Avocado Pasta Salad is a rich, creamy and totally delicious pasta salad loaded with fresh juicy tomatoes, crisp bacon and creamy avocados. This pasta salad uses avocados in place of mayonnaise for a dressing that is rich and creamy yet loaded with the benefits of avocado! 
Avocados are pretty much one of my favorite things ever! They are healthy, rich and creamy!
I add them to salads, spread them on crackers and eat avocado toast for breakfast at least a few times every week! I’ve been making Avocado Dressing & Dip forever… avocado is so velvety, it makes a perfect base for a dressing in place of mayonnaise!
With summer here, I love meals that don’t require turning the oven on and cold pasta salads fit the bill perfectly.
They can be prepped ahead of time and are the perfect well rounded meal (often with protein and veggies) and great feed the kids before we run out the door to soccer practice! Even better, the leftovers are always yummy meaning lunch tomorrow is already done if we’re lucky enough to have some left!
This recipe marries my favorite avocado based dressing with the same ingredients I top my avocado toast with for the perfect flavor combination!
Juicy ripe tomatoes, crisp smoky bacon, fresh cilantro, a hint of green onion and deliciously creamy diced avocados! The very best part of this recipe is the luscious avocado dressing… full of flavor and silky smooth! To make this a main dish we sometimes add chopped grilled or rotisserie chicken.
Avocados have a rich and creamy texture because they contain monounsaturated fat which is a good fat and can help lower cholesterol when eaten in moderation of course!
Avocado Tips
- Placing avocados in a paper bag with ripe bananas will help them ripen faster. (Due to the ethylene gas naturally released from the bananas).
- Once ripe, avocados will keep in the fridge for 4-6 days.
- When storing a cut avocado, brush the open edge with lemon or lime juice and wrap in plastic before refrigerating. This will help keep avocado from browning as quickly.
- If you have too many ripe avocados, they can easily be frozen. Scoop out the green flesh and 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice per avocado. Puree in a blender or food processor and freeze in a freezer bag. Defrosted avocado is great in this recipe or for guacamole!
- The fats in avocados are great for your skin. Rub the empty peels on your elbows or heels before tossing to soak in some of the benefits of this delicious fruit!
Like most pasta salads, I generally make this a few hours before serving. If you find the avocado dressing thickens too much add a little bit of buttermilk and give it a quick stir before serving. Although I enjoy the leftovers of this pasta salad for a couple of days, due to the nature of the avocados, this pasta salad is best made on the day it is served.
Avocado Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 8 ounces rotini or bow tie pasta
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes diced
- 8 slices bacon cooked crisp & crumbled
- 1 green onion thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
Dressing
- 1 ripe Avocado
- ½ fresh Lime juiced
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ Cup Buttermilk
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
Dressing
- Place all dressing ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
Salad
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and run under cold water.
- Toss diced avocado with lime juice.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl gently toss with dressing.
- Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Salad
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Is there anyway to replace the cilantro with something else I really dislike cilantro (I have read this is a genetic thing)
Hi Dan, you could try parsley or omit the cilantro. It would change the flavor but still be delicious!
All the recipes look so good!
Add roasted corn and black beans skip the bacon, makes it a bit more south of the border. Adds protein and looks great on the plate!
We loved it ! Didn’t have cherry tomatoes so just chopped regular tomatoes into small pieces. Also didn’t have buttermilk, so I just soured regular milk, as per instructions I found for substitutes.
Decided to use tortellini because they had been in my pantry longer.
Will surely keep this recipe to.make again.!!
Wow this looks delish! Buttermilk is a bit difficult to find where I am living abroad….any substitutes that you can recommend for this? Thank youuuuuuu
Hi Lauralea, you can find an easy substitute for buttermilk here. Let us know how the pasta salad turns out for you! :)
The Avacado Pasta salad looks delicious.
Can you substitute the cilantro with something else?
Hi Kathryn, you could try parsley or omit the cilantro. It would change the flavor but still be delicious!
I suck in making food n salads I wanna know how to cook
One recipe at a time Lieggy! Make sure you read the post that goes with each recipe for some great tips and suggestions, but other than that just have fun with it. :) We also have a great Kitchen Tips section you could check out for some extra information!
The best advice I ever got when I was a young bride was, “If you can read, you can cook”. Truer words were never spoken. Go for it, Lieggy!
I have a question: My mother is allergic to citrus fruit/juice. What could be a substitute for lime or lemon for avocados???
I have only made this as written. The purpose of the juices is not only flavor but to keep the mixture from turning brown.
Perhaps ascorbic acid powder
So good!
Thanks Kelly!
I’ve made it once for me and my friends, all the comments were good ! Thank you for this recipe!
I’d like to make it again, but now I am on a diet, is there any alternative for crispy bacon?
Maybe try turkey bacon? Or you could omit the bacon altogether.
I love all your recipes, and salads is great here in Las Vegas great meals with the heat. Thank You Holly.
Thank you so much Marie! Salads are always a favorite of mine too on hot days!
Could I make this in the morning to serve that evening? I have made this before by the way and it’s amazing!!
I am so glad you have enjoyed this recipe Heather!
Hands down delicious!! I forgot to purchase the buttermilk and green onions. So, I put 1/2 TBSP vinegar in a measuring cup and filled the cup with milk to the 1/2 cup mark. Let it sit until I was ready to use it as my substitute. I also finely diced some onion (about 2 TBSP, I tried to stay to what I thought 1 green onion would equate to). Everything else was to the recipe. This was so amazingly good!!! Two men in my family who have never tried avocado were amazed and scarfed it up. Thank you so very much for sharing this beauty of a keeper.
I am so glad you were able to make this recipe with what you had on hand and enjoy it Krista!
This was so delicious that I made it two days in a row! Since the dressing is made out of avocados, I omitted from the salad. I didn’t have buttermilk on hand so I decided to go with a little mayo and vinegar. It’s super easy and a keeper!!! Thanks so much for a delicious recipe!!!
Gina, I am so glad you have enjoyed this pasta salad recipe!
I have made this recipe twice. The first time for New Years Eve and everyone loved it. I just finish making a batch for my daughter per her request. Its so easy to do and delicious.
Holly, all these are fantastic recipes – I will be making the pasta salad ASAP – great ingredients!!!! Thank you so much.
Thank you Debbie!! Enjoy!
That’s sounds so delish but I don’t care for buttermilk, how strong is the buttermilk flavor?
It would be similar to what you would taste in a buttermilk ranch. If you don’t like that flavor, you could try a bit of milk and sour cream.
Hi, I would love to make this recipe, but I don’t care for cilantro. Could you please suggest a different herb or spice, or would it change the flavor too much to simply omit the cilantro? Thank you!
Jo
You could try parsley, it would change the flavor but still be delicious!
Thank you, Holly, I will.
I have made this recipe probably ten times at least!! I love it so much and it’s a real crowd pleaser at any bbq or summer get together (not that I wouldn’t enjoy this year round!) My husband likes me to add chicken to it which is great as well- but not a necessity of course.
How great to hear Kara! Love adding chicken.