Avocado Pesto Pasta Recipe

High protein, plant-based dish thats perfect for a stay-at-home lunch or dinner

I’m all about keeping it simple. As a busy mom, I need to keep my recipes quick and easy to stay sane! This is my go-to pasta dish for lunch or dinner. The pesto is super versatile and hard to mess up. You can swap out the walnuts for pine-nuts, almonds, or leave it out if there is an allergy in the family. This dish is vegan, but you can add some parmesan in place of the nutritional yeast if you do not follow a vegan diet. The pesto in this recipe is great on with pasta OR on sandwiches, tofu, roasted vegetables. Just make sure that if you are making the pesto to store in the refrigerator, that you leave out the avocado (It will turn a bit brown… I learned this the hard way!)

Chickpea Pasta with Pesto

1 box  chickpea pasta (I used rotini)

2 cups fresh basil

3 Tbsp walnuts

3 cloves garlic

½ lemon, juiced

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup water

1 avocado (Optional)

Salt/pepper

*Note: if you add an avocado, plan on using all of the pesto because it will brown if kept in refrigerator

1) Add all ingredients to a food pressor or blender. Mix until smooth and creamy.

2) Mix Pesto into warm or cold pasta

 3) Add Toppings: wilted spinach, tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs, or avocado

4) Enjoy!