This avocado pasta is high in iron and omega-3 and is the perfect baby led weaning recipe for your baby and toddler.
Baby E LOVES avocados. He would be perfectly content with having avocado at every meal, so because of that, I’ve developed a ton of recipes with avocados, like my Baby Spinach and Avocado Green Pancakes. This week I tried out combining two of his faves with my avocado pasta, and he absolutely loved it. Not only did he love playing with the gooey consistency, but he was totally obsessing over the bright green colour. Here’s how I sneak in some iron and omega-3 in this avocado pasta.
We all know how important iron and omega-3 are for a growing baby and toddler, so I’ve packed this avocado pasta with a ton of rich sources of omega-3 from walnuts to hemp hearts and iron sources like boiled egg yolks. All of these foods provide a creamy texture to this pasta making it easily palatable for your little one.
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
This avocado pasta is so delicious! Here are some reasons why you should be making this for your family tonight!
- Vegetarian friendly
- Baby and toddler friendly
- Packed with healthy ingredients
- Takes little to no time to make
Key Ingredients
Homemade pesto — To make the base of my homemade pesto, I used hemp hearts, walnuts, basil, and garlic. It only takes a couple of minutes to put together but you can use store-bought pesto if you prefer.
Avocado — Packed with healthy fats and nutrients, avocado is a must for this avocado pasta! Be sure to use ripe avocado as unripe avocado will be hard and won’t mash up.
Egg yolks — The eggs are packed with iron, omega-3s, and protein and help you feel full, longer.
Whole wheat pasta — While I use whole wheat pasta shells, you can use any pasta of your choice. I like shells as they’re a favourite for my toddler but use what you have on hand.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: To a food processor, puree the hemp hearts, walnuts, basil, and garlic until the walnuts are finely ground.
Step 2: Then add the avocado, lemon, eggs, and pulse until combined, then add in the olive oil just until it is thin enough for a sauce. Season with a tiny bit of salt and pepper, if desired (can omit for young babies).
Step 3: Toss with cooked pasta and serve as is.
Step 4: Optional to serve with cherry tomatoes and basil on top.
Expert Tips
Try to serve this avocado pasta as soon as possible as avocado does go brown over time due to oxidation. The lemon added to the pesto should help slow the processor but it’s best to eat it ASAP.
If you’re out of walnuts, pinenuts work as well for the pesto but they won’t have the same nutritional values as the walnuts.
Recipe FAQs
Try adding some peas, chopped asparagus, corn, or other vegetables of your choice to this avocado pasta!
If you’d like to add more protein, you can try some shredded chicken or salmon if you don’t need this to be vegetarian-friendly.
I would make this pasta no more than a day ahead of time. As mentioned earlier, the avocado could turn colour if stored for too long.
You most certainly can! Try using gluten-free pasta if you’d like for this recipe to be gluten-free. You can also try using chickpea or lentil pasta if you want some more added nutrients.
More Recipes You Might Like
If you want more BLW recipes like this avocado pasta, you should try these ones:
- Easy Peanut Butter Noodles
- Salmon Sweet Potato Fritters
- Sweet Potato Lentil Baby Fritters
- Baby Spinach & Avocado Pancakes
- Gluten Free Hummus Baby Meatballs
Now tell me, what are your favourite iron and omega-3 foods to feed your baby? Let me know in the comments below.
Avocado Pasta (BLW & Toddler Friendly)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup hemp hearts
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup basil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 ripe avocados
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3 hard boiled egg yolks
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or more to your desired texture
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lb cooked whole wheat pasta for serving
- Cherry tomatoes quartered for serving
- Basil chiffonade
Instructions
- To a food processor, puree the hemp hearts, walnuts, basil, and garlic until the walnuts are finely ground. Then add the avocado, lemon, eggs and pulse until combined, then add in the olive oil just until it is thin enough for a sauce. Season with a tiny bit of salt and pepper, if desired (can omit for young babies).
- Toss with cooked pasta and serve as is or with cherry tomatoes, and basil on top.
Video
Notes
- Try to serve this avocado pasta as soon as possible as avocado does go brown over time due to oxidation. The lemon added to the pesto should help slow the processor but it’s best to eat it ASAP.
- If you’re out of walnuts, pinenuts work as well for the pesto but they won’t have the same nutritional values as the walnuts.
Nutrition
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Tori says
Can you freeze left overs?
Abbey Sharp says
Yep for sure!
Molly says
Hello,
What is the serving size for this recipe? 2.8 mg of iron for the complete pasta? Thank you
Abbey Sharp says
It should make about 6 servings with each serving providing 2.8 mg of iron.
Trish says
Absolutely love this recipe Abbey! It was a huge hit with my 8-month-old, and as a dietitian mama, I love how nutrient-packed it is. Super easy to make and so, so delicious! 🙂
Abbey Sharp says
Amazing! Thanks so much Trish
Megan says
Hi, Abbey. I would love to try this (for myself, haha), but I sadly can’t have eggs. Is the yolk necessary for the recipe? If so, what would you suggest as a replacement? Thanks!
Abbey Sharp says
nope! not necessary!! its just to add extra iron for baby, but you can leave it out.
Leslie says
This is very creative and if I’m being honest, I’ll probably sneak in a bite or two before giving to my kids. haha
Abbey Sharp says
hah love it!
Deborah Brooks says
I really love the idea of adding walnuts and hemp hearts! Very creative
Abbey Sharp says
Thanks!