Hello Mamas! We are here with another installation of “quick and easy meals that are also healthy”! Today we bring you a nut-free and dairy-free avocado pesto. This simple pesto sauce whips up in seconds and really adds an earthy flavor and creamy texture to zoodles. Add some garden fresh tomatoes on top with optional mozzarella cheese bits and you have the most simple and delicious meal!

I love pesto, but it is tricky with so much of the sauce containing nuts. It’s not fair that families with nut allergies are not able to enjoy this delicious spread! So I went searching for some alternatives and pieced together this delicious avocado pesto. Garlic-y, basil-y, creamy, salty, lemon-y….lot’s of great characteristics for a pasta sauce, if you ask me.

I topped some warm zoodles with a spoonful and evenly coated them. And on top, I added a few fresh cherry tomatoes that are hanging on in the garden after some chilly weather, and I ripped apart some mozzarella cheese because…why not! For my more picky eaters, I substituted the zoodles for organic whole-grain rotini and they loved it just as much.

I hope you enjoy this quick meal as much as my family did!

Xoxo,

Claire and the Mamas at Mama Jess

Avocado Basil Pesto with Zoodles

Ingredients:

For the pesto:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 cup fresh basil
• 4-5 tbsp olive oil (adding more as needed depending on the texture you are looking for. More olive oil will thin out the pesto.)
• Pinch of salt

Other ingredients:

• Zucchini Noodles
• Mozzarella cheese balls (optional)
• Cherry tomatoes
• Optional: substitute whole grain rotini pasta

Directions:

1. Add all pesto ingredients in a food processor, grinding it into a thin paste. If you would like, continue to thin out the pesto with olive oil until the desired consistency is reached. Continue to taste test with the level of salt as well!
2. Warm zucchini noodles in your preferred fashion (I like sauteing in olive oil in a pan until soft). Plate when completed.
3. Evenly coat zoodles in a dollop of pesto sauce (a little goes a long way!) and top with cherry tomatoes and some fresh mozzarella (optional)
4. Enjoy!