Cheesy, Creamy, Avocado Pasta (GF, Vegan)
My spiralizer
is quickly becoming a staple on my kitchen counter.
What once cowered sadly in the back of the cupboard, now sits proud and prominent next to my coffee maker and toaster.
The more I use it, the more inspired I become.
I typically eat a whole grain english muffin every morning, but the other day I was feeling a little funky, so I whipped out the spiralizer and transformed a sweet potato into a fabulous potato hash scramble.
Not only did it make for a beautiful Instagram photo, but also a phenomenal meal.
Lunch had me back in the kitchen, on the hunt for my next spiralizing victim.
As luck would have it, I had six perfect zucchinis just ready to be shredded. Zucchini Spaghetti was on the menu.
With four lovely cups of zucchini noodles left over, I wracked my brain for something more creative to make for dinner that evening.
For years I’ve been dying to try my hand at an avocado sauce, but just never got around to it.
With St. Patty’s day on the horizon — and a fresh bundle of avocados ripe for the mashing — there was no better time to finally make a green sauce for my green noodles.
I broke out the Vitamix I received for Christmas (which sadly took the spiralizer’s spot in the cupboard and has been gathering dust) and went to town. What resulted was an amazingly creamy, nutty, cheesy pasta with absolutely no nuts, cheese, or real noodles to be found.
It tastes similar to alfredo sauce or macaroni & cheese, and is perfect as a main or side dish. It’s also edible for all: vegans, paleo eaters, lactose-intolerants, and my gluten-free peeps too.
Creamy, Cheesy, Avocado Pasta
Ingredients:
4 Zucchinis, spiralized
1 Avocado
1/4 Lemon
3 T. Nutritional Yeast
1 Tsp. Cumin
1/2 T. Garlic Powder or 1 Clove Garlic
1 Tsp. Avocado Oil (or oil of choice)
1/2 C. Low Sodium Vegetable Stock
Salt & Pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Heat zucchini noodles on the stove with avocado oil, tossing frequently, for about 5 minutes.
2. While the zucchini cooks, blend the rest of the ingredients together. I used a Vitamix but a regular blender/magic bullet will work too.
3. Add your sauce to the pan and stir to coat the noodles.
4. Plate it and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Garnish with a slice of lemon.
5. Enjoy!
Total Calories: about 280 (serves 2)
If you want to boost the protein, throw in ground turkey or lentils for my veggies out there.
FYI, you can buy a spiralizer for about $25 to $40 on Amazon.
This is a great dish to serve up on St. Patty’s Day, in keeping with the green theme.
Just be careful…you’ll have to pinch yourself it’s so good. Fyi: cheesy jokes also go great with this cheesy dish.
*This post is linked to Strange but Good on Sprint to the Table, What I Ate Wednesday on Peas & Crayons, Real Food Wednesday on Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Waste Not Want Not Wednesday on Poor and Gluten Free, and Recipe Friday on Candy Fit. Also, shout out to my girl Gigi for sponsoring my Avocado Oil trial!
Davida @ The Healthy Maven says:
I’m taking spiralizer and vitamix donations over here! I could service them while they’re collecting dust in your cupboards…just saying.
Okay Ali (from inspiralized) has told me 20 times to get a spiralizer. Think it’s time I bite the bullet.
Whitney English says:
Yes you must!! My spiralizer is absolutely my favorite kitchen appliance right now :)
Arman @ thebigmansworld says:
this looks delicious- and even though I don’t have either of those kitchen mecca equipment, I’ll make do until I eventually cave in!
Whitney English says:
You can always just use a vegetable peeler to make the zucchini noodles. And a Vitamix really isn’t necessary for this sauce since it’s pretty easy to puree.
That said… go buy a spiralizer, they’re the shiz nit!
Melissa @ Nourish By Melissa says:
I have been wanting a spiralizer forever and this recipe just makes me even more eager to get my hands on one!
:)
Whitney English says:
Do it!!
Jana @ Happy Wife Healthy Life says:
Yum! This looks so good! I have never tried nutritional yeast, I think the name kind of freaks me out lol. I need to invest in a veggie spiralizer!
Whitney English says:
I was a little weirded out too at first but it’s really tasty and is a great source of protein and vitamins!
Karen @ Kama Fitness says:
I have to get in on this spiralizer, it is SOOO much easier than using those small hand held peels – look at all those delicious meals I’m missing out on…. :(
Natalie @ lovenataliemarie says:
Once I get my hand on that kitchen tool, I am definitely going to make this. I have been obsessed with avocados lately. :D
Candy Sparks says:
That looks amazing!
GiGi Eats Celebrities says:
Your Spiralizer and my Spiralizer should date… They’d make a delicious Zucchini Eggplant sautee.
