Zucchini Pasta with Creamy Avocado Sauce

As we say farewell to summer, there’s still time to enjoy a refreshing bowl of zucchini pasta with sweet cherry tomatoes. Pair with a creamy avocado sauce to keep things extra light. Why not enjoy one last summer meal before the fall comfort foods roll out?

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Cherry tomatoes are in full swing with the end of summer near. Look for sun gold or yellow pear cherry tomatoes to add brightness to this otherwise green dominating dish.

Although this recipe calls for the tomatoes to be cooked, you could leave them raw too.

I debated whether or not to save this zucchini pasta recipe for next spring, the time when asparagus makes its seasonal debut. But as summer winds down, asparagus continues to be plentiful and has yet to disappoint taste-wise.

How to Buy and Store Asparagus

If you’re newly introduced to asparagus, you may be wondering how to select and store this unusual vegetable.

Below are tips for optimizing the freshness of asparagus. These methods will keep the vegetable fresh for at least 3 days or more.

How to Select Asparagus:

• Asparagus should be consistent in color, preferably bright green, without any dark green or brown discolorations. The tips of the spears should be green, sometimes with purple undertones.
• The spears should feel firm, from the tips to base. If you can bend the stalk without it snapping then the asparagus has gone limp and is not fresh.
• The pretty tips of the spears should feel dry and crisply intact. Avoid ones that are soft, wilting or discolored.
• Don’t forget to smell! Asparagus should have a very mild and pleasant odor, if any at all. You’ll know when its gone bad as it will have a distinctly foul smell.

How to Properly Store Asparagus:

• Handle asparagus as you would a fresh bouquet of flowers but with one exception. You’ll want to keep the rubber band intact that secures the stalks together. This will make it much easier to keep the bundle upright.
• Fill a jar with at least an inch of water or enough to submerge the base of all the stalks. I find a jar works best for stability but you could get by with a bowl. Just make sure the bundle can stand upright.
• Loosely cover the asparagus (including the jar) with the plastic produce bag that you used to bring it home or a gallon-sized ziplock bag will do.
• Store in the refrigerator and use within 3 days for optimal freshness. Keep them towards the front on a refrigerator shelf as the back may run colder.

Pumpkin Seeds

For a crunchy texture, garnish the pasta with toasted pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas. It only takes 3-4 minutes to toast the raw seeds, changing their texture from chewy to an airy crunch.

Be sure not to skip on the pumpkin seeds! Otherwise you’ll miss out on their nutritionally diverse content, such as protein, iron, minerals, and zinc.

For this recipe, I used shelled Australian pumpkin seeds. This variety is much darker in color than another variety known as La Pluma pumpkin seeds. The La Pluma variety is also shaped differently, with a more oblong structure. Either kind will work though.

Pepitas or pumpkin seeds can usually be found in the aisle with other seeds, nuts or dried fruit.

But if you can’t find them, raw and unsalted sunflower seeds are an excellent substitution. Prepare sunflower seeds in the same fashion but cut toasting time in half due to their smaller size (see note section of recipe card below).

How to Make Zucchini Pasta

Now, onto those noodles! Using a spiralizer is the easiest and fastest method for obtaining equally sized zucchini noodles. It takes only minutes to spiralize an entire zuke!

I always keep the zucchini skin on before spiralizing but you could peel them too.

Once spiralized, roughly chop the curly pile to create more manageable strands. Or leave the noodles longer (with just a few chops) so you can twirl them with your fork!

If spiralizing isn’t an option, you can make them by hand using a vegetable peeler. To do this, peel as you would a carrot, using light pressure from one end of the zucchini to the other.

Once you’ve peeled to the seedy core, flip to the other side of the zucchini, repeating the same steps. These noodles will be wide and flat but still equally delicious!

Pasta Substitute

Although the title of this recipe suggests using zucchini, you can substitute the zucchini pasta with a more traditional pasta if you prefer.

One of my favorites is a brown rice and quinoa fusilli pasta. The ridges really grab the creamy sauce!

Creamy Avocado Sauce

This zucchini pasta wouldn’t be complete without a creamy sauce. To make the vegan and oil-free creamy avocado sauce, use a high-powered blender or food processor. I used my trusty 4-cup mini food processor which I find incredibly handy for whipping up sauces, dips, and dressings.

I always run the garlic through the processor first before add the remaining ingredients.

To make this vegan, I swapped out the typically used parmesan cheese for white Cannellini beans. Great Northern beans would also work well.

The beans add an extra layer of creaminess on top of the buttery avocado.

I prefer a thicker sauce, especially when paired with zucchini noodles. But if you find the sauce too thick for your taste, simply thin it by adding a tablespoon of water at a time.

Let me know if you made this recipe! 

Leave a comment below or tag your Instagram post with #findingveggiejoy, I’d love to see what you made!

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