Creamy Avocado Pesto - Delish!

Easy and yummy recipe! I doubled the garlic which added an extra kick. Didn't have any shrimp so I substituted with some shredded chicken.

Very easy to make and really, really good. The only complaint was that the taste of the raw garlic was a bit overwhelming, and I only used the two cloves the recipe called for. I will definitely make this again, but will make it with roasted garlic, to see if that helps with the raw garlic flavor.

This is an ingenius way to make pesto!! I actually modified it with some leftover garbanzo beans, which gave it an even more hearty texture. If you like avocado or guacamole even a little bit, you need to try this recipe!

This is so good! I only made the pesto to substitute guacamole. I did make some changes based on what I had......no basil, hence a little fresh and and some cilantro and no Romano, hence some mozzarella..... It tasted so fresh.....This recipe rocks!!

I had just trimmed my basil plants, and was out of spinach, which I usually use to make pesto. I stumbled on this recipe in AR and really hit the jackpot. I am new to cooking with avocado and was amazed at the perfect texture it gave the pesto. The avocado gave it a nutty taste without having to actually used pine-nuts. The only change I made was I sauteed the shrimp and additional garlic in a few tablespoons of butter instead of adding the shrimp to the boiling penne. Then tossed in the drained pasta, pesto, Romano and a splash of leftover heavy cream and warmed it through. Easy, delicious, and aromatic. Thanks for posting!

We loved this. I did add some nuts to the food processor (I had pecans on hand...love the taste it added). My whole family loved this recipe. Tasted very fresh.

Oh my...I rarely make a recipe and follow it to the letter, but this one I did not change a thing, it's a keeper...Avocado makes everything better!!!

This was excellent! I added about 1/4 cup of walnuts and a teaspoon or two of olive oil. I also used lime instead of lemon (as I didn't have a lemon) and kidney beans instead of chicken to keep it vegetarian. Yum! Will make again!

This recipe gets a big fat FIVE STARS. Absolutely delicious. I don't think I will ever, ever buy pesto from the store again... it just will not compare. I did not have Romano cheese, so used Parmesan. YUM! I did double the recipe and used a whole pound of shrimp. WONDERFUL! Thank you!

I thought it was delicious! I'm going to add more shrimp next time fore sure though. It took a while to blend and get smooth, but that was probably my blender's problem. The avocados also were not very soft (it's always touch and go at the Harris Teeter!) so I wrapped them in newspaper with two bananas (something bananas release into the air helps soften avocados) and they got a little softer. If they had been perfectly ripe, I'm sure this would have been doubly better! But it was really good-a great summer dish!

One change that I add is topped with Fita cheese, I will definitely make it again, wife loved

I had a few avocados that needed to be used up, and I stumbled upon this recipe and I fell in love. This is my new go to recipe! All those fresh ingredients makes me feel like I'm eating healthy and its soooo delicious! Very aromic and hubby can now eat a pesto thats nut free! Friends and family always go back for second or even third helpings. I would recommend this to everyone.

Super easy and very good. Didnt make any changes just added a little more cheese. Yum!

A delicious refreshing pasta dish. Quick and easy too.

I made this without the tomatoes and didn't need to add any olive oil - so healthy and fresh and delicious! Hubby reheated some the day after and it was still delicious!

So easy and so good! Still flavorful for lunch the next day!

No changes and definately will eat it again

I had too many ripe avocados on hand, so looked for a recipe to use them up. This was perfect! Simple and yummy, and easy to play around with with whatever you might have on hand. As I'm vegetarian, I omitted the shrimp, and replaced with onion, red pepper, and mushroom, which I sautéed in olive oil and garlic. Other reviewers complained of the dish not being warm enough. To combat this horrible first world problem (who likes luke-warm food? not me!), I put the pasta on a plate with the sautéed veggies, put the sauce on top, the put the plate in the microwave. Once warm enough, took out, topped with cheese and some toasted almonds for a little more protein. Delicious!

one of the best dinners I have made! I actually had some pesto so I added a tbl spoon to the blend and mixed it with shrimp sautéed in garlic and olive oil. served over brown rice.

Wow, I wanted to lick the bowl, can’t wait to have some on toast with a hard boiled egg.

I used 12 ounces of shrimp and two avocados. Good but I don't think I'll make it again.

This was delicious. The avocado made it very creamy. I also added black olives and used garbanzo beans instead of shrimp to make a vegetarian dish. I would definitely recommend using fresh romano cheese.

Good recipe! I made the recipe as written and it was pretty good. Next time I might try it as a cold dish instead though! Normally I like pesto and guacamole colder

I really liked this. It definitely had a creamier texture than regular pesto. My husband liked this better than regular pesto. The only thing I did differently was to sauté the shrimp in a bit of butter. Not everyone in the house loves shrimp, so I put it in a bow as an add-on for those who wanted it.

