This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy.
As most of you know, this blog used to be either the Stylist Quo or the Laidback Vegan. I realized that having two separate recipe blogs was way too much extra effort, and that eating mostly vegan and healthy.. but sometimes indulgent were not mutually exclusive! I couldn’t be happier with 40 Aprons, getting to channel all my efforts into just one blog, my digital baby.. except the process hasn’t been exactly easy.
Between 301 redirects, .htaccess files, and importing mySQL databases that erased all the code I just wrote (omg.), the backend has been a total pain. And yesterday I tried merging my hellobar (see that email subscription bar at the top?) and Mailchimp, so my subscribers, you know, actually get recipes? And apparently Mailchimp took this to mean, “Hey! Please send everyone who ever subscribed via Hellobar TWENTY-NINE CONFIRMATION EMAILS”. I am not joking. Maybe it was more like 7-9 on average, but damn. Damn. Damn. I am beyond internet-mortified. There should be a meme of me.
Between countless quite rude emails and even more totally sweet ones from subscribers, I figured I needed to post something delicious today. Not just another smoothie, people!… as ridiculously delicious and healthy as those are. Nah, we need something rich and indulgent, but with a high good-for-you factor. The solution? Avocado alfredo pasta.
Yes, it’s green. Yes, it’s made from a fruit posing as a vegetable. Yes, it’s totally vegan. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and here’s his contribution to Christmas in July. Yes, it’s damn good.
I’d been pinning this sort of dish for months but just now bit the bullet, inspired by standing in front of huge displays of the rough, black fruits at the grocery store each week. It came together in the amount of time it takes to actually boil water and cook pasta, and it was decadent and rich, but full of fiber, omega-3s, vitamins, carotenoid antioxidants.. all those things that are good for you but, in this case, don’t taste “good for you”.
You can really customize this dish endlessly, adding more or less garlic, fresh herbs, Cajun spices, whatever. We tossed in a few sautéed mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach, but it would be divine with some shrimp, too! We used spinach-and-Jerusalem-artichoke pasta, too, hence the super green shade, but regular pasta works just as well. I’m a huge fan of this brand
Make this! And, you know, sorry, guys… does this make up for it?
Avocado Alfredo Pasta [Dairy-Free]
Ingredients
- 2 whole large avocados , pitted and flesh scooped out
- 1-4 cloves garlic , depending on how garlicky you like it, peeled
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼ cup olive oil , or melted refined coconut oil
- juice of one lemon
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp salt , to taste
- 4 servings pasta
Instructions
- While waiting for pasta water to boil and pasta to cook, combine all sauce ingredients (everything but the pasta and the toppings, of course) in a blender and blend 'til smooth. Taste and correct seasonings.
- Drain pasta and place in a large mixing bowl. Pour sauce over and toss to combine. Stir in toppings & proteins, if desired. Serve immediately--do not reheat.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tag @40aprons on Instagram and be sure to leave a review on the blog post!
Never Miss A Meal!
New Recipes Straight To Your Inbox
A curated selection of our most recent recipes, delivered straight to your inbox once a week.
Leave A Review
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
How many calories in this recipe? Sounds fabulous!
I plugged the ingredients into a calculator and looks like about 143 calories per serving of sauce! The recipes makes 4 servings
What are your thoughts on nixing the olive/coconut oil? Would it change the texture of the dish? I’m just trying to not use a lot of added oils.
I think that would work fine. You might want to add a little more almond milk for consistency, but honestly, there’s plenty of oils in the avocado. It won’t be quite as rich but still delicious I’m sure! Tell me what you think 🙂
Thank you, Cheryl, I definitely will. I plan on making this very soon, it looks so great and hopefully will fulfill my loss of alfredo lol!
I feel you! Stay tuned.. I have two more vegan alfredo recipes coming at you soon! 🙂
I totally made this exact recipe before we went to Canada! It was so amazing, but I didn’t use nutritional yeast! Please tell me more about it. I know nothing. Is it for flavor or for a health boost?
Vegans use a ton of nutritional yeast (or “nooch” rather!) for a cheesy flavor AND it provides loads of vitamin B, which can be hard to get for vegans since we’ve totally destroyed our soil. I used it so I wouldn’t have to add any pine nuts or parmesan or anything like that, and to boost the alfredo-y-ness of it!
Try adding fresh Basil and adding some extra fresh garlic and extra lemon juice. The trio combined with the flavors from the avocado give it that salty yummy taste from cheese.
Great idea! Basil sounds lovely in the dish 🙂
Oh, and you can get it at like.. any Whole Foods or good grocery store in the bulk section. It’s super cheap!
I feel your cyber pain! Ive had a few things go terribly wrong myself.
I love avocados and have never thought of making a pasta sauce with them! Great idea. Im pinning and trying this very soon!
I straight-up panic when things go wrong! I’m sure in a fire, I’d be like, “OK, everyone out, stay calm, we’ll be alright!” but when my databases overwrite my work, I’m like “I AM LITERALLY GOING TO DIE TODAY OVER THIS”. A little melodramatic 🙂 And thanks, you’ll really like it I think!
i’ll definitely try this recipe in its vegan form. sounds delicious! specially, if you are completely in love with avocados like i am. thank you!
Oh I definitely am, Gustavo! We really loved this recipe – such a light alfredo for the summer. Let me know how you like it, and thanks for reading! 🙂
I moved my blog from blogger to wordpress last month, and I know just what you mean! I became a close personal friend of my .htacces file.
Welcome to WordPress! It’s so much better than Blogger, it’ll be worth it. But seriously, if I never have to peer into Filezilla for my blog ever again… I’ll be a happy woman