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This Avocado Pasta with Herbs is so colorful, flavorful and healthy. It’s also easy to whip up in just 15 minutes, using only your food processor (and boiling the noodles). No other cooking required!
Making pasta sauce out of healthy whole food ingredients can be a clever way to get in your greens and veggies, and satisfy that carb craving at the same time.
This creamy avocado pasta is packed with nutritious avocados, loads of fresh herbs and tons of flavor! And bonus- it’s incredibly easy to make!
Why we love this pasta:
- SUPER easy to make: this avocado pasta sauce amazingly requires no cooking (besides boiling noodles). The sauce is made in a food processor and mixed in with your pasta.
- Healthy! It’s vegan, and gluten-free (if you use gluten-free noodles), and packed with the healthy fat of avocados. You can also omit the oil for oil-free.
- A perfect weeknight (or anytime) meal: Because it’s so easy to throw together, it’s a great choice for a quick lunch or weeknight dinner with LOADS of creamy flavor. Note that it’s best to eat this dish immediately after making it (or within a few hours). Given the nature of avocados browning when exposed to air, this pasta is not one you should make too far in advance.
What you’ll need:
Ingredients Notes:
- Pasta of your choice -penne works well, but honestly any pasta noodle will do.
- Avocados– it’s important to find ripe avocados for this recipe. Note: the darker the color, the more ripe the fruit. To find the best ripened avocado, look for one that is somewhat dark in color. Then to test, hold it in your palm and gently apply a bit of pressure. It should give a bit when you apply pressure, but won’t be mushy.
- Olive oil- this is 100% optional. If you are oil-free, just omit. It’s still great without.
- Cherry tomatoes– the tomatoes add a pop of sweetness to this recipe and is highly recommended.
STEP-BY-STEP RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS:
- In a large pot, cook the pasta noodles according to package directions, to al dente. Drain. Transfer pasta back into pot and set aside. Do not rinse.
- Meanwhile (while cooking the noodles), in a food processor, add the lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, avocados, basil, parsley, almond milk, sea salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and nutritional yeast (if desired). Process until smooth and creamy.
Note: you may need to stop and stir the sauce and blend again if ingredients get stuck to the side.
3. Add the pasta to a large bowl. Then add the avocado sauce to the pasta and stir well to blend. The pasta will warm the sauce slightly, or you can heat over low heat on the stove until desired temperature (this pasta can also be eaten cold).
4. Add about 1 cup pasta to a bowl and top with cherry tomatoes.
Important: Because this pasta has avocados which quickly brown, it is recommended to eat this pasta immediately. See tips below in FAQ section to help your pasta from turning brown.
This recipe makes 4 small servings (about 1 cup each). Add additional sea salt (Fleur de sel French salt is recommend), red pepper flakes, and/or nutritional yeast if desired.
Expert tips and FAQ’s:
Avocado tends to brown pretty quickly when exposed to air. It’s best to serve this immediately, if possible. However, you can store for a few hours (or overnight) using this method:
1. Add the pasta to a resealable glass or plastic container. These Rubbermaid Storage Containers work well.
2. Cover the pasta with wax paper or parchment paper and press down so it’s flat and there is as little air touching the pasta as possible.
3. Over the paper, add the top of the container and seal. See photo below. Basically, the less air that touches the avocado sauce, the better, and the sauce will last longer without browning.
It’s honestly up to you. When you make the hot noodles and mix together with the sauce, the dish will be warm. You can eat as is, or heat up if you like. Or, you can also rinse the noodles with cold water and enjoy this as a cold pasta salad.
Related Recipes (all vegan/Gluten-Free):
- Easy Pesto Pasta
- Creamy Cauliflower Pasta Sauce
- Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
- Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta
- Pistachio Pesto Pasta
- Roasted Beet Pasta
- Vegan Macaroni Salad
If you try this Avocado Pasta with Herbs, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your photo with #veggie__chick on Instagram. We love to see our recipes being made in YOUR kitchen!
Avocado Pasta with Herbs (Vegan, Gluten Free)
Pin RateEquipment
- Medium/Large Pot (to boil pasta)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta of choice (penne works well) - gluten free if desired
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil - optional
- 2-3 garlic cloves* - minced
- 2 medium ripe avocados - pitted and skins removed
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves - loosely packed, stems removed
- 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley - stems removed
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk - (or other plant based milk)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast - optional
- 1 cup cherry tomato halves
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook pasta according to package directions, to al dente. Drain. Transfer pasta back into pot and set aside. Do not rinse.
