Avocado Pistachio Pasta

Avocado Pistachio Pasta

This savory and creamy pasta is easy and so delicious! Avocado pistachio pesto makes the sauce, and the dish is polished off with grape tomatoes, chopped pistachios, fresh basil, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and vegan feta.


When is a pesto not a pesto? When it turns into an avocado.

This sequence makes even less sense than one of my favorite jokes my dad told from his beloved “joke book” through my childhood, yet to me it captures the essence of this dish.

Some of the best jokes are the ones so stupid that you have to not only explain them, but oftentimes act them out in order for the listener to understand. Such was routinely the case with the joke “When is a boy not a boy? When he turns into a store.” (Think about it — no spoilers ’til the end).

This might be my favorite pasta yet, up there with its tapenade cousin. Perhaps the best part was that it only took two trials to perfect, and the second trial was much simpler and infinitely more delicious than the first. I exaggerate — but I was indeed thrilled with the end result.

The first trial contained spinach and almond milk — the former of which was not intentional, but Lucky’s was out of basil. And the latter of which — sorry Forks Over Knives — was then substituted with the superior extra-virgin olive oil.

The final touch was a crumbling of olive vegan feta by Peaceful Rebel, a woman-owned Colorado based vegan cheese company that had me addicted at first bite. Why people still eat dairy cheese is beyond me at this point.

When is a boy not a boy?

When he turns into a store.

The word “turn” is used to describe a physical motion of walking and turning to enter a store. The word “turn” is likewise a play on its synonym, “transform.” So, the boy is walking and physically turning to enter a store, but the sentence can be interpreted that he has changed form — once a physical boy, now a physical store.

In the context of this recipe, I’m making the case that the sauce for this dish is almost a pesto, but not exactly. As you can see, the joke goes from dumb at best to complete nonsense.

This recipe, however, is far from nonsense. If you make it, please leave me a rating and comment, preferably containing a dumb joke of your own. Thank you for your help in growing this blog!

Avocado Pistachio Pasta

Sauté Queen
This savory and creamy pasta is easy and so delicious! Avocado pistachio pesto makes the sauce, and the dish is polished off with grape tomatoes, chopped pistachios, fresh basil, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and vegan feta.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 3 people
Calories 844 kcal

Equipment

  • Blender
  • Large saucepan or dutch oven
  • Colander

Ingredients
  

For the sauce

  • 2 medium or large avocados peeled and pitted
  • ½ cup roasted and salted pistachios
  • ½ cup fresh basil leaves
  • cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 sun dried tomatoes from jar
  • Juice from ¼ lemon

For the pasta

  • 8 oz linguini noodles
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes sliced lengthwise
  • ½ cup fresh basil leaves
  • ¼ cup chopped pistachios
  • ¼ cup reserved pasta water
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes
  • Crumbled vegan feta to taste*
  • Juice of ¼ lemon

Instructions
 

  • Blend together listed sauce ingredients. Fill a large saucepan or dutch oven with water and bring to a boil.
  • Salt water generously, add pasta, and cook according to package instructions. Be sure to reserve some pasta water when it is cooked to your liking.
  • Drain pasta, reserving some water, and add back to pot. Add the sauce and all the remaining ingredients listed for the pasta. Enjoy!

Notes

*I used Peaceful Rebel’s vegan olive feta in this recipe. If this brand is available near you, I highly recommend it (website linked in article above).
I would also suggest trying out a splash of balsamic vinegar on the finished dish to add an additional savory touch. 
Keyword 30 minute meal, avocado sauce, creamy, feta, linguini, pesto, savory, vegan, vegetarian

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