College can be tough. Living in an apartment, I can get very lazy and not go shopping as often as I should, which can sometimes leave me with five ingredients or less to work with. This means that I can be stuck with some pretty random items to try to make a meal out of.

But sometimes a little bit of research and experimentation can lead you with an amazing creation. This super quick and delicious avocado spinach pesto pasta recipe came from a night just like that.

Avocado Spinach Pesto Pasta

  • Prep Time:5 mins
  • Cook Time:15 mins
  • Total Time:20 mins
  • Servings:2
  • Easy

    Ingredients

  • 1 10 ounce box chopped frozen spinach
  • Half an avocado
  • 1 clove garlic
  • Olive oil
  • 1/2 pound pasta
Cassidy Rizza
  • Step 1

    Put a pot of boiling water on stove for pasta. Put pasta in and cook at desired time.

  • Step 2

    Cook the frozen spinach as directed by the box.

    tea, coffee
    Cassidy Rizza
  • Step 3

    Slice open the avocado and spoon out half of the avocado and cut into small chunks.

  • Step 4

    Put the ½ the cooked spinach, chunked avocado, and garlic into a blender. Blend, adding olive oil until at a smooth consistency.

    herb, vegetable, spinach, cream, parsley
    Cassidy Rizza
  • Step 5

    Drain pasta when done cooking, add it back to pot or put in bowl and add the other ½ of cooked spinach and avocado pesto to pasta.

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    Cassidy Rizza

Here are some tips to make your pasta even better:

Add some salt and pepper to this recipe either when boiling the pasta, into the blender, or after its all cooked. If you like zest or want some zing in your pasta, add lemon to the pesto. If you don't like spinach, substitute it with a different leafy green like kale instead. And if you want to add even more veggies to this dish, buy veggie spaghetti or make zoodles! If you're extra hungry or you're cooking for more people, just make the entire box of pasta and use one whole avocado.

I love this recipe and it has become a go-to for me because of its simplicity and how cheap it is. It is so easy to change this recipe and give it completely different flavors. It's versatility is also great for making this multiple times a month without getting bored.

5 ingredients, 5 steps, full of vegetables, and great for a college budget. And I can guarantee it's even better than it looks.