I’m lucky to work with some fellow foodies who like to talk restaurants and recipes. This avocado pesto is from a recipe my coworker shared with me a few months ago – it took me too long to try it! Thanks, Ang!
I’ve seen avocado pesto used as a pasta sauce, so that was my original plan. Most recipes call for up to 1/2 cup of oil in addition to the healthy fats from the avocado, but this one lets the avocado be the star of the show. The original recipe called for 2 cloves of garlic, which made it almost inedible (and I’m a garlic fan). I changed the recipe below to call for just one, but add more at your own risk. I bet some roasted garlic would be amazing in this recipe.
Here’s how it looks before streaming in the cold water:
For a side dish with our pasta, I made fried zucchini – at Adam’s request. It’s something my Dad almost always served with spaghetti at home. I was going to health-ify it by baking it with panko, but I didn’t want to turn on the oven – so canola oil + the stovetop did the job just fine.
Perfect fried zucchini: slice the zucchini and sprinkle with salt to let it “sweat”, wipe off extra salt, coat with flour, dredge in egg wash, then finish with seasoned panko (or other breadcrumbs).
I’ve read other avocado sauce recipes that state that the sauce doesn’t re-heat well, so I only used 2 Tbsp per cup of pasta (brown rice fusilli from Trader Joe’s) and tossed it right before serving. With the addition of one chopped roma tomato, the dish turned out to be pretty colorful.
Avocado Pesto (Oil Free)
Ingredients (Yeilds a little more than 1/2 cup)
- 1 large ripe avocado (mine was chilled)
- ½ cup basil leaves, rinsed & dried
- ¼ cup grated parmigiano reggiano
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider or white vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 1 medium-large clove garlic, or more to taste
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 3-4 Tbsp cold water, as needed
Instructions
Combine all ingredients (except water) in a food processor. Pulse slowly until well combined, then add water, 1 Tbsp at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Serve immediately or store cold.
Approximate nutrition information, per tablespoon: 50 calories, 4 grams fat, 1.5 grams protein
I had a good amount of sauce left over, so I used it as a base for a pizza Saturday night.
Garlic/herb pizza dough, avocado pesto, mushrooms, zucchini, caramelized onion, shredded Italian blend cheese, and goat cheese.
And for Adam and his friends – pepperoni with peppers and onions – how about the shape of these pizzas?
We really need to find our pizza pan.
The pesto was also a great addition to an egg sandwich Sunday morning.
Egg white, cheddar, tomato, and avocado pesto on wheat toast.
Any other ideas to use avocado pesto? Have you made an avocado-based sauce before? Mine lasted about 4 days in the fridge.
I love the look of your avocado pesto. It looks so creamy and would be wonderful on the pasta. I would agree with you re the garlic. I think when you’re eating garlic raw, you only need the tiniest bit xx
Hotly Spiced recently posted..The Girls
I love guac on pizza! Avocado is one of my favorite egg additions, but I haven’t done pesto and eggs. I bet that was awesome!
I made a avocado sauce and tossed it with quinoa – I loved the richness of the avocado and that mutty, crunchy quinoa.
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table recently posted..Grilled PB&J with Peanut Tofu Butter
What a fun recipe! Spreading it on an egg sandwich sounds great…maybe also atop a quesadilla?
Alex @ Brain, Body, Because recently posted..How to "hit refresh"
I made an avocado pesto one time for a pasta. Only thing that does kinda suck is if you want it as a hot pasta, but your noodles cool too quickly! I wasn’t blown away with this taste, but it was a nice change!! I don’t think I’m really a pesto lover to begin with, so there’s my problem! haha
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Love pesto and avocado! Such a great recipe!
First off, I’m drooling over all these pictures. Secondly, I LOVE pesto, but I’ve never made it with avocado! Must try this. You should totally try it mixed with quinoa and veggies, or on a bagel in the morning, or in your eggs in the morning. I do that with normal pesto, I imagine it’d be just as delicious with avocado pesto.
Jess @ JessieBear What Will You Wear recently posted..Weight Loss Wednesday
Sounds amazing! Never would have thought to make pesto with avocados:) and you know I can be creative. Brilliant!
they all look great and I bet the avo with apple cider vinegar would be a hit for us!
Thanks, Averie!
What an awesome recipe! Great idea!
I’m LOVING THIS!
I haven’t tried to make a pesto at all yet..but I want to try this with avocado! I have one in the fridge and need to use it! Looks so yummy
Jess recently posted..Cornbread Egg Muffins!
LOVE this idea. Have you ever tried avocado hummus?
Matt @ The Athlete’s Plate recently posted..Healthy Food For Athletes
Aww I just ‘liked’ your picture on facebook but I think I was too late! :/ Sorry love! Great message though! Sunscreen is sooooo important!