Amazing Avocado Pesto Pasta

How to make super creamy and delicious 7-ingredient avocado pesto, perfect for sandwiches, wraps, pizza, and a quick and nutritious 15-minute avocado pesto pasta. + Oil-free and nut-free variations included!

Creamy, Wholesome 7-Ingredient Avocado Basil Pesto (with Pasta)

If guacamole and basil pesto were to have a child, this dreamy, creamy avocado pesto would be it. While we’re no strangers to sneaking avocado into all sorts (like avocado mousse and vegan milkshakes), we think this avocado basil pesto may be a stroke of genius—especially when paired with pasta to make a simple, quick, and nutritious mid-week meal!

With ingredients like high-quality parmesan and pine nuts, pesto isn’t known for being particularly frugal (or vegan), which is why we love turning our hands to inexpensive and diet-friendly alternatives like parsley pesto with arugula, vegan basil sunflower seed pesto, and now this avocado basil pesto.

Avocados are loaded with heart-healthy fats (and antioxidants—yay) and a creamy richness that adds a wonderfully silky, moreish element to the homemade pesto and makes it one of our most-used pesto recipes yet. Our current favorite, though, is to add just a couple of extra steps to turn it into creamy avocado pesto pasta.

Best of all, the process is so simple, just toss everything in a food processor or blender while the pasta cooks, combine, and in just 10-15 minutes, you have a delicious meal that’s creamy, affordable, easy to make, and full of flavor.

Looking for more vegan suaces and dressings? Try out this easy guacamole, avocado green goddess dressing, Mexican-inspired avocado crema, easy avocado spread, easy creamy avocado sauce, and/or creamy tomatillo avocado salsa verde.

The Ingredients

This basil avocado pesto requires just 7 simple pantry staples (plus salt and pepper). It’s already naturally dairy-free, whole30, low-carb, and vegan, and with simple ingredient swaps, you can also make it oil-free or nut-free.

Since avocado is already adding heart-healthy fats, feel free to omit the oil and use water (or vegetable broth) instead to thin the avocado pesto sauce to your desired consistency.

To make avocado pesto pasta, you’ll also need the pasta of your choice (regular or gluten-free pasta). Alternatively, gnocchi would also work, or go low-carb with zucchini noodles.

What Else Could I Add?

• Nutritional yeast: To add ‘cheesy’ flavor in place of parmesan cheese, add nutritional yeast. It’s nutty, ‘cheesy’, and packed with umami flavor. Learn more on how to use nutritional yeast here.
• Red pepper flakes/ chili: To add some spice.
• Other greens: You could use several other greens in this avocado pesto recipe, including parsley, baby spinach, baby kale (guide to kale), arugula, or a combination of greens. You can also reduce food waste by using carrot greens, beet greens, etc.

How to Make 5-Minute Avocado Pesto?

Recipe Notes

• Frugal top tip: Growing herbs (like basil) is a great way to save money. Pick off the leaves you need and allow them to replenish. Learn how to store fresh herbs to last here.
• For oil–free avocado pesto: Use water or vegetable broth instead.
• To make a pasta salad: Cook the pasta in advance and allow it to cool before adding the pesto and any additional veggies.
• Adjust the consistency: Thin it to your desired level with water or vegetable broth (i.e., for dipping vs. drizzling).
• Adjust the texture: Process/blend to your desired consistency.
• Tweak to taste: Adjust the amount of garlic, lemon, salt & pepper, etc.

Serving Suggestions

Along with enjoying bowls of creamy avocado pesto pasta, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy this vegan pesto, including:

• Stirred into vegan baked potato mac-n-cheese
• Add a bit to vegan lasagna
• Toss it into grains or a grain salad (like a vegan lemon-garlic Mediterranean quinoa, couscous, etc.)
• Spread over toast, sandwiches, paninis, vegan grilled cheese, bagels, etc. like this pesto tofu sandwich or vegan bagel sandwich with pesto.
• As a layer over crostini or bruschetta
• Drizzled over or to dip grilled vegan roasted vegetables with thyme — like crispy no fuss cauliflower.
• As part of a vegan cheese board/charcuterie board (how to make a charcuterie board) or grazing platter.
• Dolloped over vegan nachos, this vegan bean quesadilla, tacos (like in these vegan breakfast tacos), burritos (like these sweet potato burritos), etc.
• Dolloped over (cooked) easy vegan pizza dough, this Mediterranean hummus pizza without cheese or vegan calzones.

You can also thin it out with water or vegetable broth and drizzle it over or toss it into salads like a leafy green salad, french potato salad, or vegan caprese salad.

Storage Instructions

Recipes with fresh avocado don’t tend to store very well, as the avocado flesh browns when oxidized. Luckily, lemon juice can help to prevent this for a short while, and you can store this vegan avocado pesto in an airtight container in the fridge for between 2-3 days (maybe even longer, if you’re lucky and follow the below tip).

Keep it from browning for as long as possible by either pressing plastic wrap directly to the top of the pesto or covering it with a thin layer of olive oil or water.

You can also freeze any leftovers. Spoon 1-2 tablespoon portions into an ice cube tray (optionally covered with a thin layer of olive oil) and freeze until solid, then transfer the cubes to a Ziplock/Stasher bag to store for between 3-4 months.