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Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta
![Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/09/08/dining/kc-creamy-avocado-pesto-pasta/merlin_174811086_0e42518e-f896-431f-926d-5c0c5a6d3c3f-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- ¾cup roasted, salted pepitas, plus more for garnish
- 1small garlic clove
- 1medium (ripe) avocado
- 2tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¾cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 3 ounces), plus more for garnish
- 3packed cups fresh basil leaves (about 3 ounces), plus more for garnish
- ½cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1pound fusilli or rotini
Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse pepitas and garlic until finely chopped. Halve avocado, discard the pit and scoop out flesh. (You should have about ¾ cup, or 5 ounces.) Add avocado flesh, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper to food processor and pulse until chunky.
- Step 3
Add cheese and basil to food processor. With motor running, drizzle in ½ cup water, then drizzle in oil until well blended, scraping down sides as needed. Transfer 2 cups of pesto to a large bowl. Refrigerate any remaining pesto for another use.
- Step 4
Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup pasta water, then drain pasta. Add pasta and pasta water to pesto in large bowl and toss until pasta is nicely coated in sauce.
- Step 5
Divide pasta among 4 bowls. Top with more pepitas, cheese and basil.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
This has nothing to do with the recipe. I am eager to try the recipe being presented .
This recipe was stunning. I made a few tweaks. I quickly microwaved double the amount of garlic for a minute in the microwave just to take off the bite of fresh garlic. I added a heaping handful of spinach when adding basil as well as pasta water instead of the regular water. To add a bit of vegetarian protein, I baked cannellini beans on 425 for about 30 minutes until crispy to add on top. It was a huge hit.
Delicious. Used pasta water for the 1/2 cup of water in the pesto to add flavor and didn’t use the full amount of water or olive oil as I added some olive oil and salt to the pasta water. I prefer pesto less soupy so this worked well. Roasted the pepitos and freshly roasted was delicious. Definitely added flavor. Would roast fresh over buying roasted if possible. Will make again and for serve for guests!
Made it and loved it. I followed the pesto recipe almost exactly, but applied it to pappardelle and roasted pumpkin slices. For those who didnt like this recipe- I would suggest- - make sure you're using a decent quality olive oil (Cali Evo if you can only get to Walmart, for instance) - check your seasoning when you combine the pesto and pasta- do NOT rely on excessive cheese to carry the tasty component of the dish, as you will outweigh the fresher, lighter basil components- salt aggressive
Excellent. I forgot to buy more pepitas, so I subbed in half pistachios, which actually turned out brilliantly. Used pasta water, and will save some for reheating tomorrow.
Delicious - I topped this with extra lemon for more flavor. I didn't have pepitas so I opted for almonds and it tasted great. I also added grilled chicken - huge hit!
Love this dish, Pesto recipe. A fav......put it in jars and give to everyone. It has made me a pestoholic!
So this recipe is just okay. IMHO, it needs lemon zest, roasted tomatoes with garlic, red pepper flakes... something to make it not bland.
I wouldn't recommend this recipe. Not an improvement upon a more typical pesto. The pepitas do not grind nicely like pine nuts do and remain unpleasantly sharp and the crunch has no place here. Pesto was very thick and dry.
Millions of Italians and lovers of Italian food have just fainted. I'm one of them, but I still intend to try this interesting, if heretical, pesto.
Very nice creamy sauce without the cream! A different pesto, able to hide some extra goodness from the family ;) Will do again.
A low effort-but-tasty version -- 1 6-8oz container store-bought pesto, 1-2 avocados (to your taste), red pepper flakes to taste, and pasta water for desired consistency.
I made this with fresh spinach/ricotta ravioli and mixed in some blistered cherry tomatoes cooked lightly in garlicy olive oil. The result was a big hit. The recipe makes way more than is needed for a pound of pasta.
Using fresh garlic, lemon and basil, this dish came out full flavored and zesty. I made the mistake of adding too much lemon so it was a tad too tart. Reading the comments from others, I added grape tomatoes and frozen peas. Also, in my mortar and pestle I ground about 1/2 cup of walnuts to the pepitas -which added a tiny bit of sweetness from the walnuts. I'm taking this to a pot luck and its summer so it won't be served as a hot dish.
I made several substitutions since we did not have basil, and added shrimp, this was quite fast and delicious. Highly recommend.
We made half of the sauce and used about 3/4 pound of pasta. This was plenty for three hungry people. Not too rich. Served with steamed veggies and shrimp. I was concerned by one comment that the pepitas made the pesto gritty, but ours turned out very smooth.
I had no fresh basil in my kitchen, (and no time to get to the store) so I used fresh cilantro instead. Absolutely delish! Only thing I found disappointing about this recipe was that the leftover sauce didn't stay bright green.
Pepitas instead of pine nuts for the pesto is a game changer! I used unsalted pepitas, and it didn’t affect the taste at all. Delicious and will be in regular rotation.
Loved it! So creamy and delish. Due to the high salt factors I used (heavy French sea salt to cook pasta, Parmigiano-Reggiano), the salted water AND tsp in recipe was overload in mine. Will use regular parmesan next time and not use salt to boil pasta to test. Otherwise, the avocado and pepitas were absolute delights. It was fun and super quick to put this together for a quick, nutritious dinner.
Delicious and simple.
It is great. The spices, lemon juice and cheese can be adjusted according to taste! The texture is great with pasta
A really nice recipe. We made this vegan and gluten-free, skipping the Parmesan and using chickpea pasta. We also used pine nuts instead of pepitas and we had fresh basil from the garden. It was a lovely dish that was light-tasting and yet filling. Will certainly make this again in the same way!
Phenomenal! Tripled the garlic and added a bit more salt (nuts were unsalted) and lime juice. Served with pasta and burst cherry tomatoes.
A bit too rich for us. It's essentially a recipe for pesto, which is already rich, and then add avocado. Didn't think it added anything but a claggy texture.
My family loved this including my daughter who was skeptical because she doesn’t like avocados. It was creamy and delicious. I tweaked it to accommodate my pesto preferences- used pistachios instead of pepitas, used pasta water for the water, used less water and oil than called for, used some white miso for the salt, upped the lemon and added some lemon zest. Will be a keeper in my household. They creamy texture was luxurious.
We love this recipe's bold fresh flavors! Quick as it is to throw together, it is as much company worthy as it is a star for a weeknight dinner. I've made it with toasted pine nuts, pistachios and the pepitas. I've even made it without any nuts/seeds. I've used more lemon juice and no pasta water. It's just as delicious and beautiful with short pasta or regular spaghetti. You can't go wrong with this! Make it as written or make it your own. Thanks Kay Chun and New York Times.
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