Baked Goat Cheese and Roasted Tomato Pasta
Creamy goat cheese melts down with roasted garlic and tomatoes to make a delicious savory sauce in this easy prep dinner. Inspired by the famous TikTok baked feta pasta.
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Equipment
No fancy equipment is needed for this recipe. You should already have these common items in your kitchen.
- 9×13 baking dish – You’ll need an oven safe dish. If you don’t have this exact size, a smaller dish will also work, but you may have to increase the cooking time a few minutes.
- aluminum foil – for roasting garlic.
Ingredient notes
- Goat cheese – I used plain goat cheese for this recipe but you can sub out for a flavored option. Garlic and herb would be great!
- Tomatoes – really any tomato will work for this recipe, but I like the smaller varieties better. They tend to have less seeds and be more fleshy making them perfect for pasta sauces.
- Onion – I usually use a yellow onion since that’s what I always have on hand. A shallot will work as well.
- Fresh thyme – If you don’t have fresh thyme, you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme.
- Good olive oil – I like to use a good quality oil. My favorite brand is California Olive Ranch Extra virgin Olive Oil.
- Pasta – Any pasta would work for this recipe!
Recipe tips
This is an east recipe with minimal prep! There are a few vegetables to be prepped, then everything goes into a baking dish, and the oven does the rest. You get 40 minutes to tidy up the kitchen and have a glass of wine (or two) while the pasta bakes.
How to roast garlic
Roasted garlic is oh-so-good and one of my favorite savory flavors. To roast garlic, you will need a whole head of unpeeled garlic. Cut the top 1/4th of the garlic off, exposing the bulbs inside (see picture below). Wrap the garlic with foil, and cover the garlic with olive oil. Pinch off the top of the foil to seal, and add to the baking dish.
Roast the garlic along with the other ingredients at 400°F for 40 minutes.
The finished product will be very fragrant and the cloves will begin to turn golden brown and soften. Once the roasted garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze out the cloves from the bulb.
You can use this same technique to roast garlic for different pastas, salad dressings, pizzas, salads, compound butters, etc.
Cut the top 1/4th off of the bulb, exposing the cloves Wrap in foil and cover with olive oil
Make it your own
The great thing about this baked goat cheese pasta is that it’s so customizable. You can add in other vegetables like spinach, broccoli, or kale.
If you want to add a little spice, add in 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
You can even swap out the goat cheese for feta.
If you are not a fan of thyme, try subbing for another herb like rosemary or sage.
If you want to add in a protein, add cooked sliced chicken breasts. For an in-depth guide on cooking chicken breasts, check out How to cook perfect juicy chicken breasts every time.
How to store
Save pasta and sauce mixture in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
How to reheat
To reheat the pasta I like the stovetop method the best. Add the pasta to a skillet and slowly increase heat to medium and stir until pasta and sauce is warmed throughout. If sauce is too thick, you can add a little water to loosen it back up.
Alternatively you can reheat using the microwave.
FAQs
Any kind of goat cheese will work for this recipe. You can use plain or a flavored goat cheese like garlic and herb.
Baked Goat Cheese and Roasted Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 ounces goat cheese ((plain or flavored, like garlic and herb))
- 1 pound tomatoes, cherry, grape, Roma, or plum varieties (sliced in half)
- 1 small onion (finely diced)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 head of garlic (unpeeled)
- 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- pasta of choice
Instructions
PREP: Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the top ¼ off the head of garlic, exposing the individual cloves. Wrap in foil, and cover the cloves in olive oil. Seal top by pinching foil close. Arrange the goat cheese, tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a 13×9 baking dish. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning over and season with salt and pepper. Add in fresh thyme, and coat with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.- BAKE and BOIL: Bake tomato and goat cheese mixture for 40 minutes, until tomatoes are caramelizing and goat cheese is hot and melting. Boil pasta while sauce is cooking. Reserve about ½ cup of pasta water.
- MIX: After removing baking dish from the oven, remove foil covered garlic. When it is cool enough to handle, remove foil and squeeze out the garlic cloves from the peel. Mix garlic together with other ingredients and mash tomatoes and garlic to get desired consistency. Stir in pasta and add pasta water to loosen up the sauce if necessary.
- SERVE: Serve hot and enjoy!
Notes
- If you want to substitute fresh thyme, use 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme or 1/4 teaspoon of ground thyme.
Nutrition
Any questions? I’d love to help! Drop a comment below or send me an email!
