Pasta tossed in creamy avocado, sweet grape tomatoes, and refreshing basil. With just a hint of garlic and lightly salted, this dish is delicious and healthy, just in time for summer.
Don’t you just love summer ingredients? I certainly do. And the ingredients in this pasta dish are simple, delicious, and refreshing, which is what we need for hot lazy summer days.
Pasta coated with creamy avocado and a hint of garlic. Sliced grape tomatoes add a little bit of sweetness to the dish. Roughly torn basil leaves give the dish a rustic look and a refreshing taste. Each bite is delicious with simple but flavorful ingredients.
How did I come up with this combination? Believe it or not, the idea stemmed from my Sweet Corn and Edamame Guacamole Dip recipe. When I made that dip two weeks, I was so addicted. I could have eaten it spoon by spoon without feeling the least bit guilty. So of course, I decided to use it as a “sauce” for my pasta. Just a little bit more garlic and a pinch more salt and ta daa! We have Creamy Avocado Pasta. Next, I rummaged through my refrigerator to find what ingredients I had. Tomato and basil. Perfect. Add them to the pasta. Toss them to mix. Dinner is ready in about 20 minutes max!
See? Quick and simple, right? Meals don’t have to be complicated to be delicious. And you can use whatever ingredients you have in your refrigerator as long as you like them. That’s the important part. =)
I’ll have to make sure to bring this dish to Fiesta Friday and share it with all my friends there!
First, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. I used spaghetti and it took me about 10 minutes to get it to the way I liked it. Time will vary according to the pasta you use and how soft you prefer. Once the pasta is cooked to how you like it, drain the water and run the noodles through cold water. This helps stop the cooking process and prevents the pasta from sticking to each other.
Cut a large avocado in half and remove the large pit from the middle. Use a spoon to scoop the avocado from its outer shell into a medium sized bowl. Mash the avocado until it becomes smooth. If you want the avocado to be smooth without any chunks, you can place the avocado into a blender and blend until it becomes smooth. I liked mine a little chunky so I mashed the avocado with a spoon.
Sometimes, the avocado is too thick, which could make the pasta a little dry. So I wanted to thin out the avocado a little bit by adding honey yogurt. I used Noosa Yoghurt because it’s my favorite, but you can use regular yogurt or even Greek. Mix until the yogurt is thoroughly incorporated into the mashed avocado. Adding yogurt is completely optional. If you’re vegan, skip this step. =)
Add in the garlic powder and salt, more to taste. Since the avocado is meant to be a “sauce” for the pasta, it needs to be flavorful.
Pour the avocado mixture over the pasta and mix until the noodles are completely coated.
Slice grape tomatoes in half and tear up the basil. Toss with the pasta until it’s evenly distributed.
Place the pasta onto a plate.
Serve the pasta cold. Enjoy!
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I don’t avocado, but it looks really tasty. I love pasta and with this combination it could be truly delicious. 🙂
I eat pasta more than I should (if there’s even possible)…
Anyway, you seem to have many useful categories/tags here (including cheap, quick and vegetarian) so I’ll definitely stick around and look for other things!
Thank you so much! I’m really sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I somehow missed your comments the first time I went through. And didn’t discover that I missed it until this morning. I love pasta in all ways so I have lots of pasta recipes. =) I try to categorize the recipes according to what I look for. I hope you’ll find more recipes to your liking. Have a great weekend! =)
Yum, Andrea, that’s so creative adding avocado to your pasta. Gives that creaminess w/out all the cholesterol you get from heavy cream. I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing, hon! 🙂
You’re welcome, Angie! Have a great weekend!
This looks perfect! Love pasta. 🙂
Thanks!
That looks sooooo yummy! I never thought of avocado and pasta together. Very summery to be sure. Happy Fiesta Friday!
Thanks! Happy Fiesta Friday to you too =)
I like your idea of an avocado sauce – perfect summer dish 🙂
Thank you! It really is perfect for summer! I’m so ready for it!
¨Looks amazing and creamy and so much healthier than using heavy cream! Happy FF 🙂
Happy Fiesta Friday! =)
Simply delicious! I LOVE eating avocado on my pasta. Your photo makes my mouth water. 🙂
Thank you!
Once again, your pictures have blown me away, every single one is so perfect! This dish is great, I’ve never seen something like this before, it looks amazing and immediately caught my eye at Fiesta Friday, it’s so beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Stephanie! Have a great weekend!
What a great idea for a wonderfully light summery dish. Thanks for sharing 🙂
You’re welcome, Loretta! Have a great weekend! =)
Keep cooking like this and your wallflower days are numbered! Love this recipe!
Thanks for stopping by my site as well. Steve
Aww, thanks, Steve! =)