Avocado Pesto
March 10, 2013
Enjoy this avocado pesto with spiralized or shaved zucchini noodles or cooked pasta. This quick easy dinner is really delicious, creamy, and always a hit.
Vegan Avocado Pesto Pasta
Enjoy this avocado pesto with spiralized or shaved zucchini noodles or cooked pasta. This quick easy dinner is really delicious, creamy, and always a hit.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4
Ingredients
pesto:
- 1/3 cup (80ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cups (75g) firmly packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup (70g) blanched slivered almonds
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic (2 cloves)
- 2 teaspoons white miso paste (or yellow or chickpea miso)
- 1/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
pasta:
- 1 pack gluten-free spaghetti (or 4 medium zucchinis)
to assemble:
- 1 medium avocado, pitted and peeled
- 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup shelled hemp seeds
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus more to taste
Instructions
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To make the pesto, place all of the pesto ingredients into a food processor fitted with the s blade and pulse until well combined. Tweak flavors to taste, and set aside.
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Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet, or shave the zucchinis with a vegetable peeler (for thick fettucini-style noodles) or use a spiralizer to create thin spaghetti-style noodles.
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Mash the avocado and set aside. Stir the olive oil through the cooked pasta, then stir through the avocado.
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To assemble, toss the pesto with the noodles and avocado, stir through the almonds, hemp seeds, lemon juice, salt, and lemon zest to taste.
Recipe Notes
Photo by Trent Lanz and styling by Alicia Buszczak
Comments 16
This will absolutely be my dinner one day this week. I am always looking for ways to incorporate avocados. Love them! Thanks…I have been reading your recipes for a couple years now but this is the first time I am popping up to say hi and thanks!
Hey Kate, thankyou for taking the time to say HI. Yes, I love avocados too. I just can’t get enough of them. Enjoy this recipe. I can’t wait to hear what you think 🙂
Yum! I can’t wait to try this! Now I just need to figure out where I put my spiralizer . . . haha!
HA! Yes, this is YUMMY! You can make quick raw pasta with a veggie peeler or enjoy this pesto with cooked pasta.
This sounds so good! Any idea if it could be frozen? Sounds like this recipe would make a lot.
Hey Shawna,
Yes, this recipe generously serves four people. I must admit, I have not tried freezing this recipe. It never lasts very long in our house. However, I freeze all of my other pesto recipes so it should be fine as long as you freeze it immediately to prevent any oxidation with the avocados. It may be a bit watery when you defrost it too. You could process again a tiny bit with some extra almonds etc. Enjoy 🙂
I am so madly in love with this recipe!! I’ve been eating it on rice cakes as my go to afternoon snack. Thank you thank you yet again 🙂
Oh YUM! That’s a fabulous way to enjoy it. I can’t get enough of this stuff either. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Soooooo delicious! I used mine on spaghetti squash! And as a salad dressing. I could eat it every day. It’s very satisfying, which is sometimes hard to accomplish with the BodyEcology diet. Thank YOU and your creativity!
Oh, I am so pleased you are enjoying this in so many different ways. I agree, it is SO delicious and satisfying, and is an absolute lifesaver on the Body Ecology or alkaline diets. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.
Wow! This looks amazing, and I can’t wait to try it. Any reason why it couldn’t be made in the Vitamix? My food processor is too small.
You can absolutely make this in your Vitamix. Just only blend 1 avocado and then mash the rest and stir them through the pasta. Otherwise the sauce is just too thick.
Hello, I really like this recipe and would like to try it. What is the best way to store it, if I want it to last it a long time and for how long can I store it. Can I freeze it as well? Many thanks.
Ester, unfortunately, this recipe doesn’t keep very well because of the oxidation of the avocados. You can freeze it. But, it gets a bit watery. I don’t recommend it. Sorry.
I love this recipe, but I have some one allergic to almonds at home. Any good almond substitutes?
You could use pine nuts. Enjoy!