- Meanwhile (while cooking the noodles), in a food processor, add lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, avocados, basil, parsley, almond milk, sea salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper and nutritional yeast (if desired). Process until smooth and creamy. Note: you may need to stop and stir the sauce and blend again if ingredients get stuck to the side.
- Add pasta to a large bowl. Then add the avocado sauce to the pasta and stir to blend well. The pasta will warm the sauce slightly, or you can heat over low heat on the stove until desired temperature (this pasta can also be eaten cold).
- Top with cherry tomatoes and serve immediately (see notes below for storage instructions). This recipe makes 4 small servings (about 1 cup each). Add additional sea salt (Fleur de sel French salt is recommended), red pepper flakes, and/or nutritional yeast before serving, if desired.
Video
Notes
- Storage Instructions: Avocado tends to brown pretty quickly when exposed to air. It’s best to serve this immediately, if possible. However, you can store for a few hours (or overnight) using this method:
1. Add the pasta to a resealable glass or plastic container.
2. Cover the pasta with wax or parchment paper and press down so it’s flat and there is as little air touching the pasta as possible.
3. Over the paper, add the top of the container and seal. See photo in post for example. Basically, the less air that touches the avocado sauce, the better, and the sauce will last longer without browning. - *The garlic cloves used in this recipe are not going to be cooked, so if you don’t love garlic, err on the side of less.
- This dish makes about 4 cups pasta, roughly 1 cup per person. Because of the high fat content, it’s recommended to have this pasta with a side salad or other healthy side dish for a fuller meal.
Julia Martinez says
Tried this out today and loved the taste (the red peppers gave it a flavor), it smelled so fresh with the parsley and basil, was pretty easy to put together, AND my abuela enjoyed it (my toughest critic), I will be making it again! I did end up using vanilla almond milk since I didn’t have regular and was a bit worried but it came out delicious regardless, and no taste of vanilla!).
Christin McKamey says
Yay, that’s so awesome! So happy you liked it! And that’s so funny about the vanilla almond milk! I had a very similar experience, adding it to a pasta sauce and I was really worried it would be sweet- but it tasted great for me too. Who knew? =) Thanks Julia!
Kelsey says
Hi! Id like to try this, but do you think it would go as well with Gnocchi instead of pasta? And fresh basil is non-existent at any store around me right now for some reason (time of year maybe), so I would have to use dry 🙁 but how much would you suggest?
Christin McKamey says
Yes I think it would be really good with gnocchi! Although, without the basil I think it will lack in flavor a bit. I would honestly just add a teaspoon or so of basil and then taste and add more until it has the flavor you desire. You might even want to add more spices since it will be missing the basil. =)
Dianne says
Hi! I am new to the vegan lifestyle. I love your recipes! Veganism is tough for me because I have a peanut and tree nut allergy. What do you suggest I can use to replace (i.e. almond milk). Thank you for your ideas!
Christin McKamey says
Hi Dianne! Welcome to the vegan lifestyle!! =) For nuts, I would suggest replacing with seeds (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, hemp, etc.) For peanut butter, you can try sunflower butter. For baking, I would replace with rice crisp cereal, crushed pretzels, oatmeal or rolled oats, raisins, cranberries, vegan chocolate chips, pumpkin or sunflower seeds. If there are sauces that require cashews (depending on the recipe), you could try cauliflower or tofu instead. For example, for my Green Chile Mac and Cheese I offer a nut-free version with boiled cauliflower. I hope this helps! =)
Alyson says
Very good flavors! Unfortunately, I didn’t account for the large size of my garlic cloves so the garlic ended up being a little overpowering. I added some pumpkin and chia seeds on top for a little bit of a different texture. Overall a great recipe! 🙂
Christin says
Thanks Alyson! So glad you liked it! =)
Erica says
i made this it was very tasty… I made my avocado a little more cheesy like with nutritional yeast and some miso paste added to the sauce. i also added a touch of sriracha for a kick of heat. it was very tasty and something I will definitely make again.
Christin says
Thank you Erica! I’m so glad you liked it. =) Sriracha sounds like a nice addition!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
I love the idea of making a creamy pasta sauce out of avocado.. thanks for the idea and great recipe!