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Linguine wrapped tightly and served with shrimp and creamy avocado sauce.
Anneke Silva

Creamy Avocado Pasta with Garlic Shrimp

4.66 from 29 votes
This Creamy Avocado Pasta delivers. The avocado and lemon juice in this recipe combine to make a silky sauce that will satisfy even the biggest cream lover in your home. If you’d like you can serve this as a vegan dish, just skip the shrimp. I promise you, it will still be delicious!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Calories: 599
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Whole avocado
  • 1 Handful of fresh basil leaves
  • 9 cloves Garlic Divided into 2 portions (5 and 4)
  • 1/4 cup Raw unsalted cashews If roasted, don't toast them
  • 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup Lemon juice Ideally freshly squeezed, if possible
  • 1/8 cup Butter (about 2 tbsp)
  • 1.5 tsp Kosher salt Plus extra for pasta water
  • 400 g Shrimp
  • 500 g Spaghetti, Linguine or other long pasta I used homemade, but also purchase De Cecco
  • 1/2 cup Pasta water Reserved

Equipment

  • Food Processor
  • Large Pot for Pasta
  • Heavy Bottomed Pan
  • Cutting Board
  • Knife

Method
 

GARLIC SHRIMP
  1. Step 1: Place 1/8 cup of butter into a large, heavy bottomed pan on medium heat. I like to use my Le Creuset Braiser.
  2. Step 2: Finely mince 5 cloves of garlic.
  3. Step 3: Put the garlic into the pan and leave it to cook for 10 min, stirring occasionally.
  4. Step 4: Toss your shrimp into the butter and garlic and cook until your shrimp are pink and opaque. This will take 3-4 minutes if they are fresh, and a few more minutes if they are frozen.
  5. Extra Tips: Keep your heat on medium: the point of this is to infuse the butter with garlic, not to brown the garlic. If your shrimp are finished before your pasta, just remove them from the heat and set aside.
    Pan of cooked shrimp with butter and garlic
PASTA
  1. Step 1: Fill a large pot of water 3/4 full and place covered on high heat.
  2. Step 2: When your water is bowling, toss in some salt (I like using sea salt, but it’s not necessary).
  3. Step 3: Add your pasta and set your timer.
  4. Step 4: Before straining your pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water and set aside.
  5. Extra Tips: I always cook my pasta al dente (“to the tooth”: with a bit of chew), some brands will include two times on the box: one for al dente, and one for cooked. When trying a new brand, I always cook a minute or two under the al dente time, taste the pasta, and continue cooking if needed. Don’t rinse your pasta after cooking! Although removing the starch keeps the pasta from sticking, it’s that same starch that helps your sauce cling to your pasta.
CREAMY AVOCADO SAUCE
  1. Step 1: Toast your cashews in a dry pan on medium heat until they’ve browned a little. This will happen really quickly, so keep an eye on them! Take them off the heat to cool as soon as they’re done.
  2. Step 2: Pulse your cashews and garlic into a fine paste in your food processor. You can do this by hand, but it will be much more time consuming.
    Pulsed cashews and garlic into fine paste in a food processor
  3. Step 3: Cut and peel your avocados and toss them in the processor.
  4. Step 4: Add the basil, salt and lemon juice.
    Basil, salt, lemon juiced added to pulsed cashews in a food processor.
  5. Step 5: Puree until your sauce is smooth.
  6. Step 6: Add your olive oil and pulse until mixed.
    Final creamy avocado sauce in a food processor.
  7. Extra Tips: You can always leave some chunks of avocado for texture, if desired, but my kids would never go for that!
CREAMY AVOCADO SAUCE WITH GARLIC SHRIMP
  1. When your pasta has finished cooking, toss it into the pan with your shrimp and mix it up so the pasta gets coated in buttery garlicky goodness (if you aren’t adding shrimp, just put your pasta into a large serving bowl). Add the sauce and a bit of the pasta water to loosen it up (thin it out). Mix it all together, then continue adding a bit more pasta water until the consistency is what you want.
    Lifting linguine pasta with shrimp out of pan with tongs.

Notes

Any nutritional information should be considered an estimate only; please consult a registered dietician, nutritionist, or your physician for specific health-related questions. The recipe card above is created using a recipe card plugin that can auto-convert quantities into metric. These conversions are only populated in the ingredients section of the card and not in any directions that may list quantities.