Creamy Avocado Pasta (Printable Version)

Vibrant pasta tossed in creamy avocado sauce with basil, lemon, and Parmesan cheese.

# What You Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 12 oz spaghetti or linguine
02 - Salt, for pasta water

→ Avocado Sauce

03 - 2 ripe avocados, halved and pitted
04 - 1 garlic clove, peeled
05 - 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
06 - 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
07 - 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
08 - 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
09 - 1/4 tsp chili flakes (optional)
10 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Garnish

11 - Fresh basil leaves
12 - Extra grated Parmesan
13 - Lemon zest (optional)

# Steps:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
02 - Combine avocados, garlic, basil leaves, lemon juice, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, chili flakes if using, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Adjust texture by adding reserved pasta water gradually until creamy.
03 - Toss the hot drained pasta with the avocado sauce, adding more reserved pasta water as necessary to coat the noodles evenly.
04 - Distribute pasta onto plates. Garnish with extra Parmesan, fresh basil leaves, and lemon zest if desired. Serve immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • Ready in twenty minutes but tastes like you've been cooking all day.
  • Creamy without a drop of cream, naturally lush and satisfying.
  • The lemon keeps everything light and makes you go back for another bite.
  • Works perfectly for vegetarians and impresses even the skeptics.
02 -
  • Brown or oxidized avocado flesh will turn your beautiful sauce bitter and gritty—buy them on the day you plan to cook or cut and bury the pit in the bowl to keep it from browning.
  • Don't blend the sauce too far ahead; make it just before the pasta finishes so the avocado stays bright green and silky, not separated and thin.
  • The reserved pasta water is not optional—it's the difference between a sauce that coats and one that globs.
03 -
  • Taste the avocados in your hand before you commit them to the blender—a truly ripe one should almost feel like butter, never chalky or hard.
  • Toast a handful of breadcrumbs in a bit of olive oil with a pinch of garlic powder and scatter them on top for unexpected crunch that transforms the whole texture.
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