This avocado bell pepper pasta is creamy and delicious with fresh basil, ripe avocado, roasted red peppers, garlic, and lemon juice.
The fresh ingredients make this pasta sauce pop. Plus, no chopping! With a blender or food processor, the sauce will be ready in minutes. You will have dinner on the table in 20 minutes or less.
With a smooth, thick, and creamy sauce, this vegan pasta dish will win over even the pickiest eater. This creamy roasted red pepper and avocado sauce was adapted from Oh She Glows.
For more easy pasta dishes, try tuna pesto pasta and cheeseburger macaroni. For more ways to use ripe avocado, try avocado lime ranch dressing.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Easy to make: Dump the sauce ingredients into the blender and voilà!
- Vegan: This dairy-free recipe is a delicious plant-based meal. It's also easily made gluten-free with gluten-free pasta.
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Ingredients
- Fettuccine - Use 12 ounces of fettucini or spaghetti.
- Avocado - The avocado must be ripe for this recipe to taste just right.
- Roasted red peppers - Make your own roasted red pepper or use the jarred variety. Jarred peppers can be found on the same aisle as pickles.
- Garlic - Fresh garlic or jarred, pre-minced garlic will do.
- Basil - This recipe was developed with fresh basil.
- Lemon - Fresh lemon juice is best. Plus, you can use the zest as garnish.
- Olive oil - For flavor.
- Salt - For flavor.
Instructions
Cook fettuccine until al dente, according to package directions. Add salt to the water, to taste. Once cooked, drain and reserve ½ cup of the pasta water.
Tip: Add about 1 tablespoon of salt and 3 to 4 quarts of water.
Add the avocado, roasted red peppers, garlic, basil, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and half of the reserved pasta water to a blender or food processor.
Blend until creamy.
If needed, add more of the reserved pasta water to create a thinner consistency. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Combine the sauce with the cooked fettuccine and serve.
Garnish avocado bell pepper pasta with lemon zest and more fresh basil (optional).
Equipment
Storage
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The color of the sauce will darken slightly from the avocados oxidizing, but this does not compromise the flavor.
Freezing is not recommended.
Substitutions
- Fettuccine - Pasta cuts with a lot of surface area will work best for this thick sauce. Try spaghetti, rotini, or shells.
- Lemon - Substitute fresh lime juice. I do not recommend bottled lemon or lime juice for this recipe, only fresh.
- Red pepper - Red bell peppers are the sweetest bell pepper. Yellow and orange can be substituted if desired but will have a slightly different flavor.
How to pick a ripe avocado
If the avocado is firm to the touch or bright green on the outside, it is not yet ripe. A ripe avocado is still green but darker in color and is slightly soft to the touch when squeezed.
How to make it whole food plant based
For my WFPB and no-oil friends, skip the added olive oil. You may wish to use whole wheat pasta or plant-based pasta (such as chickpea or lentil pasta).
📖 Recipe
Avocado Bell Pepper Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fettuccine or spaghetti
- 2 medium ripe avocado pitted and peeled
- 1 (12 ounce) jar roasted red peppers drained
- 1 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves loosely packed
- ¼ cup lemon juice about one medium lemon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Cook fettuccine until al dente, according to package directions. Add salt to the water, to taste. Once cooked, drain and reserve ½ cup of the pasta water.
- Add the avocado, roasted red peppers, garlic, basil, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and half of the reserved pasta water to a blender or food processor. Blend until creamy.
- If needed, add more of the reserved pasta water to create a thinner consistency. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Combine the sauce with the cooked fettucine and serve. Garnish with lemon zest and more fresh basil (optional). Serve warm.
Ryan says
So good! Made this sauce as part of my meal prep for the week. So versatile!
Kelsey Smith says
Awesome!! I'm glad to hear you liked it.