Avocado pesto pasta is a delightfully creamy dish loaded with avocado, fresh basil, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, lemon, garlic and pine nuts. You can have this pasta on your table in just 15 minutes, making it a simple dish perfect for a quick weeknight dinner. Add your favorite protein, load it up with veggies, or serve with a side of garlic bread to level this dinner up even more.
Ingredients
- Spaghetti – long pasta, like spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine are favorites, but any pastas will do. Perfect for twirling in the avocado pesto.
- Avocados – creates the creamy consistency of this sauce. Also adds a healthy dose of plant-based fats.
- Fresh basil – the key to any good pesto is fresh basil, and lots of it!
- Olive oil – for plant-based healthy fats. Olive oil is key to a flavorful pesto sauce.
- Parmesan cheese – salty and savory addition. We prefer freshly shredded Parmesan cheese over shelf-stable grated varieties for more flavor.
- Lemon – for light citrus notes and to slow down the oxidation (aka browning) of the avocado
- Pine nuts or almonds – pine nuts are the traditional nut used in pesto, but almonds are also delicious and a little more affordable.
- Seasonings – garlic cloves, sea salt, and black pepper are the only seasonings needed for this simple pesto.
- Reserved pasta water – to thin down the sauce to the desired consistency. You can also use vegetable or chicken broth as a substitute.
How to Make Avocado Pesto Pasta
Bring a large sauce pot of water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions, about 7 minutes, for al dente pasta. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water. Drain and return to the pan.
In a food processor, blend together avocado, basil, garlic, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, olive oil, salt and pepper until smooth. Set aside.
Toss the cooked pasta with the avocado pesto sauce. Use the reserved pasta water (or broth) to thin the sauce down to the desired consistency. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese and fresh basil, if desired.
How to Store
- Refrigerate – store this pasta in an airtight container for 1 to 2 days. Place plastic wrap directly over the surface of leftover avocado pesto and store for 1 to 3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Due to exposure to air, the avocado will oxidize and turn brown quickly, even with the addition of lemon. Therefore, it’s best to eat leftovers quickly.
- Freeze – we recommend freezing any leftover pesto you won’t use in a day or two in ice cube trays since it will spoil quickly in the refrigerator. Transfer frozen pesto cubes to an airtight freezer Ziploc bag and store for up to 3 months.
What to Serve with Avocado Pesto Pasta
- Chicken – we love serving this recipe with grilled chicken, like Italian herb chicken, cilantro lime chicken, chimichurri chicken, healthy chicken piccata, or Instant Pot shredded chicken
- Meatballs – lemon rosemary turkey meatballs, Greek turkey meatballs, or favorite turkey meatballs
- Naked burgers – it might sound odd, but in the summer we love to grill up fresh chicken burgers, turkey burgers, or hamburgers and serve them on the side of this pasta.
- Veggies – grilled, oven-roasted, or sauteed veggies are perfect for this dish. Top with sauteed zucchini, summer squash, green beans, or mushrooms, oven-roasted broccoli, air fryer asparagus, or even cauliflower steaks.
- Bread/rolls – breadsticks, dinner rolls, homemade bread, or garlic bread or perfect for soaking up every delicious morsel of avocado pesto.
What to Serve with Avocado Pesto
We use the avocado pesto sauce in this recipe for more than just pasta dishes.
- Spread on sandwiches, wraps, burgers, or toasted bagels.
- Dip fresh veggies in avocado pesto.
- Dollop on soups, chilis, or stews.
- Use as a base for salad dressings.
- Toss with your favorite pasta salad.
- Slather on freshly grilled zucchini, summer squash, or eggplant.
- Side sauce for quesadillas, tacos, or enchiladas.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
We use lemon juice to slow down the browning of avocado pesto. However, you cannot stop browning from happening entirely. This pesto will keep in the refrigerator for 1-2 days at most.
Yes! we like to warm our pasta covered over medium-low heat with a splash of chicken or vegetable broth until warmed throughout.
We prefer longer pastas, like spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine for twirling in the pesto, but any pasta will work. Try shells, bowties, rigatoni, or penne to trap sauce in the hollow portions of the pasta. Gnocchi is also delicious with pesto.
Heating pesto too long will change its flavor and can darken it, so we recommend adding the pesto to the pasta just before serving, when the pasta has been removed from heat.
No, it’s not necessary. We add pasta water to thin the sauce down to our desired consistency, as this avocado pesto is fairly thick.
This avocado pesto recipe is loaded with fat from olive oil, avocado, pine nuts/almonds, and cheese and will be very calorie dense. However, these fats are largely plant-based healthy unsaturated fats, which are essential to a balanced diet. We believe that eaten in moderation, this avocado pesto can be a healthy addition to pasta, soups, salads, and sandwiches.
Check out our other pasta recipes
- Sundried tomato pasta
- Creamy avocado pasta
- Creamy Cajun pasta
- Stovetop white cheddar mac and cheese
- Healthy hamburger helper
Avocado Pesto Pasta
Equipment
- 1 Food processor
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti, uncooked (or other pasta)
- 2 small hass avocados, pitted, skin removed
- 2 c fresh basil
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 lemon, juiced
- â…“ c fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded
- ¼ c pine nuts or almonds
- ¼ c olive oil
- ½ tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper, plus more to taste
- ½ c reserved pasta water (or sub chicken or vegetable broth)
Instructions
- Bring a large sauce pot of water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions, about 7 minutes, for al dente pasta. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water. Drain and return to the pan.
- In a food processor, blend together avocado, basil, garlic, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, olive oil, salt and pepper until smooth. Set aside.
- Toss the cooked pasta with the avocado pesto sauce. Use the reserved pasta water (or broth) to thin the sauce down to the desired consistency. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese and fresh basil, if desired.
Notes
- How do you keep avocado pesto from turning brown – we use lemon juice to slow down the browning of avocado pesto. However, you cannot stop browning from happening entirely. This pesto will keep in the refrigerator for 1-2 days at most.
- Can you reheat avocado pesto – yes! we like to warm our pasta covered over medium-low heat with a splash of chicken or vegetable broth until warmed throughout.
- What pasta is pesto best with – we prefer longer pastas, like spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine for twirling in the pesto, but any pasta will work. Try shells, bowties, rigatoni, or penne to trap sauce in the hollow portions of the pasta. Gnocchi is also delicious with pesto.
- Do you add pesto while cooking or after – heating pesto too long will change its flavor and can darken it, so we recommend adding the pesto to the pasta just before serving, when the pasta has been removed from heat.
- Do I need to add pasta water to avocado pesto – no, it’s not necessary. We add pasta water to thin the sauce down to our desired consistency, as this avocado pesto is fairly thick.
- Is avocado pesto healthy – This avocado pesto recipe is loaded with fat from olive oil, avocado, pine nuts/almonds, and cheese and will be very calorie dense. However, these fats are largely plant-based healthy unsaturated fats, which are essential to a balanced diet. We believe that eaten in moderation, this avocado pesto can be a healthy addition to pasta, soups, salads, and sandwiches.
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