocado – A wonderfully 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 rapidly. 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 response to the bundle 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 crimson 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 among 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 crimson pepper flakes. Take pleasure in!

avocado pesto pasta in a large pot with tongs

Ideas and FAQs

Don’t neglect to avoid wasting pasta water! It’s the key to making sure that the sauce coats each inch of pasta. Maintain your measuring cup beside the boiling pot of water so that you don’t neglect 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 selfmade 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 aspect and dig in!

Storing

Fridge: I extremely suggest utilizing the total batch of avocado pesto as soon as it’s prepared as a result of the avocado oxidizes and browns in a short time. To lengthen 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 forestall it from browning for about 2 or 3 days.

To retailer the leftover pesto pasta, preserve it in a sealed container with a chunk of plastic wrap pressed instantly 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. Pesto pasta can also be good straight from the fridge!

Extra methods to make use of avocado pesto

In the event you made this recipe, make sure you go away a remark and star ranking beneath. Thanks!