I really love zucchini noodles. They are so easy to prepare, it takes just a couple of minutes to make the zoodles with a spiralizer, and they are a healthy alternative to pasta. My first zoodle recipe was Zoodles alla Rustica, with a classic red tomato sauce. I went in a completely different direction for my second zoodle recipe and made Zoodles with a Creamy Avocado Sauce.
I had first heard of avocado pasta sauce online about a year ago, and I was unsure about it. I didn't know how avocado would taste warm in a sauce, but truthfully, I loved it. Avocado's mild favor and creamy texture makes it a great base for a pasta sauce. Most of the sauce's flavor comes from the lemon juice, garlic, and Parmesan.
While I served my avocado sauce with zucchini noodles, you could also serve it with traditional pasta. If you are using pasta, I suggest adding ¾ cup of Pasta Water to the sauce instead of 1 ½ cups of regular water. See, since the zucchini noodles cook in the sauce for 5 minutes, you need to thin the sauce more since it will thicken while the zucchini noodles cook. For regular pasta, remove the pasta water once the pasta is ready, drain the pasta, stir the pasta water and avocado sauce together in the same pot you used to cook the pasta, heat up the sauce, and stir in the pasta. We had about a cup of extra sauce (I bought massive avocados), and I ate it with pasta for lunch the next day.
Want to know my secret for storing avocado sauces, dressings, and guacamole for days without it going brown? Completely cover the surface of the avocado with two layers of parchment paper. Trust me. It works.
Ingredients
- a head of Garlic
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 3 tablespoons Pine Nuts
- 5 Zucchini
- 2 Avocados
- ¼ cup Fresh Lemon Juice
- 10 Basil Leaves
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan plus some extra for serving
- 1 ½ cups of Water or ¾ cup Pasta Water if making pasta
Instructions
- Start by roasting the garlic. Slice the root end off of the garlic, and place the garlic root side facing down on a piece of aluminum foil. Begin to fold the foil around the garlic, pour the olive oil over, and close the foil around the garlic. Roast the garlic for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. If you want to save time you can skip this and add 1-2 cloves of raw minced garlic.
- Pour the pine nuts onto a baking sheet, and let them roast alongside the garlic for 2-3 minutes, until golden. Remove the from baking sheet immediately (otherwise they will keep cooking and might burn), and let cool.
- Now it is time to assemble your sauce. Slice the avocados in half, removing the pit, and scooping the avocado into the blender. Then add the lemon juice, basil leaves, salt, Parmesan, 2 tablespoons of the pine nuts, and as much garlic as you like. (I added the entire head of garlic, but I really love garlic). Blend the ingredients together. I don't have a high powered blender and everything mixed up nicely. Last, add the water just to thin the sauce a bit, and blend to combine. Add the water ½ cup at a time, since avocados are different sizes, you might need less water. You just want to thin the sauce a little, you don't want it to be runny.
- Heat the sauce in a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Once warm, add the zoodles and let cook in the simmering sauce for 5 minutes.
- Serve immediately, with a sprinkle of Parmesan and pine nuts over the top.
