Avocado Pesto Pasta

Name: Avocado Pesto Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 5 cups fresh basil leaves; ½ cup unsalted pistachios (pine nuts, cashews, or walnuts will also work); ½ cup olive oil; ½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese; ½ avocado; 1 pound pasta (any shape, or you can use gnocchi); 1 teaspoon salt

by Katerina Petrovska

5 from 8 votes

Updated Aug 29, 2026

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Take your pesto game to the next level with this Avocado Pesto Pasta. Buttery avocado, aromatic basil, nutty Parmesan, and crunchy pistachios come together in a creamy sauce to coat your favorite pasta. Quick, easy, and delicious, dinner never tasted so good!

Overhead image of avocado pesto pasta served on a plate, with a spoon resting on the plate, and a halved avocado placed next to the plate.

Easy Avocado Pesto Pasta Recipe

This pasta dinner is one of my favorite quick recipes to make when I have ripe avocados and fresh basil on hand. The pesto is made with creamy avocado, pistachios, Parmesan, basil, and garlic, all blended together into a smooth sauce that coats every bite of pasta.

Best of all, the whole thing comes together in about 20 minutes. While the pasta cooks, you can make the avocado pesto in the blender, toss everything together, and dinner is done.

Why You’ll Love This Creamy Pesto Pasta

Simple ingredients. You only need a handful of everyday ingredients to make the pasta and creamy avocado pesto.
Extra creamy. Ripe avocado gives the pesto a smooth, velvety texture without overpowering the basil and Parmesan.
Quick and easy. Make the avocado pesto while the pasta boils, then toss everything together, and dinner is done.

What You’ll Need

Here’s what you’ll need to make avocado basil pesto pasta. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card below for exact measurements.

Overhead image of avocado pesto pasta served on a dinner plate.

Fresh basil: The heart of any good pesto! It’s fresh, fragrant, and full of flavor.
Pistachios: You could use pine nuts, cashews, or walnuts instead if you’d like. In fact, try them all, in different batches, of course.
Olive oil: Smooth and rich, olive oil helps pull the pesto together. You can also use avocado oil or vegetable oil.
Grated parmesan: I highly suggest grating fresh parmesan cheese if possible.
Avocado: Adds a creamy texture and makes this pesto extra luscious.
Pasta or gnocchi: I used gnocchi, but you could use any pasta shape here.
Salt: Just a pinch to bring all the flavors together.

How To Make Avocado Pesto Pasta

In just a few steps and 20 minutes, you will have yourself some of the tastiest, creamiest pesto pasta ever. Here’s how to make this recipe:

Combining fresh basil leaves, olive oil, and pistachios in a food processor.

Fresh basil leaves, olive oil, and pistachios blended to in a food processor.

Adding avocado and grated parmesan to a food processor with pistachio basil pesto.

Avocado basil pesto in a food processor.

Draining cooked gnocchi. — Cook the pasta.

Make the avocado pesto. Add the basil, nuts, and olive oil to the bowl of a food processor. Process on high until the pistachios have reached the texture of very coarse sand. Add the parmesan and process until fully incorporated. Add the avocado and process until fully incorporated.
Cook the pasta. Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package’s instructions. Just before it’s finished boiling, remove 1 cup of pasta water and set it aside. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
Sauce the pasta. Stir the pesto into the pasta. Add a little pasta water if the sauce isn’t sticking to the pasta.

Recipe Tips And Variations

Check the avocado. You want to use avocados that are perfectly ripe.
Reserve the pasta water. Don’t forget to pull a cup of pasta water out of the pot before you drain the pasta. If your sauce has a hard time spreading evenly over the pasta, you can add a bit of the starchy water to the mix and it will help everything meld together.
Choose the right pasta. I used gnocchi here. I love how the pesto sinks into those dumplings, but you could just as easily use a more conventional pasta. Longer pasta cuts, like the fettuccine in my creamy avocado pasta, tend to hold pesto well. Try it with bucatini, spaghetti, or tagliatelle, too.
Grate your own cheese. Pre-grated cheese just won’t melt with the heat of the pasta to make a creamy sauce nearly as well as freshly (and finely) grated Parmesan.
Extra greens. Blend in a handful of spinach or kale with the avocado basil pesto.
Try some lemon. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice into the pesto to stop the avocado from browning and to add a refreshing zing to the overall flavor.
Add protein. Toss in some grilled chicken, steak, shrimp, or tofu.
Cheese options. Add a little goat cheese or feta to the dish for an extra kick of flavor. You can blend it into the pesto or toss it with the pasta before serving.

Overhead image of avocado pesto pasta served on a dinner plate and garnished with basil leaves.

What To Serve With Avocado Pesto Pasta

This creamy avocado pesto pasta works as a meal on its own, or you can add a few simple sides to round out dinner.

Bread. Sop up the creamy pesto with warm focaccia bread or a slice of no knead skillet olive bread.
Salad. Add something fresh with my tomato burrata salad or green goddess salad.
Protein. Top the pasta with sliced New York strip steak or serve it with air fryer rotisserie chicken.
Vegetables. Roasted asparagus, cherry tomatoes, or zucchini are all easy options. I also love these roasted green beans with squash and tomatoes or grilled vegetables with Halloumi.
Soup. Start with a small bowl of roasted tomato soup or minestrone soup.

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5 from 8 votes