Recipe Background
Creamy avocado pasta salad offers buttery avocado, crisp bacon, and vibrant flavors.
This creamy avocado pasta salad blends vibrant textures and flavors into a delightful dish that's perfect for gatherings or quiet lunches at home. The avocados bring a buttery smoothness, harmonizing beautifully with the slight tang of buttermilk and lime. Crisp bacon bits and bright cherry tomatoes create a satisfying contrast, adding pops of color and crunch with each bite.
Fresh cilantro and cumin infuse the salad with an earthy depth, complementing the wholesome goodness of the whole-wheat rotini. For the dressing, blend until smooth—it's an easy technique that ensures a silky finish. A hint of garlic powder lingers, balancing the zest of lime juice while enhancing the other flavors without overpowering them.
Cooling the pasta under cold running water halts cooking and prevents clumping, leaving the salad a refreshing treat. Toss everything together, and after an hour in the fridge, the flavors meld into a cohesive, savory ensemble. Ready to serve, this salad shines whether shared at a picnic table or enjoyed solo in the kitchen. Its simple sophistication invites everyone to savor every bite, no matter their age.
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1/2 (16-ounce) box rotini or bowtie pasta
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes diced
- 8 slices bacon cooked crisp and crumbled
- 1 green onion thinly sliced
For the dressing:
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1/2 fresh lime juiced
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Directions
- In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook the rotini to al dente, according to the package directions.
- While the rotini is cooking, in a blender or food processor, add the whole avocado, the juice from 1/2 fresh lime, 1/4 cup of the cilantro, the cumin, the garlic powder, the buttermilk, the salt, and the black pepper and blend until it is smooth.
- Transfer the dressing mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Drain the rotini and then run the pasta under cold water, draining again to ensure no liquid remains. Add the drained pasta to a large bowl.
- Toss the diced avocado with the remaining 1 teaspoon lime juice and then add it to the bowl with the pasta.
- Add the remaining cilantro, the cherry tomatoes, the crumbled bacon, the green onion, and the dressing to the pasta mixture and toss well to combine.
- Tightly cover and refrigerate the salad for 1 hour.
- Plate and serve.
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