Here’s a quick, fresh, and healthy lunch idea. I admit, at first, I was a little skeptical, but the bright, zesty flavors of lemon, together with the richness of the avocado pasta sauce, kept me coming back for more and more bites. It truly is delicious!
The creaminess of the avocado fools you into believing you are consuming something rich and decadent and cheesy. It’s really hard to believe it is vegan. This can be made in 20 minutes flat, the time it takes to cook the pasta. It can be served warm, or chilled.
Either way, it’s tasty, good for you and I think you will like it. Give it a whirl and let us know in the comments below.
Ingredients in Avocado Pasta
- Pasta—long pasta like linguini or spaghetti works great here, but most any pasta will work, including gluten-free pasta!
- Avocados- The base of this sauce! choose perfectly ripe avocados with no discoloring.
- Lemons- We love using Meyer lemons here but regular lemons will work too.
- Extra virgin olive oil – add delicious richness to the dish.
- kosher salt, and black pepper – or try white pepper!
- Fresh garlic cloves- add a punchy flavor!
- Aruguala – optional but adds a peppery bite.
- Optional additions: basil ribbons, toasted pine nuts.
How to make Avocado Pasta
- Simmer. Start your pasta to boil in generously salted water and cook to al dente.
- Puree. Place all the avocado pasta sauce ingredients in a food processor and puree until completely smooth, scraping down the edges.
- Combine. Toss the pasta with avocado puree together in a bowl.
- Season. Taste for salt. Garnish with Meyer lemon zest and fresh cracked pepper.
- Decorate! Add toasted pine nuts and fresh basil ribbons if you like.
Storing Leftover Avocado Pasta
More Favorite Vegan Pasta Recipes
Avocado Pasta Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 2-4
- Category: Vegan dinner, pasta recipe
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This creamy Avocado Pasta recipe is so easy and delcious! It’s lemony and garlicky and rich and creamy from the avocado pasta sauce- and very hard to believe it is entirely vegan!
Ingredients
- 8 oz Pasta- linguini, spaghetti, buccatini, or gluten-free pasta
- handful arugula
- Optional garnishes: lemon zest, toasted pinenuts, basil ribbons
Avocado Pasta Sauce
- 2 ripe avocados (medium) without blemishes
- 3 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice – (if using regular lemon juice start with 1 1/2 tablespoons and add more to taste)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or try 1/8 teaspoon white pepper)
- 1– 2 garlic cloves
Instructions
- Boil 8 oz pasta in salted water and cook to al dente.
- Puree the avocado sauce ingredients in a food processor until completely smooth, scraping down the edges. Taste and adjust salt and lemon to taste.
- Toss cooked pasta with avocado sauce and a handful fresh baby arugula.
- Taste again for salt and lemon.
- Garnish with lemon zest, fresh cracked pepper, optional toasted pine nuts and fresh basil ribbons if you like. Feel free to add parmesan or vegan parmesan.
Notes
Because the avocado sauce will oxidize over time ( get brown), this is best eaten right away.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 439
- Sugar: 2.1 g
- Sodium: 450.3 mg
- Fat: 22.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 53.6 g
- Fiber: 9.9 g
- Protein: 9.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This was absolutely incredible! My husband is not full vegan so I gave him a bit of lean protein on the side with it.
He was shocked at how easy it was to make, too!
Will make again
My friend has been cooking for her husband (who decided to go vegan). We wanted to try some recipes…this is by far the most delicious thing that has ever graced my mouth. WOW.
Awww thanks- its an old recipe but I really like this one too!
This is possible the best most, creamiest pasta, I’ve ever had. I will definitely be saving this recipe
Glad you liked it~!!!
Do you love fettucini alredo, but hate the dairy and calories? Who doesn’t! I never thought of using an avocado in place of all the cream, until this recipe. I suggest you puree the garlic and avocado, add some salt, and toss it with the pasta. That may be all you want! As it was for me the first time. I’m eating the second time now, and added some roasted cherry tomatoes, since they were starting to get old. I could imagine adding all sorts of things to this recipe!
Very good! and effortless. I tried it because I happened to have all the ingredients in my fridge. Ready in minutes and I would make it for any company i want to impress.
I just made this dish for me and my boyfriend and we both were surprised by how good it was. I added some toasted pine nuts for some extra crunch. Well done!
