Creamy Avocado Pasta Salad

Creamy avocado dressing coats this beautiful Creamy Avocado Pasta Salad, packed with pasta and fresh vegetables! This quick and easy recipe makes a fast weeknight dinner or a refreshing lunch. You can also make this vegan and gluten free.

Creamy Avocado Pasta Salad is a light pasta salad tossed in a delicious avocado dressing. It’s packed with fresh vegetables, cooked penne pasta, and a smooth and irresistible dressing that blends up in no time!

If you are after other delicious pasta salads, why not try my Caprese Pasta Salad or my Greek Pasta Salad!

Why this Avocado Pasta Salad is so good!

• Made with fresh, natural ingredients. This is a great healthy choice for your family.
• Quick and easy. The recipe comes together in about 20 minutes, making it a perfect weeknight dinner or a fast lunch recipe!
• An excellent meal prep recipe! You can quickly make this pasta salad and divide it into lunch containers to pack and eat from all week long!
• An extremely versatile recipe. With just a few swaps it could be gluten free or vegan. You can also add extra protein to the recipe by tossing in some fresh cooked shrimp or chicken. 

Ingredient you’ll need

• Pasta– Many different pastas can be used in this recipe. I use penne pasta but you could also use shells, rotini, rigatoni, or elbow. 
• Vegetables– Corn (frozen or canned work well), cherry tomatoes, purple onion, and jalapeño give a nice crunch to this refreshing pasta salad. If using frozen corn, thaw before using and if using canned corn drain and rinse before using. 
• Creamy Avocado Dressing- Avocado, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh cilantro, and cumin blend together to make a creamy avocado dressing!

How to make this Avocado Pasta Salad

• Following the pasta instructions, cook the pasta to al dente.
• While the pasta cooks, dice the onion, seed and dice the jalapeño, and cut the grape tomatoes in half.
• Once the pasta cooks to al dente, drain and put in a large bowl.
• Add the onion, jalapeño, tomatoes, and corn to the bowl with the pasta.
• In a blender, place peeled and seeded avocados, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, cilantro, and cumin powder. Blend until smooth.
• Pour the creamy avocado dressing over the other ingredients in the bowl. Toss to coat well. Serve and enjoy!

Start by cooking pasta to al dente, according to the package instructions.

While the pasta cooks, dice the purple onion and jalapeño.Then, slice the cherry tomatoes in half. When the pasta finishes cooking, drain and place the pasta in a large bowl. Add the diced purple onion, jalapeño, cherry tomatoes, and corn to the bowl.

Recipes notes and tips

• I seed the jalapeño but you can leave the jalapeño seeds if prefer a little heat.
• It’s best to avoid fresh pasta, which doesn’t hold up quite as well.
• For the perfect pasta salad, cook the pasta until just past al dente. 
• Use extra-salted water when cooking the pasta and it will be well-seasoned by the time it’s cooked.
•  Toss the pasta with about two-thirds of the dressing while it’s still warm, and add the remainder before serving. he warm pasta will absorb the dressing a lot easier.
• Placing avocados in a paper bag with ripe bananas will help them ripen faster. 

Frequently asked questions

How do you cool down pasta for pasta salad?

Drain the pasta, but don’t rinse the pasta with cold water. Instead allow the dressing to cool down the pasta. Toss it immediately with the some of the dressing to help it cool down. You can then transfer it to a wide shallow bowl or a rimmed baking sheet to cool either on the counter for room temp or in the fridge, if you don’t plan on eating straight away.

Do I need to use ripe avocados?

Using ripe avocados helps the dressing blend more easily, it also offers a more rich and creamy consistency, along the lines of mayonnaise.  It also helps to emulsify the dressing when blended with the remaining ingredients.

When choosing the avocado, if it yields to firm gentle pressure you know it’s ripe and ready-to-eat. Ripe, ready to eat avocados may have a darker color but color, but this does vary with different types. Feel is always the best way to tell ripeness.

How can I vary this pasta salad?

This recipe is very versatile. By making a few changes this recipe could be gluten free, vegan, or protein packed.

• To make it gluten free, use a gluten free pasta.
• Make this vegan by using a vegan pasta, one that is not made with egg.
• If you are looking to add meat protein to this recipe you can include diced and cooked chicken or shrimp to this pasta salad. 

Other delicious salad recipes

• Potato Cobb Salad
• Greek Pasta Salad 
• Avocado Corn Salad

I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you including this delicious and simple Creamy Avocado Pasta Salad. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it and share it with your friends and family!

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