This was awesome and took no time thanks to the trusty ole mini Cuisinart food processor. Slam dunk. Excelente. Actually didn't have lemon or lime and used a shot of ACV for the acid and worked like a charm. For sure making this again.

This recipe was okay, nothing special. We like regular pesto better and it is just as easy to make.

I had to improvise. Instead of fresh basil, I had a couple Tbl of dry. Instead of Romano, I had a fresh block of parmesan. I can see using the original, but it was a great quick and easy family meal for the summer. I put some froz chkn on the Forman, no shrimp on hand, turned on the pot of water, started throwing the ingredients into the food processor, then got back to throwing in pasta. Super fast and gourmet. I literally did NOTHING to the chicken for seasoning and just laid it on top. The pasta flavor is enough. Served 4-5.

easy to make, quick, kind of healthy recipe but not my kind of meal. I love most of these ingredients on their own but unfortunately not in this combination.

My first attempt at pesto and it came out so, so delicious! I did make a few changes to suit my family. I replaced the 2 cloves of raw garlic with an entire head of baked garlic. I took the advice of another commenter and added 1/4 C walnuts when adding the olive oil. So good and really easy. I can't wait to make this pesto again!

This recipe is awesome!!! Instead of the pasta, I used spaghetti squash and instead of shrimp, I made meatballs. Added 1/4 cup of walnuts and doubled the garlic on the pesto and it was outstanding! Definitely a keeper!!

Would add 1/2 lb shrimp for 4 servings instead of the 1/4 lb it called for.

I love love love this recipe ! I just added some Italian sausage and doubled the garlic for more flavor , everything else I followed instructions to the T! It came out perfect and now I'm stuffed. Will make again!

I never have fresh basil when I need it! I doubled the recipe for leftover lunches. I didn't use lemon juice and substituted the fresh basil with 1 tablespoon of dried basil, neither did I bend any cheese into the sauce.

I searched for a recipe using avocado because I am doing an online fitness challenge and this week’s food ingredient was avocado. I used extra olive oil because I thought it should be creamier. I also addeda few extra tomatoes and a tsp of capers. I am so glad I decided to add the shrimp!! This is a wonderfully easy recipe and it tasted surprisingly good!! I do not enjoy all things avocado, so I will definitely revisit this recipe.

This is a great recipe. Don’t forget to stir in a raw egg at the end to bring out the subtle flavors and MAX two minutes for shrimp. Always easy to overcook shrimp and turn into rubber.

Oh man! This recipe packs so much flavor. We made this as a side dish last night - served it over angel hair pasta to accompany grilled chicken breast. All I can say is delish! We doubled the recipe. Thanks!

Made this and loved it! It was so simple to make but it tasted as though I had slaved for hours ??. Definitely a keeper. Also, this is only one of a handful of recipes that I've ever RATED on here, I've been on here for many years but just haven't rated or posted until now. Thank you to the person who shared this ??

I added an extra half avocado, as well as some sun dried tomatoes. It was delicious! Will definitely make it again!

loved it! I did Sautee my garlic because I hate the taste of raw garlic. I also added some garlic powder and a bit of the starchy water from the pasta to make it easier for my vitamix. I used the hot soup setting on my vitamix. made the pasta nice and warm. would definitely make this again!

This was easy and really is delish! I used chicken because I forgot to pick up the shrimp. It was still great.

Loved this. I love pesto, but find it makes pasta too dry. With the added avocado, it was fantastic.

This recipe was pretty good. I made it with the shrimp, omitted the cheese, used sun dried tomatoes and roasted fresh asparagus. I'm very glad I added the tomatoes and shrimp since it definitely needed more character. Adding some diced raw, red onion when serving added a great flavor, too. It was very yummy, but definitely needs some extra ingredients to make it 'pop'. Doubling it was a great idea.

My husband & I loved this recipe, although I tweaked it a lot. I used diced chicken breast instead of shrimp since we already had it in the freezer. I also added 1 1/2 more avocado then the recipe called for and even then it was spread thin on top of my pasta. I then had to double or triple the other ingredients in the avocado pesto to get it to our liking. Just using the amount on the recipe caused my culinary husband to reply that there wasn't much flavor and I agreed. More garlic, more lemon juice, more salt & pepper. Next time I make it I'll be sure to cook my cherry tomatoes because the sweet flavor really comes out when cooked and it won't have a chewy gritty texture from the raw seeds. Instead of Romano cheese I used Parmesan, again using what was in my fridge. The pesto isn't cooked or heated in any way and that cooled down the plate to a luke warm. All in all, I really had to play around with this dish to get it to the flavors we liked, but the recipe is a great launching pad for a dinner that we enjoyed and I will make again. *Side note- My husband kept nagging at me that this avocado pesto isn't a pesto because it doesn't have pine nuts in it. I would say it's more of an avocado sauce or what came to my mind, baby food. Delicious baby food though ;)

This is the best recipe I have used from this site!