Creamy Avocado Pesto

Top your shrimp pasta with a creamy avocado pesto made with basil, Romano cheese, and an avocado. It's rich and smooth but made without any dairy!

• Preparation Time: 10 mins
• Cooking Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Calories: 480 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 (8 ounce) package penne pasta
• 1 medium avocado, peeled and pitted
• 0.25 cup olive oil, or as needed
• 0.5 medium lemon, juiced
• 0.25 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 0.5 cup fresh basil leaves, or to taste
• 4 tablespoons grated Romano cheese, divided
• 0.25 cup diced cherry tomatoes, or more to taste

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until mostly cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Add shrimp to the pot and cook until bright pink on the outside and the meat is opaque, 2 to 3 minutes; penne should be cooked through at this point.

Step 2

While the penne is cooking, combine avocado, basil, 2 tablespoons Romano cheese, garlic, and lemon juice in a food processor; season with salt and pepper. Process until smooth. Add olive oil and pulse until creamy. Remove the blade from the food processor; stir diced tomatoes into pesto.

Step 3

Drain penne and shrimp, then return to the pot. Add pesto, season with salt and pepper, and stir to coat.

Step 4

Garnish servings with remaining Romano cheese.