This Avocado Pesto is one of my favourite green pasta sauces to make. It takes 5 minutes to make and only requires 6 ingredients. It's perfect for when you're looking for a delicious speedy meal and easily customisable.
There's nothing better than making pesto from scratch. You only need a handful of ingredients, namely fresh basil, pine nuts, olive oil, parmesan cheese, and garlic. However to soup up a classic pesto to make avocado pesto, all you've got to do is add in a whole avocado (peeled and de-stoned obviously) which then gives you a super creamy pesto avocado sauce.
When I want something quick and easy for dinner, I love making this avocado pesto with pasta, but you can also serve it on bread or toast as a spread. If you're looking for some more tasty pasta recipes, you'll love my pink pasta inspired by the barbie movie, my lemon boursin pasta, my tahini pasta, or my sweet potato pasta sauce.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Minimal Ingredients: You only need 6 ingredients to make this avocado pesto; fresh basil leaves, parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, and ripe avocado. My spicy alfredo sauce also uses minimal ingredients and comes together in no time!
Quick & Easy: This sauce comes together in less than 5 minutes, so all you've got to do is wait for your pasta to cook and then you're ready to go!
Homemade: There's nothing better than a recipe that's made from scratch, and this homemade avocado pesto sauce is so simple and rewarding to make. I make homemade proper pesto in my pesto gnocchi recipe if you're a fan of the classic Italian basil condiment!
A few other pasta recipes I love to make from scratch are my Cilantro Pasta, Pea and Asparagus Pasta, or my Creamy Prawn and Chorizo Linguine.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Fresh basil leaves: To make fresh pesto, you'll need plenty of fresh basil leaves.
Extra virgin olive oil: This is the best quality olive oil you can get, which is what I'd recommend for the best flavour and creaminess. However, if you've only got olive oil, then that'll do too. Don't use regular vegetable oil.
Parmesan cheese: Fresh parmesan cheese from a block is the best, that you then grate. Don't use pre-grated, as this contains a caking agent that can coagulate and form a gross texture when blended. If you're looking to make this vegan, use plant-based parmesan or nutritional yeast for cheesiness.
Pine nuts: We want a good handful of pine nuts to then toast to release the aroma of the nuts. If you don't have pine nuts, walnuts offer a rich nutty flavour that I love.
Garlic: Fresh raw garlic cloves are great for this recipe. I've decided to lightly toast them with the pine nuts to take the edge of the raw garlic, I think it adds a really nice touch. If you don't have fresh garlic, you can use ½ teaspoon garlic granules.
Avocado: You'll need a ripe avocado. I love using Hass avocados because of their creamy texture. I wouldn't recommend using Fuerte avocados. They're sweeter and more oily.
Recipe Variations
Vegan: To make vegan avocado pesto, simply remove the parmesan cheese and replace it with nutritional yeast (1 or 2 teaspoons) and add in ½ tablespoon lemon juice.
Fiery: To add a bit of spice to the avocado pesto, include 1-2 teaspoons of your favourite chilli flakes.
Step by Step Instructions with Photos
Step 1: Place a non-stick frying pan on medium heat and add in your sliced garlic and pine nuts. Toast for 3 minutes, tossing frequently until the pine nuts turn a golden brown.
Step 2: Place your toasted pine nuts and garlic, basil, grated parmesan cheese, avocado, olive oil, a pinch of salt and grind of pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth. If the blender is struggling, add some water.
Step 3: Once the avocado pesto is blended, taste and season with salt, pepper, or for acidity, a bit of lemon juice (I'd recommend starting with ½ tablespoon and then blending again before tasting).
Step 4: Cook your pasta in salted boiling water and then once it's al dente, combine in a pan with your avocado pesto on low heat. Once combined, serve up with a sprinkling of parmesan, pine nuts, and optional squeeze of lemon.
Top Tips!
- If you're buying a whole basil plant for this recipe, transfer the basil plant into a larger pot and cover with soil. Cut off any basil leaves you need for the recipe and then continue to water the plant - it should regrow leaves in no time!
- If you like a less creamy and more bitty pesto, then you can combine all the ingredients in a pestle and mortar to your desired consistency.
- If you don't want to use too much extra virgin olive oil in this recipe, you can replace 100ml of the olive oil with water.
What To Do with Leftovers
Storage: Avocado goes brown when oxidised, so to avoid this from happening, squeeze some lemon into the avocado pesto (if you haven't done so already), and combine. This should stop it from browning. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. If combined with pasta, store in an airtight container for up to 4 days too.
Freeze: I wouldn't recommend freezing this pasta sauce.
Reheat: Place the avocado pesto pasta into the microwave with a dash of water to ensure the mixture stays moist. If you're heating up the avocado pesto alone, then add it into a saucepan with your freshly cooked pasta until piping hot.
FAQs
I personally love a hass variety as they're the creamiest. But really, just make sure whatever avocado you choose, it's ripe.
Absolutely, just omit the parmesan cheese and replace it with 2 teaspoon nutritional yeast and ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice.
Absolutely! You might have to use the blender twice, as doubling the quantities might not fit.
Other related recipes you might enjoy!
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The BEST Avocado Pesto
Ingredients
- 30g fresh basil leaves
- 50g pine nuts
- 2 garlic cloves sliced
- 50g parmesan cheese grated
- 150ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ripe avocado
- 100ml water optional
- 300g pasta cooked and drained
Instructions
- Place a non-stick frying pan on medium heat and add in your sliced garlic and pine nuts. Toast for 3 minutes, tossing frequently until the pine nuts turn a golden brown.
- Place your toasted pine nuts and garlic, basil, grated parmesan cheese, avocado, olive oil, a pinch of salt and grind of pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth. If the blender is struggling, add some water.
- Once the avocado pesto is blended, taste and season with salt, pepper, or for acidity, a bit of lemon juice (I'd recommend starting with ½ tablespoon and then blending again before tasting).
- Cook your pasta (4 portions) in salted boiling water and then once it's al dente, combine in a pan with your avocado pesto on low heat. Once combined, serve up with a sprinkling of parmesan, pine nuts, and optional squeeze of lemon.
Notes
- If you're buying a whole basil plant for this recipe, transfer the basil plant into a larger pot and cover with soil. Cut off any basil leaves you need for the recipe and then continue to water the plant - it should regrow leaves in no time!
- If you like a less creamy and more bitty pesto, then you can combine all the ingredients in a pestle and mortar to your desired consistency.
- If you don't want to use too much extra virgin olive oil in this recipe, you can replace 100ml of the olive oil with water.
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