Avocado Pesto Healthy Pasta Salad with Zucchini Noodles

Heat oven to 425ºF.

Place eggs in large pot and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring to a rolling boil. Once boiling, turn off heat (leave the pan on the burner!) and cover with a lid. Let sit for 11–12 minutes. Drain hot water and fill the pot with ice cold water to prevent eggs from cooking further.

While eggs sit, place spiralized zucchini noodles in a large sieve over top of a bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of salt, tossing around. Let them sit, tossing occasionally, so they release some moisture.

For the croutons, place cubed bread in a large bowl and toss with olive oil. Add Italian seasoning and toss to coat.

Pour the bread onto a a large baking sheet in one layer. Bake for 6–7 minutes until golden brown and crunchy.

While the bread bakes, prepare the pesto. Place mashed avocado, garlic salt and pepper in a small food processor (mine is 3 cups) and process, stopping to scrape the sides as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Add basil and process until basil is broken up and mixed into the avocado.

With the food processor running, stream in the olive oil, processing until well mixed.

Press out as much moisture from the zucchini noodles as you can and transfer to a large bowl. Add spiralized red onion, fresh basil and the avocado pesto. Stir until well-combined (you may need to cut up a few of the zucchini noodles to help them evenly mix). Peel and dice eggs and mix them in.

Toss with the croutons and devour!

Note: If you are not serving right away, don’t add the croutons or they lose their crunch. Add croutons in just before serving!