Love it! So glad you liked and I just added pinenuts to the recipe as an optional garnish….a great idea!! Thanks Dylana!!
When I bookmarked this recipe on Foodgawker, I had it in my mind that it called for Zoodles. So I saved up and bought a spiralizer. This was the recipe I broke it in on. I made half a recipe, enough for 2 or 3 zucchini noodles. Perfect blend of flavors… this recipe is a keeper!
I love it! Perfect for zucchini noodles!
I think that would work. You could add cilantro too for a Mexican spin on it. 🙂
I just made this for lunch. I didn’t have Meyer lemons so I used a regular lemon, otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. It was delicious!
Does the lemon content keep this from browning or is it something that needs to be made/eaten immediately? Can’t wait to try it!
The lemon will not prevent this from browning…it will eventually start turning…but it may slow the process down. The Lemon is primarily for flavor.
Just made this and it was SO GOOD. Rocking the capitals to show that by so good, I mean really, really, really good. I’m gluten free so I subbed for some corn & rice noodles and fell in love. The best kind is always with scrummy food.
Thank you! I saw this recipe this afternoon and made it for dinner. We all loved it. Quick and delicious!
I’m going to get some Meyer lemons pronto…The pictures are making me crazy with hunger!
I made this tonight and it was very interesting. I’ve never had anything quite like it! My avocados were on the smaller side so the sauce came out a lil too salty (and spicy) for my taste. I added one more avocado and made more pasta to compensate for my increase. Somehow the sauce to pasta ratio was still off and the extra sauce made the dish less appealing. I will try this out again with some adjustments and definitely add the sauce slowly. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to try something new!
I did use larger sized avocados, so I will specify this more clearly in the recipe. Do you remember if you used kosher salt? Or was it another kind of salt? Thank you Kate for the feedback, it’s good to hear in order to get the recipe as accurate as possible. So many variables….
Rarely do i make recipes from sites I”m unfamiliar with. It’s not that I don’t trust y’all, it’s that it’s so easy for us to stick to the tried and true! BUT, I’ve been doing some gluten-free experimentation which means expanding my horizons. I stumbled across this recipe on pinterest, had an avocado, arugula, and some quinoa pasta, and figured what the heck. MISS LADY YOU ARE A GENIUS. I just made the most delicious gluten free, dairy free, vegan dish ever and it’s all because of you! This baby’s goin in my recipe box and will probably be made a TON over the summer when avocados are a lil prettier than they are now. I”m also bookmarking you! Thank you so much for posting!
Thanks Erica, i am glad you liked it!
I think I deserve this tonight. I have sick kids who will be getting hot dogs, while mummy & daddy dine on this. I am in love with it’s simplicity and elegance.
Hi Sylvia, I just tried this recipe for dinner tonight, and it was wonderful! I swapped out the arugula for broccolini (only green I had on hand besides avocado) and topped the meal with a poached egg. Yum.
That sounds really delicious! I’ll have to try that. Thanks!
I love avocados. I used to work with someone who would ask all of us, if we were trapped on an island, what food would we have? I always said something stupid like bagels, until this one friend Dave said he’d have an avocado – so true! They’e so nutritious, good for you, and delicious!
I’m so glad you are posting regularly. I enjoy your recipes and your writing.Leigh
Thank you so much Leigh.
Sounds/looks amazing! I am fortunate enough to have a Meyer lemon tree, so this would be perfect.
I am so jealous….you must live someplace warm. 🙂
Yum! I’m big into using avocados and cashews as a “creamy” substitute. Thanks for the inspiration.
you are so welcome!
I’ve had meals like this quite a bit, considering I’ve always got connections for homegrown Meyers and Avocados 😉 For those of you readers who aren’t sure if this will be tasty or not… take my word – it is absolutely delish!! You can also increase the oil and lemon juice and make it into a lovely salad dressing.Thank you so much for posting Sylvia!
Thats a great idea! Thank you!
You are right, this does sound strange but I am intrigued. After reading more I think I will have to try this. Thanks. You’ve been pinned.
This sounds superb! I’ve seen a few pasta recipes using avocados as a creamy sauce before, but yours has me intrigued enough to pull that sad and browning fruit off my counter and put some water on to boil. Like, right this minute. Thanks!
let me know what you think!
Amazing combination that I would have never imagined. Got to try this one!
Tell me what you think. 🙂