Spicy Avocado Pasta With Tequila Shrimp

For the ultimate fusion dish, look no further than this spicy avocado pasta with tequila shrimp! Featuring an ultra creamy avocado sauce with the perfect spice kick and punch of citrus, this Tex-Mex pasta is simple enough for cooks of all levels to prepare, and it takes less than 30 minutes to whip up. After one bite, you'll have a new favorite pasta.

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Mexican-Italian Fusion

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings servings

Calories 997kcal

Author Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Equipment

Roasting pan
Food processor
Large pot
Strainer

Ingredients

For Tex-Mex Avocado Pasta

1 pound dried fettuccine
2 avocados
3 garlic cloves peeled and roughly chopped
½ cup olive oil
½ cup cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 lime juiced
Salt and pepper to taste
2-4 tablespoons pasta water adding more if needed
½ cup cojita cheese crumbled

For Tequila Shrimp

12 ounces jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
2 ounces tequila

Instructions

Heat the oven to 425 degrees and boil a pot of salted water for the fettuccine. When the water is ready, boil the fettuccine.
Meanwhile, place the shrimp in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and chipotle chili powder. Mix to coat and spread the spiced shrimp in a single layer. Roast the shrimp in the oven for five to seven minutes, depending on size. The shrimp are ready when pink and opaque, but keep an eye open to avoid overcooking.
While the shrimp roast, add the avocado, garlic cloves, olive oil, cilantro, cumin, cayenne, smoked paprika, lime juice, salt and pepper in a food processor. For the salt and pepper, start with about ½-1 teaspoon. Blend until smooth and scrape the side of the bowl if necessary. Once it's blended, taste and add more salt if needed.
Remove the shrimp from the oven, pour the tequila over the shrimp in the hot baking dish and stir to coat as it sizzles.
Drain the fettuccine, reserving the pasta water, and move to a mixing bowl. Pour the avocado sauce over the fettuccine and stir to coat. Add 2-4 tablespoons pasta water to attain desired consistency and continue to mix. If necessary, you can add more. Once the fettuccine is well-coated, divide among serving bowls and top with cojita cheese and shrimp. Bonus points for garnishing with more cilantro and lime. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Just before cooking, I like to pre-measure and prep my avocado sauce ingredients. This way, I feel less stressed while cooking, and it makes for low-key entertaining.
To keep the avocado sauce from turning brown, I recommend making it fresh as the pasta cooks.
Mix the pasta and avocado sauce as soon as you drain the pasta. Hot pasta makes it much easier to incorporate the sauce.
When adding the pasta water, start with a little at a time. We can always add more water, but we can't fix it if we add too much. I find 2-4 tablespoons generally does the trick, but it comes down to personal preference.
Feel free to add other mix-ins, such as bacon, sautéed spinach or roasted cherry tomatoes.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition