This pasta is for those who love pasta, but want something lighter and more refreshing for the spring and summer. Avocado lovers unite! This 10-ingredient and 30-minute meal are made with a pesto avocado sauce that was inspired by our green goddess dressing.
This sauce is lemony, garlicky and herbaceous, but also incredibly creamy, thanks to the buttery avocado. Add any seasonal vegetables you have to this sauce, and it’s a delicious meal or side for a picnic. We’ll show you how to do it!
How to make avocado pasta sauce
This pasta salad’s sauce is its star. The sauce is made from a creamy avocado, brightened with fresh herbs, lemon and garlic. It also has a kick of coconut aminos and salt and pepper. Optionally, you can add olive oil to the sauce for a richer taste and earthier/floral notes.
The ingredients are blended in a small food processor or blender , with some water added to help the blending. It only takes a few minutes to make a creamy and thick avocado pasta sauce!
All that is left to do after preparing the sauce is to cook the pasta, and then coat it with sauce. This is a great time to use any seasonal fresh veggies you may have lying around. You can pair roasted broccoli with fresh arugula, peas or slow-roasted tomatoes.
Add vegan Parmesan Cheese to add a salty and cheesy touch. Swoon!
Ingredients
PASTA
- Water boiling
- Salt 1 tablespoon (for seasoning water)
- 12 oz. Dry gluten-free pasta. (We like Trader Joe’s Brown Rice & Quail Fusilli).
SAUCE
- 14 cup fresh parsley, tightly packed (loosely cut before measuring).
- Fresh basil leaves, 1/4 cup (loosely chopped)
- If you don’t want to use chives, add more other herbs.
- Lemon juice 3 Tbsp
- 1/2 cup ripe mashed avocado
- Water: 1/3 cup plus more if needed
- 3 large cloves garlic
- Use 1 tsp Coconut aminos for a deeper flavor (or use half the amount of Tamari).
- Half a teaspoon of sea salt
- Black pepper, 1 pinch
- Use 1 Tbsp of olive oil ( for a more earthy flavor or for a floral taste)
FOR SERVING optional
- 1/4 cup diced sun-dried tomatos
- 1/4 cup vegan parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring 2 quarts of water (1.9 liters), in a large pot to a rolling boil. Add 1 Tbsp. salt to the water and season it with pasta (amounts are written according to original recipe; adjust if necessary if you’re adjusting the serving size).
- Make the sauce while water is boiling. Add parsley, basil and chives to a food processor or small blender. Also add avocado, lemon juice, water, coconut aminos (optional), salt, pepper and olive oil. Blend until smooth. Scrape down the sides as necessary. The sauce may appear thick, but it will thin out when you add the pasta.
- After the water has boiled, cook the gluten-free spaghetti according to the package instructions. Drain pasta and transfer immediately to a medium-sized serving bowl. Pour the sauce over the pasta and thoroughly mix. Add more salt, if necessary, or lemon to give it more zest, or basil chopped for more herbiness.
- Serve immediately. Garnish with your favorite veggies (such as chopped, sun-dried tomato — rehydrated after being fully dried), vegan Parmesan cheese and fresh lemon. It is best served at room temperature. Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to two days. It is not freezer-friendly.