Surprisingly, I’ve never been a huge fan of avocados.
Yes, avocados are incredibly healthy. They provide essential nutrients, including fiber, folic acid, potassium, vitamin E and B-vitamins. Not to mention their abundance of heart-healthy fats, which may help lower cholesterol and aid in the absorption of certain vitamins and minerals in our bodies.
The only problem is that their taste and texture have always been a little off-putting to me. (I didn’t even grow to like guacamole until I was well into college!)
Which is why I tend to sneak avocados into all sorts of things, like smoothies, puddings and dressings.
And now, into sauces like this one.
Free of nuts, dairy and oils, this pesto sauce can be enjoyed quite liberally over your favorite noodles and veggies. A ripe avocado lends its smooth and creamy texture to this rich sauce, completed with fresh basil, garlic and lemon juice.
The result is a light, but decadent-tasting dish–> one that is ready in less than 10 minutes!
–
Avocado Pesto Sauce (Nut-Free, Vegan)
serves 1
Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado
1/2 cup fresh basil, tightly packed
1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste
Directions:
To get started, add the fresh basil, lemon juice and garlic into a mini food processor, and process until the basil is broken down a bit.
Add the flesh of the ripe avocado, and the 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and process again until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides, as necessary.
Taste the pesto, and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
Serve over your favorite pasta and/or veggies, and enjoy!
- 1 ripe avocado
- ½ cup fresh basil, tightly packed
- 1½ Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste
- To get started, add the fresh basil, lemon juice and garlic into a mini food processor, and process until the basil is broken down a bit.
- Add the flesh of the ripe avocado, and the ¼ teaspoon of salt, and process again until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides, as necessary.
- Taste the pesto, and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
- Serve over your favorite pasta and veggies, and enjoy!
–
I recently enjoyed my pesto sauce over some kelp noodles.
For those of you new to kelp noodles, the texture is a little unusual– they are crunchy, rather than soft and squishy like traditional noodles– but, if you’re not expecting the traditional texture of pasta, they’re a great noodle alternative!
They even “twirl” like traditional noodles!
Since they are rather bland and flavorless, kelp noodles will absorb the flavor of any sauce you top them with. The perfect pairing for this bright and flavorful pesto sauce!
–
Hope you enjoy it as much as I have!
Reader Feedback: Are you an avocado fan? Have you ever tried kelp noodles?
This sauce sounds amazing! and I have a ripe avocado..but no basil, hmm? I will think of something! I have some kelp noodles too, in green tea. Have you noticed if there is a difference in the taste between the regular kelp noodles and the green tea ones? Happy Thursday beautiful!
Psychic! Just made this last week, only with zucchini noodles. Looks gorgeous and is now making me want to eat this again!
Can’t wait to try this out!!! Just bought Kelp noodles so this is perfect!!!
Definitely an avacado fan! Have 2 ripe ones waiting on me at home, along with some fresh basil, garlic, and lemon! All I need are those kelp noodles! Are these on the shelf, or in the refrigerated section? Do you do anything to prepare them? (rinse, boil, or ?)
Thanks for the great ideas!!!
I am a huge avocado fan but lately I cannot eat them at all, I get a really bad stomach ache
I’m sad because they are so delicious and totally in season right now! I’ve also been getting horrible stomach aches with goat cheese, eggs, and chocolate bars. All of these great foods I eat to detox have turned on me…so yes, my life sucks right now!!
I too am only a new fan of avocados. I can’t wait to try this recipe. I’ve never tried the kelp noodles. I just started eating Shiratake noodles.
Love it! I made something so similar (including the kelp noodles) but I added broccoli, too!
http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/creamy-green-on-green-pasta-aka-kelp-noodles-and-broccoli-with-a-creamy-lemon-basil-whipped-avocado-sauce/
I used to really dislike avocado, until about 1 year and 1/2 ago and now I can’t get enough! Kelp noodles are definitely different, but I love ‘em! They get a little softer if you let them marinade on the counter for a bit, which I tend to like better.
I love avocados and eat them practically everyday with at least one meal! I am definitely going to try this with cilantro also over zucchini pasta with tomatoes! Thanks!
I love both avocado and basil, so this looks like THE perfect combination! You mentioned kelp noodles are bland, so they don’t have a seaweed taste to them? I never tried them because I thought they might taste “fishy”. Still a little hesitant to try them but I guess it can’t hurt…
One word…..”BRILLIANT”. So simple yet and easy. I know what we are having for dinner tonight!!
Keep the recipes coming…..I love your blog!
I get my kelp noodles at iHerb.com or in the refrigerated section of my Whole Foods (by the kimchee and mochi). I’m hoping they grow on me. They don’t have a taste but that crunch is so unexpected (think thinner bean sprout-type crunch). I wonder if boiling them a bit would help soften them. Anyone tried it?
Has anyone tried the sea vegetables (same brand)? I bought a bag a few months ago but am worried I wont like them since I don’t like seaweeds or the taste of dark greens except raw spinach and raw/cooked Kale. I know they’re so nutritious though! Gotta give em a try
I’m looking forward to trying this pesto recipe tonight! thanks megan!
I tried this. It is awesome! I used wholly guacamole instead of fresh avocado. Yummy!
Oops forgot to rate
Made this last night! Even my husband loved it, however I forgot to mention it was actually healthy!
[...] used The Detoxinista’s Avocado Pesto recipe and poured it over zucchini noodles. I added about 4 tbsp nutritional yeast to this pesto. It was [...]
[...] successfully trialed recipes: dairy-free “cheese” sauce and nut-free avocado pesto (I added in fresh spinach and kale). Share this:SharePinterestEmailTwitterPrintFacebookLike [...]
Started a Candida cleanse and used this over spaghetti squash–delish!
One question, have you ever thinned out extra sauce to use as a salad dressing? Any tips on what to use for thinning it out–maybe water?
I haven’t tried it myself, but I assume water would work just fine! Glad you enjoyed it!
Looks so good, can’t wait to try it! Question – can it be made with organic, dried sweet basil leaf flakes? I have a ton of that on hand. I know fresh would be better, but, in order to save time today?
This sauce was amazing…definitely a hit in my home. I warmed it up on top of the stove adding a little coconut milk, seasoned to taste and served on top of spaghetti squash. Delish! Thanks for a great recipe.
I made this omg it was so delicous on my cucumber salad!!!!
Granted I took the recipe a little loosely (as I tend to do) and didnt so much measure well…anything lol but this stuff is AMAZING! Due to auto-immune disease I have numerous adult onset allergies including nuts. I hadnt had pesto in over 7 years so this was such a treat for me
.
I ended up having to add some olive oil to get to it to blend propperly but it came out perfectly. Had it for dinner tonight on a GF vegan wrap with smoked salmon and goat feta.
[...] 3. Detoxinista’s Avocado Pesto Sauce Recipe [...]