This creamy avocado pesto pasta is the ultimate healthy comfort food! Ready in just 15 minutes, this quick & easy plant-based pasta is a dish everyone will love.
The pesto cream sauce, aka the star of this dish, is high in plant-based protein, completely vegan, dairy-free, and nut-free. Made with fresh basil, this avocado pasta has a classic pesto-like flavor.
Jump to:
This dish is ready to eat as soon as your pasta is ready, so it's the perfect 15-minute plant-based meal to make after a long day at work or if you just want something quick yet delicious.
Key Ingredients
Using only 10 ingredients, this avocado pesto pasta is super simple to make. You likely have most, if not all, ingredients in your kitchen right now.
- Pasta: of course! You can use whatever pasta/pasta shape you like. I went with cavatappi and it held the sauce perfectly.
- Ripe Avocados: these are key to getting a nice and creamy pesto sauce without having to use dairy products.
- Herbs: we'll be using mainly basil for this avocado pesto in order to get the most classic pesto flavor possible. We'll be using a little flat-leaf parsley as well!
- Olive Oil: for some healthy fats and to make the sauce extra smooth.
- Vegetable Broth: for some added flavor and to help blend the sauce.
- Lemon Juice: this is key to making sure your avocado isn't browning within a few minutes (seriously, don't skip this!). It also adds some nice flavor to the sauce.
- Garlic: obviously.
- Seasonings: I've added salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast. Feel free to use vegan parmesan cheese instead of nutritional yeast to make this resemble classic pesto even more.
How to Make this Avocado Pesto Pasta
This meal is so easy to make and comes together in only 15 minutes! Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil and cooking pasta according to the package instructions.
How make avocado pesto sauce
While the pasta is cooking, add avocados, basil, parsley, olive oil, vegetable broth, lemon juice, garlic, and seasonings to a food processor or high-speed blender and process until smooth. I blended mine for about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust your seasonings as desired.
If the sauce is too thick (it should be creamy yet pourable), add either more vegetable broth, lemon juice, or olive until your desired consistency is reached. Make sure you're blending in between!
Combine the avocado pesto sauce with the cooked pasta. Garnish with fresh basil and a sprinkle of vegan parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Recipe Variations
- Make the avocado pesto without basil. I recommended swapping the basil with spinach so you have an avocado spinach pesto sauce rather than removing the herbs entirely. You could also use kale, peas, or arugula for this vegan pesto. If you remove the herbs altogether, I find the plant-based sauce ends up losing flavor or tasting more like guacamole.
- Make this avocado pasta gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta.
- Add veggies to make this a more well-round, vegan pasta recipe. I personally love to add mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and/or kale to my avocado pesto pasta.
- Make the pesto sauce oil-free by replacing the olive oil with more vegetable broth or water.
- Use zucchini noodles for a low carb, gluten-free pesto pasta.
- Make a spicy avocado pesto pasta by adding jalapeno or red pepper flakes to the pesto.
- Use vegan parmesan cheese instead of nutritional yeast.
Quick Tips
This recipe is super easy to make so there are only a few things I want to mention so we can make sure yours is perfect, too!
- Depending on the consistency you prefer for your sauces, add more or less olive oil or lemon juice. Adding more will make the sauce a bit runnier, where adding less would make it thicker. I don't recommend adding less because the sauce will end up being chunky and resemble guacamole.
- Make sure you're using ripe avocados. This is how we get a pesto cream sauce without using dairy products like heavy cream.
- Do not skip the lemon juice. Citrus acids from lemons or limes keep avocados from browning. This will ensure your any leftover pasta or pasta sauce will have a slightly longer shelf life.
FAQ
Once prepared, avocado pesto pasta will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, it will start to brown and may not look super appetizing. That's why not skipping the lemon juice is so important!
You can reheat the recipe in the microwave or on the stove with a splash of olive oil to revive the sauce. You could also eat it cold for an avocado pesto pasta salad.
You can! If you do, and depending on how far in advance you plan to make it, I recommend freezing the pesto sauce so it doesn't brown. When you're ready to use it, let it defrost in a warm water bath.
If you make this vegan avocado pesto pasta, be sure to snap a pic and tag me on Instagram. If you have any questions or feedback at all, send me an e-mail or leave a comment below! I hope you love it as much as we do!
📖 Recipe
Avocado Pesto Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (340 g) pasta of your choice
Avocado Pesto
- 2 ripe avocados peeled, pitted and quartered
- ½ cup (10 g) basil
- ¼ cup (15 g) flat-leaf parsley
- ¼ cup (53 g) olive oil
- ⅓ cup (78 g) vegetable broth
- 4-5 (15 g) garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons (24 g) lemon juice
- ¼ cup (20 g) nutritional yeast
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil and cooking pasta according to the package instructions.12 ounces pasta of your choice
- While the pasta is cooking, add avocados, basil, parsley, olive oil, vegetable broth, lemon juice, garlic, and seasonings to a food processor and process until smooth. Taste and adjust your seasonings as desired.2 ripe avocados, ½ cup basil, ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, ¼ cup olive oil, ⅓ cup vegetable broth, 4-5 garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, ¼ cup nutritional yeast, salt & pepper
- Add the avocado pesto sauce to the pot with the drained pasta. Stir to combine and heat on low until warmed through.
- Garnish with fresh basil and a sprinkle of vegan parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Lauren
This is the best pesto recipe ever! Love the addition of avocado, it makes it extra creamy