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Avocado Pesto Pasta

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Yep. Thought it was time that I gave this latest food blogosphere trend a try.

Like many of you, my eyebrows went up too the first time I saw the words avocado and pesto paired together. But I happen to be a ridiculously enthusiastic fan of both. So why not see if they really are, in the words of Jack Johnson, “better together”?!?

Part of the rage of the avocado pesto trend is that it is heralded as a 15-minute meal. So I put some water on to boil, and then went to work blending up the pesto ingredients. I decided to try it (as others had suggested) sans pine nuts and Parmesan, and with some extra lemon juice. And upon my first taste-test, it was actually surprisingly pleasant! But once the pasta was cooked and I was tossing the two together, I admit I caved and as you can see, decided to add the pine nuts and Parmesan back in on top.

Still, it was quite nice! The avocado was definitely a different twist, but I think I liked it. For the sake of a base recipe, I went ahead and photographed the recipe plain. But look forward to making it again with some roasted veggies, roasted or sun-dried tomatoes, and definitely some grilled shrimp or chicken or something. And you could definitely experiment with adding nuts or Parmesan into the pesto as well, or any of your other favorite pesto ingredients.

Cheers to new food fads!

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Avocado Pesto Pasta

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  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2-3 servings 1x

Description

Delicious, creamy avocado is the rockstar of this delicious pesto, tossed with the pasta of your choice.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 oz. pasta or noodles (I used tagliatelle)
  • 1 cup packed fresh basil, reserve some leaves for garnish
  • 1 avocado, pitted and peeled
  • 2 tsp. lemon juice
  • 34 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt (or more or less to taste)
  • pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  • (optional garnish) extra toasted pine nuts and shaved Parmesan

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of generously-salted water to a boil. Add pasta or noodles, and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, make the pesto by combining basil, avocado, lemon juice, garlic, and oil in a food processor. Process until smooth. Season generously with salt and pepper.
  3. Immediately after the pasta or noodles are drained, top with the pesto and gently toss until well-coated. Divide pasta among serving bowls and top with toasted pine nuts and shaved Parmesan.

Notes

You can also make this by substituting in fresh cilantro for the basil, and lime juice for the lemon juice.  I tried it and definitely liked the basil better, but many on the blogosphere seem to love the cilantro twist!

This is great served with grilled shrimp or chicken on top as well.

 

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19 comments on “Avocado Pesto Pasta”

  1. I read that title and said “yep” and then laughed when that is how you started this. I am going to be making it this weekend as I have some avocados to use up and a niece who is going to love this. Oohh and maybe for St. Patrick’s Day too

  2. I love avocados turned into pasta sauce. The recipe that I use doesn’t use basil, but I’m definitely adding that next time. This looks fabulous!

  3. I wasn’t sure myself… but now I think I’ll put it on my summer to-make list when I’ve got fresh basil in the backyard. Definitely with pine nuts and Parmesan!!

  4. What a great idea. I love pesto and avocado as well!

  5. YUM!! i love pesto its one of my favorites and I love avacado too! eek i cant wait to try this out

  6. YUM!! i love pesto its one of my favorites and I love avacado too! eek i cant wait to try this

  7. Oh yum! I would not have thought of pairing these together either, but…delicious!

  8. no bake cookies!? I am in to try that. =)

    thx for sharing

  9. This is soooo good! Found the recipe on pinterest. Did it over some gluten free (rice) penne and topped with dry toasted pine nuts from Trader Joe’s. So thankful for a delicious dairy-free pesto!

  10. I am doing a cookbook challenge to cook every recipe from Chloe’s Kitchen.
    Hope you don’t mind that I added your post to my blog page under “Others who made it”.
    https://eileenlikestoeat.com/2013/05/09/cookbook-challenge-chloes-kitchen-avocado-pesto-pasta-vegan/

  11. You did a WONDERFUL job on your live segment! Very cute. It was fun to get to know the gal behind all these wonderful recipes and pictures! Thank you!

  12. I finally got around to making a version of this dish and now Im kicking myself for waiting so long!
    Darn delicious and it’s ready in well under 15 minutes – take that Jamie Oliver!
    https://www.gobbledandgulped.com/recipes/avocado-pesto-spaghetti/