There is something about incorporating fresh pesto into a dish that always seems to elevate a recipe and make it taste that much better. And homemade pesto!? Sign me up!
Pesto is such an easy sauce to make and it’s one I’ve been playing around with a lot lately because it’s almost always a hit with every member of the Fagan family. Yes, that includes our ever-so-fickle almost 14-month-old! If a recipe gets Chase’s seal of approval, it becomes part of my regular recipe rotation and this recipe for avocado pesto earned a gold star from my toughest tiny critic.
I initially incorporated avocado into the pesto a couple months ago because I was low on nuts but still wanted to make pesto and since I’m always looking for ways to add more healthy fats to Chase’s diet, I figured I’d give it a shot! My initial haphazard avocado pesto recipe has evolved a bit since my first attempt and I love it tossed with whole wheat pasta or roasted veggies or on top of over-easy eggs for an elevated breakfast that tastes a little more special than basic eggs and toast.
Chase is all about avocado pesto pasta!
Avocados have almost always been a hit with Chase and were actually one of the very first foods we gave to him when I began dabbling in baby led weaning. They’re nutrient-dense (low in sugar and a good source of fiber, folate, potassium and vitamins E and C) and contain many of the nutrients that are vital for fetal and infant health and development. Plus, the soft, smooth texture worked well for Chase has he learned to “chew” (aka “gum”) his first real foods!
(Tip: If avocados are too slippery for your little one, you can crush up Cheerios and coat the avocado in the whole grain cereal for easier gripping!)
Avocados are a staple in Chase’s diet and I’ve incorporated them into everything from smoothies and egg scrambles to healthy baked goods, pasta dishes and small bites of avocado toast. (You may also find a bunch of kid-friendly avocado recipes here!)
This avocado pesto is a creamy, savory sauce that comes together in less than 10 minutes. It tastes best fresh, so I’d recommend making it right before you’re ready to dig in!
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Avocado Pesto
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Category: lunch, recipes
Description
Avocado pesto is a creamy, savory sauce that is perfect tossed with your favorite pasta, spread on fresh bread for a delicious sandwich or used as a dip for cold and crunchy vegetables. This recipe is a hit with both toddlers and adults!
Ingredients
- 2 Hass avocados
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 cup walnuts or pine nuts
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 cups fresh basil
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice avocados in half and remove the pits. Scoop the flesh of the avocados into a food processor. Add walnuts, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice.
- Blend until walnuts are crushed and no longer lumpy. Add basil, parmesan cheese and additional salt and pepper to taste and blend until pesto is thick, smooth and creamy.
Enjoy!
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Yum this sounds delicious. I make homemade pesto all the time, but have never tried it with avocado. I love pesto in pasta with chicken sausage or pizza with some mozzarella cheese and tomatoes. Now I’m hungry, hehe
Me too!!! Pesto pizza is SO good!
The Mr is heavily into avocados right now and I’m a pesto lady so this looks like the perfect recipe for us! Yum! Thanks for sharing!
You know, you see so many recipes online, after all, there are so many food blogs out there these days. But as for something I’ll actually make, that is more rare! I am most definitely making this, it’s nutritious and I can already tell my kiddos will love it.
Thank you, Laura! Hope everyone loves it! 🙂
I love pesto! Typically I steer away from giving it to Mitch because of the garlic, but I love your version. Bring on the creamy avocados!
This looks amazing! I love pesto! Can you please tell me for how many people this recipe is? 🙂
The recipe makes a LOT of pesto — maybe 1 1/2(ish) cups worth? I love using it with a full box of whole wheat penne because I want to have leftovers on hand for easy lunches for me and Chase!
Ok thank you!
I’m allergic to avocados so no avocado pesto for me, but this looks so good and pretty!
Also — if I were to make this without the avocado would you recommend just adding extra nuts? And how much garlic are you supposed to put in? I see it in the recipe but not the ingredients list.
