Serves: 2–3
Prep: 10 min | Cook: 10–12 min

Ingredients:
250 g pasta — spaghetti, linguine, or penne
1 large ripe avocado
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1–2 tbsp fresh basil or parsley
½ tsp salt, plus more for pasta water
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼–½ tsp red pepper flakes
2–4 tbsp pasta cooking water
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder

Optional but highly recommended:
½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup toasted walnuts or pine nuts
1 tbsp capers
Fresh basil for garnish
A little lemon zest
🍝 Method

Cook the pasta
Cook the pasta in well-salted water according to the package directions. Before draining, reserve about ½ cup of pasta water.

Make the avocado sauce
Add the avocado, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, basil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder and onion powder to a blender or food processor.
Blend until silky
Blend until completely smooth. Add the pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time until you get a creamy, pourable sauce.

Combine
Drain the pasta and return it to the warm pot. Add the avocado sauce and toss thoroughly. Don’t cook the avocado sauce over high heat! The residual heat from the pasta is enough.

Add the flavour boosters
Toss in cherry tomatoes and capers if using. Finish with toasted walnuts or pine nuts, fresh basil, lemon zest and an extra drizzle of olive oil.

Make it REALLY flavourful:
For an extra punch, I’d add 1 tsp Dijon mustard and ½ tsp smoked paprika to the avocado sauce.

The Dijon gives it a subtle tanginess while the smoked paprika adds depth.
You can also add a handful of spinach or roasted mushrooms to make it more substantial.