Ya, that didn’t make any sense. LMFAO!!! But next up on my spiralizing adventure is eggplant :D
Whitney English says:
I accept, or uh, she accepts. My spiralizer is female btw, a dominatrix if you will :)
Dale Janee says:
I would have never guessed that was Zucchini – you are really good at making veggies look like real pasta. I definitely need to get one of those spiralzers.
xoDale
Whitney English says:
Thanks girl! That’s one of the reasons I love zucchini pasta–so easy to fool people!
GiselleR says:
This looks awesome Whitney! Wish I could make it but I don’t have any of the ingredients…guess I’ll just stare at it a little longer :D
Kim says:
That looks delicious!!! I have been wanting a spirilizer and maybe this is the perfect excuse to just get one!!!
Whitney English says:
Thanks Kim! Hope you get one!
Kristina @ Damn Ten Pounds says:
I’ve made zucchini noodles and can’t wait til summer so I can make them on the regular. I’ve seen a similar avocado sauce on Oh She Glows that I’ve wanted to try but avocados don’t last very long in our house. Maybe I’ll hide one and give this a whirl :)
Whitney English says:
Oh She Glows was the first place I saw an avocado sauce like 3 years ago and I was like, “I totally have to make that.” I just now got around to trying one! Hope you don’t wait as long as me, haha!
Lisa @ The Skinny on Health says:
Oh my god this looks soooo good. I just bought a ton of zucchini to make more ‘pasta’ (obviously, I’m obsessed), so I’m definitely trying out this recipe this week! :)
xo
Camille @ Challenge Mantra says:
Mmm, avocado sauce! I’ve never heard of a spiralizer before, but I use my Vitamix near daily!
Sam Brown says:
Oh my god I need to buy a spiralizer stat!! This looks amazing!
And I can’t believe your vitamix has been gathering dust… I would LOVE one (but I guess we always think we’ll use it more than we actually do!)
Thanks for the recipe!
Sam xx
Whitney English says:
I just broke out my Vitamix again yesterday…I think I just needed to get the hang of it :)
Brittany @ Barr & Table says:
Oh this looks so tasty! I ran out of nutritional yeast a couple months ago but I think I need to restock!
Whitney English says:
You can never have too much yeast!! Uh, that doesn’t sound right, huh?
Leigha @ Minougirl says:
Ohhhkay I need a spiralizer, pronto. My mom and I are actually saving up for a Vitamix right now! This looks SO yummy. I once made a sauce with avocado but it didn’t have enough flavor – I’ll have to try this one next time!
Whitney English says:
This one has really good flavor and you can amp it up even more by adding more spices and yeast!
Kathryn @ Illustrated Nutrition says:
I’m embarassed to admit I don’t own a spiralizer OR a vitamix (shameful, I know). But this recipe makes me want to drive out to the store and buy both immediately. This looks SO good Whitney!
Whitney English says:
Thank you! Def go for the spiralizer first, there’s nothing like it!
Claudia Rosenbaum says:
Hmm. This Spiralizer looks interesting. I might have to try. How much does it cost and where you purchase?
Whitney English says:
Yes, you need one! They’re about $25 to $40 on Amazon! New and Essential Tri-Blade Spiral Vegetable Slicer
Jennifer Sinquefield King says:
Purchased the ingredients to make this!! We love your recipes! I bought a spiralizer last month and LoVE it!!
Whitney English says:
Aw, so happy to hear that! Thanks Jennifer :)
Kierston says:
I really need to use my spiralizer! These looks wonderful.
Hope you are having a great weekend :)
Whitney English says:
Thanks Kierston!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says:
I must figure out my spiralizer. And bust out the avocado pasta again – I used to make a version of this all the time! I think it was based on one from Oh She Glows… but it’s been a long, long time. And that egg? Brilliant.
Whitney English says:
Yeah I saw that one on her blog too years ago! This one is a lot different with the nutritional yeast and all, but I’m sure hers is equally fabulous :)
Ali @ Inspiralized says:
Great use of the spiralizer! I love a good creamy avocado sauce. Glad that you’re loving spiralizing. Definitely pinning!
Whitney English says:
Coming from the Queen of Spiralizing, I’ll take that as a major compliment!! Thanks Ali!
Lisa @ The Wellness Wife says:
Looks yummy and delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Sylvia says:
This looks so good I had to go to the super and get the ingredients! Although I’m not sure if I got the correct yeast… One question though, when you say 1/4 lemon, do you mean the juice of 1/4 lemon? Or the whole lemon? (Probably an extremely silly question, but I’m not exactly a genius in the kitchen! :P ) By the way, I’m so happy I found your blog! Can’t wait to follow it!
The vitamine shoppe Orthomol says:
i am assured, what is it — a false way Orthomol Herbal supplements
colleen says:
CAme out absolutely perfect!!!! loved it! first recipe for using nutritional yeast! u have sold me!!! i didnt use cumin (not that i wouldnt) absolutely delicious! thank you!!!! i have been looking for more recipes to have a flavor like this (im not vegan, im paleo) but everything wants me to use cashews….i am staying away from nuts because of density of calories…wish i could find more like this! u rock!
colleen says:
i added snips of chives which was a nice add :D