Oh man! I guess that’s what I get for typing up the recipe with a baby in my lap! 🙂 I used four cloves of fresh garlic. (And I’ll update the post right now.)
Omg you just made my morning – I’ve been in such a food rut and this is just the inspiration I needed – thank you!
Same! We’ve been eating the same things in rotation, it seems 🙂 I cannot wait to give this a try!
Julie, what a great idea to coat the avocado in crushed cheerios! Definitely giving that a try for my son.
(Also, these photos are so, so gorgeous!)
Thank you so much, Stephanie!! <3
So creamy and good! You can’t go wrong with avocado anything!
Beautiful photos!! I love using pesto as a salad “dressing” 🙂
This looks so delicious! I was watching you make this on snapchat yesterday and I can’t wait to try!
Once I found out to “pest” something means to “crush” in Italian, I started putting random things in my sauces. I love how easy pestos are to make, but they always make our meals just a little bit tastier. : )
XO, Jessica
http://www.semisweettooth.com
I’m pinning this recipe and will have to give it a try! I love avocado but have never used it in pesto. It looks delicious!
OH, Julie, that looks delicious! I’m on a no dairy, legumes, gluten, grains, fruit (except berries) detox right now and that parm is making me salivate!
You can definitely omit the parmesan from this recipe if you want to give it a try! I’ve actually made it without cheese a few times and it’s still pretty darn good!! 🙂
Look at Chase’s hair in these pictures – so short!! I am allergic to nuts so unfortunately can rarely have pesto. Do you think I could leave them out or substitute seeds or something for the “heartyness”?
Sunflower seeds would probably work really well!
Yum!! I made an avocado based pasta sauce a few months ago that turned out really great! This looks really yummy!
This looks so yummy! Cabs + pesto + avocado are three of my favorite foods!
Yum!! I love avocado, and this looks good. That pic of Chase chewing down on avocado is so funny/cute! Love it.
I wish there was a way to avoid the whole “not ripe enough/ripe-for-one-second/rotten” phase of an avocado’s life cycle. It feels like you have to catch them at just the perfect time!
Great recipe, as always.
Totally! Such a small window! But when you get them “just right” there’s nothin’ better!
This recipe looks amazing, anything with avocados and I’m game.
This looks not only delicious but easy to make as well. A must in our house!! I keep the jarred pesto around at home to add in to Lanes pasta for a quick and tasty lunch and he loves it! He is a huge fan of avocados so I know this will be a hit!!
Avocados have me at hello. Great recipe.
This sounds like the perfect way to use a ripe avocado! I can imagine that this pesto would be a great topping on pizza or a great salad dressing too, thanks for sharing 🙂
Oh this is so sweet, your toddler is adorable and this recipe is delicious! Double cute!
I love making pesto but wouldn’t think to put in avocado…definitley trying this! Thanks 🙂
So I saw this post and realized it was the same one from yesterday and I thought “oh man no Friday favorites this week…” And then I realized today is only Thursday ???
Haha!! 🙂
Chase is such a cute little avocado model! I don’t know how you find the time to cook with your little boy – way to go! I’m lucky if I get a frozen pizza in the oven with my little man 🙂
I love pesto so am so excited to try this recipe!! I currently make a arugula based pesto and put it on top of grilled chicken and melt some mozzarella cheese on top for dinner at least once a week. I’m obsessed with it 🙂
Stop it. Crushed up cheerios to make them less sticky?!?! G.E.N.I.U.S.
Healthy fats and avocados, what more could you ask for? This is a simple recipe but also looks very tasty and nutritious. I have been looking for an easy pesto recipe and this one looks great. Also, you could substitute the Parmesan cheese for nutritional yeast and easily make the recipes vegan as well. Thanks for sharing!
I don’t have the ingredients for a homemade pesto, but I do have a store-bought jar, can I put avocado in that? If so, what are the measurements?