Quick and Easy Bacon Avocado Pasta
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Bacon avocado pasta is a favorite in our house. We love the creamy avocado, the fresh tomatoes, and the crispy bacon. Tossed with Parmesan cheese and hot pasta, it makes its own delicious sauce for a light and easy dinner.
I’ve been making this dish for years. It’s a go-to for me on any weeknight when I don’t know what else to make and we need something quick and easy. It is also a great way to eat avocados without constantly making guacamole or slicing them on your toast!
This is NOT a cold pasta salad, it’s a yummy, comforting, hot pasta dish. If you’ve only ever eaten your avocado cold, this is the perfect recipe to try out something new!
Ingredients
- Bacon – I like using thick cut bacon for this recipe, but any kind of bacon will work. Skip the maple flavored bacons.
- Tomatoes – The riper the tomatoes the better. If you get them from the store and they’re hard and looking a little under ripe, let your tomatoes sit on the counter for a few days to ripen more before using.
- Avocado – Another ingredient that needs to be used when ripe.
- Basil – You can use either fresh or dried basil depending on what you have on hand. There is no need to use both. They are each added in at different times in the cooking process, so we maximize the flavor from whichever you choose.
- Lime juice – This is one of the few time I’ll tell you it’s OK to use bottled lime juice. Fresh lime is the better choice, but both work here without a significant difference in flavor.
- Garlic – We’re using fresh cloves for this recipe, not powder.
- Parmesan cheese – Pick up a wedge of Parmesan cheese from the deli section and skip the green can. This will make a huge different in flavor.
- Pasta – Choose any pasta shape you want here. I often let my kiddo be in charge of this selection. I don’t love using long noodles in dish, but you certainly can.
- Pasta water – You will be setting aside some of the starchy pasta water that your may or may not need to use, so I’m listing here as an ingredient (and reminder to save some while cooking).
How to Make Bacon Avocado Pasta
Cook pasta according to package directions.
While pasta is cooking, chop bacon into small pieces and cook bacon in a large, high-sided skillet over medium heat until the bacon is crisp.
Leave the bacon fat in the pan. Add the garlic, dried basil (if using), and lime juice. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Reduce heat to low. Add diced tomatoes and fresh basil (if using). Stir and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Using a large slotted spoon or cooking spider, scoop the cooked pasta directly from its pot into the skillet with the bacon and tomato mixture.
Add the diced avocado. Stir gently to combine.
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the pasta mixture, and fold to combine. If the pasta mixture becomes too thick, add ¼ cup pasta water, stirring to combine. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
NOTE: Because of the avocado in this dish, it does NOT keep well in the refrigerator. Do your best to eat it all up right after you cook it.
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Quick and Easy Bacon Avocado Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon
- 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, OR 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 8 ounces dry pasta
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- ¼ cup pasta water, reserved
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions.8 ounces dry pasta
- While pasta is cooking, chop bacon into small pieces.4 strips bacon
- Cook bacon in a large, high-sided skillet over medium heat until the bacon is crisp.
- Leave the bacon fat in the pan.
- Add the minced garlic, dried basil (if using), and lime juice. Cook for 2-3 minutes.2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon lime juice, 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
- Reduce heat to low. Add diced tomatoes. Stir and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.2 medium tomatoes
- Using a large slotted spoon or cooking spider, scoop the cooked pasta directly from its pot into the skillet with the bacon and tomato mixture.
- Add the diced avocado. Stir gently to combine.1 avocado
- Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and fresh basil (if using) over the pasta mixture, and fold to combine.1 cup Parmesan cheese
- If the pasta mixture becomes too thick, add ¼ cup pasta water, stirring to combine.¼ cup pasta water
- Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe Tips
Don’t drain off all of the bacon fat! It’s really tempting to grab a paper towel and soak up a little bit of the bacon fat after you’ve cooked it, but leave it in the pan! There is no added oil in this recipe and the bacon fat is needed for cooking the garlic, softening the dried basil and imparting some delicious flavor. If you took out the bacon fat, you’d have to add an oil back to the pan, so we’re saving a step by cooking with the super flavorful grease that’s already there.
Can I use more than 4 pieces of bacon? I use four strips of bacon, because I find it gives the recipe great flavor and texture without making it greasy or overpowering the other flavors. If you love bacon and want to increase the amount, you can add up to 4 more slices.
Why use the pasta water? What pasta cooks, it releases starch into the water. This gives the pasta water a little flavor (that matches the flavor of the noodles!), making it a great choice if you need to add a bit of liquid to thin the sauce, but don’t want to change the flavor of your dish.
What to Drink with Bacon Avocado Pasta
This creamy pasta goes well with crisp drinks. Try a Classic Bee’s Knees, a Spiked Arnold Palmer, a Gin Basil Smash, or a Lemon Drop Martini.
What’s not to like about bacon and avocado? It’s a classic! Delicious through and through with all the tastes of summer.
Agreed! We love this recipe!
I made mine with gluten free pasta and it was delicious!
So glad you liked it! This avocado pasta is one of our family favorites.
This was delicious! We happened to have leftover bacon and just added some saved bacon grease to it to simulate cooking fresh to get that great flavor. Will happily make this again.
So glad you liked it, Anne!!