What’s more enticing than a pasta dish that’s bright, popping with flavor, and simple to make? With just a couple of ingredients and ten minutes of your time, you can have a creamy pasta dish that’s perfect for lunch on a hot day or an elegant date night.
Inspiration
When I first embarked on the vegan journey, avocado pesto was an absolute game-changer. It was one of the first sauce concepts that I truly fell in love with. I was stoked that it was so easy to make and contained nothing but good, wholesome ingredients. I have made it a couple of times over the last couple of years, and each time I enjoy it just as much as I did the first. It was finally time to document my recipe, as opposed to just wingin’ it each time. Lo and behold, this is it!
How to make Avocado Pesto Pasta
This recipe is everything! It is:
Clean
Fresh
Creamy
& Undoubtedly flavorful
Cook the pasta
An obvious main ingredient in this dish is pasta. This time around I used fusilli, but you can use any kind of pasta in any shape your heart desires. In the past, I have made this with bowtie, shells, and fettuccine. Small shells work great for this, as they are able to hold in all that creamy, saucy goodness. The world is yours, though! Use what you like best.
Once the pasta is done cooking, rinse it with cold water to prevent any further cooking, and place it in a large mixing bowl.
Slice the tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes work miraculously to balance the flavors by cutting through the richness of the sauce. The acidic punch of the tomato adds a burst of flavor to each bite while freshening up the entire dish. Slice these bad boys in half and toss them in with the cold pasta.
Make the avocado pesto sauce
The creamy pesto sauce consists of a medium-sized avocado, basil, plant milk, oil, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and lime juice. Add all of these ingredients to a food processor, blender, or tall cup with an immersion blender and blend until it becomes smooth and creamy. Feel free to add additional milk to help the blending process if necessary.
Pour the sauce over the pasta
Once the sauce reaches the consistency you’re looking for, pour it on top of the pasta and cherry tomatoes. Stir it in until everything is evenly coated.
Serving
Garnish the pasta with some freshly cracked black pepper and additional basil leaves if you have any leftover. This pasta pairs so well with chilled white wine, making it perfect for a summertime meal in the sunshine or an elegant date night with someone special.
Storing
This pasta is best served fresh, however, you may store the mixed pasta for 3-5 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. The pesto sauce by itself will last roughly the same amount of time in the refrigerator in an airtight jar. If the top of the leftover sauce begins to oxidize and turn brown, simply scrape off the darkened top layer and use what is still fresh and green underneath.
Did you try out this recipe? Let’s hear about it!
If you liked this recipe, you might also enjoy my recipe for Simple Vegan Pesto Sauce!
💚 M
Avocado Pesto Pasta
Equipment
- Blender or Food Processor
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta
- 1 medium sized avocado
- 2 handfuls of basil
- 1 tbsp almond milk
- ½ tbsp oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 lime, juiced
- 10-15 cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- Cook pasta as instructed.
- Slice the tomatoes into halves and set aside.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
- In a large bowl, combine the pasta and tomatoes with the sauce.
- Enjoy!
