Pesto + Avocado Sauce // Cooking Video

Sauces can make or break a dish, am I right? For example, we've been making a lot of quesadillas with beans, peppers, onions, zucchini, etc. -- but without the salsa and Greek yogurt (which we use instead of buying additional sour cream to save $), it's just not as interesting.

I think you've gathered by now that pesto is my all-time favorite spread. Plus, it's so easy to make. I used to go with more complicated recipes, but over the years, I've discovered that the simpler the better.

I gave you guys a similar recipe for pesto in our Lentil + Quinoa Burgers post, except that time I had used baby kale versus spinach. Today I wanted to simplify it even more -- seriously, this recipe takes just 5 minutes to mix together and will spice up a variety of meals from burgers to pizza to pasta.

Here's how it's made -- no cooking or roasting, just blending:


// 5-MINUTE SPINACH PESTO

Combine the following ingredients in your food processor until smooth.

• 2 (heaping) handfuls fresh spinach
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons water
• salt + pepper, to taste

// CREAMY AVOCADO PESTO SAUCE

Then I took half of that pesto and blended it even more with the flesh of one avocado and a few more tablespoons water until I made this creamy, alfredo-like sauce. It's great spread onto some toast or on the side with homemade quesadillas (I literally just licked some off my fingers before typing this post).

Or you can just coat a bit of pasta in it.

Maybe serve with a fried egg.

Definitely some salsa.

And Sriracha?


// GREEN PASTA WITH EGG

• Cook pasta to the package directions. These shells boiled for 30 minutes. Then I drained and rinsed them so they cooled off a bit.
• Then scoop a couple tablespoons of your green sauce onto them and mix around until well coated.
• Fry an egg (or make it any style you like best) and place atop the pasta.
• Top with salsa and Sriracha sauce, or whatever other condiments you want on there.
• Enjoy!

Basically, this Avocado + Pesto mix is your new favorite sauce.

Period.

If you'd like to make the pesto first -- I'd even freeze half of it (so 1/2 cup of pesto for later use) by either placing it in a plastic bag and freezing flat or even putting it in an ice cube tray for smaller chunks.

OTHER PESTO RECIPES

Pumpkin Pesto Rolls
Garlic Scape + Swiss Chard Pesto, 2 Ways
Steamed Pesto Dumplings
Pesto Pizza Dough
Baby Kale Pesto
Walnut Basil Pesto
Basil-Pesto French Toast
Pesto French Toast, II -- with Avocado Butter
Pesto Quiche with Oatmeal Crust
Pesto Garlic Knots
Pesto Portabella Sandwiches
(Pesto) Smothered Mother

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!.