15-Minute Vegan Avocado Pasta
With garlic, arugula, lemon juice and olive oil, this 15-minute vegan avocado pasta is an easy weeknight dinner with a simple no-cook sauce.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 10 ounces bucatini, spaghetti or fettuccine
- 1 ripe avocado
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup baby arugula
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Chopped parsley or chives for serving
Instructions
- Cook the pasta until al dente in a pot of boiling salted water according to package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining and transferring the pasta to a large bowl.
- While the pasta is simmering, you can make the sauce. Combine the garlic avocado, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, arugula, lemon juice and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Puree the sauce until it is smooth and combined.
- Stir the avocado sauce into the cooked pasta. Add a splash of the reserved cooking water as needed for the sauce to coat the pasta. (You probably will not need the entire half cup.)
- Sprinkle the pasta with chopped herbs before serving.
Notes
The best pasta shapes for creamy sauces include spaghetti, bucatini, fettuccine, tagliatelle or pappardelle.
You can substitute the arugula with baby spinach or a combination of both.
You can keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. The lemon juice should prevent it from browning. Reheat leftovers in the microwave or in a skillet with a little olive oil over low heat.
You can make the sauce up to 2 days ahead of time. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Then warm it in the microwave. The color may lose some of its brightness. The lemon juice does pretty well at keeping it from browning. Do not freeze the sauce.
Optional additions to stir into finished pasta (keep in mind if you need to keep the recipe vegan):
- Arugula
- Raw tomatoes: halved cherry tomatoes or diced tomatoes
- Roasted tomatoes
- Sweet corn: raw, filled or roasted
- Roasted vegetables: sweet potatoes, butternut squash, brussels sprouts, zucchini or bell peppers
- Protein: roasted or grilled chicken or shrimp or baked tofu.
- Parmesan cheese
Nutrition
Calories: 471kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Sodium: 593mg | Potassium: 451mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 233IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 2mg