This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This tomato goat cheese pasta recipe is simple, fresh, and easy to make. Goat cheese makes the tomato sauce deliciously creamy! It’s ready in about 30 minutes.
If you like this recipe, you’ll want to try my Tomato Goat Cheese Gnocchi or Easy Pink Sauce Pasta next.
Why you’ll love it
Goat cheese is a well-loved ingredient. While I normally don’t often cook with it, I’m very excited about this goat cheese pasta. It’s really easy to make, and the distinctive creamy and tangy quality in the velvety sauce is just so tasty. If you like goat cheese, you’re gonna love this.
This is basically a creamy tomato sauce for pasta but upgraded. If you’re wondering what to make with goat cheese, I think you’ll adore this simple tomato pasta with bold flavors. We’ve also included plenty of garlic and basil, and this creamy cheese pasta is ready in just 30 minutes.
What you’ll need
- Pasta – I like penne because it’s a sturdy variety for the creamy sauce
- Olive oil – for sautéing
- Onion and garlic – I like sweet (Vidalia) onions best
- Crushed tomatoes – these are canned at the peak of ripeness, so you get concentrated tomato flavor in the sauce
- Red pepper flakes – they’re optional but add a gentle warmth (not spice, just depth of flavor)
- Italian seasoning – my trusty all-purpose blend of dried herbs! It comes all in one jar.
- Goat cheese – the star of this recipe. I will say that if you’re not the biggest fan, go easy on it. You can always add more if desired! Go ahead and build it up gradually.
- Basil – for a pop of freshness and to complement the tomatoes
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- This garlic keeper not only looks really cute, it keeps your garlic fresher for longer.
- I recommend this cooking spoon since it won’t scratch up your cookware.
- If you’re grating fresh parm on top, I definitely recommend using a Microplane zester. So easy!
How to make tomato goat cheese pasta
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook your pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, sauté the onion in the oil until softened. Stir in the garlic, and cook until fragrant (about half a minute). Add in the tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes.
Reduce the heat, and simmer for around 10 minutes. Stir in the goat cheese and basil until smooth and creamy. Give it a taste, add salt & pepper if desired, and then toss with the drained pasta and enjoy.
Pro tip
If the sauce gets too thick, simply reserve a little bit of the hot pasta water and then add it in to thin it out.
Substitutions and variations
- You can use finely chopped tomatoes (such as Mutti brand offers) if you don’t have any crushed tomatoes on hand. They’re also fairly thick, so it’ll give the sauce a good consistency. If you want to use fresh tomatoes, you can, but you may need to do a bit of tweaking/experimenting if you want a thicker sauce because they will take longer to cook down.
- I used penne, but feel free to use whatever pasta you have on hand.
- If you don’t have any fresh basil, you can still make the recipe, but it won’t have that pop of freshness. In a pinch, try subbing dried basil. I’d start with 1/2 teaspoon and add more if needed.
What to serve with goat cheese pasta
- This pasta is fairly rich, so you might want to balance it out with a bright salad. I like spring mix with my Creamy Balsamic Dressing, or try something different with my Easy Honey Mustard Dressing.
- A slice of fresh crusty bread or Cheesy Garlic Bread is always a good idea!
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftover tomato goat cheese pasta in a covered container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- If you don’t plan on eating all the sauce right away, simply skip the step of tossing it with the pasta and boil fresh pasta when reheating the sauce.
- I don’t recommend freezing this one.
I hope you’ll enjoy this easy pasta recipe with goat’s cheese. Did you make it? Please leave me a star rating and comment below! You can also find me on Instagram.
Tomato Goat Cheese Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 4 ounces goat cheese or to taste
- 1 small handful fresh basil sliced thin
- Salt & pepper to taste
- For serving: freshly grated parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
- Boil a salted pot of water for your pasta. Cook it al dente according to package directions.
- In a medium saucepan, sauté the onion in the olive oil for 5-7 minutes over medium heat (ok if it lightly browns).
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add in the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes (leave them out if you don't want any heat). Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce gently for about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the goat's cheese and basil (the cheese should melt right in and make the sauce creamy). If you're at all unsure about the taste of goat cheese, add it in gradually and taste as you go. Season with salt & pepper as needed. Serve with the drained pasta (add a splash of the pasta water if you want to thin the sauce out) and freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
- Goat cheese can be quite strong. If you just want a hint of it, feel free to use half or less than half the recommended amount. I used a 4 ounce soft goat cheese log for this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on April 21, 2020. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
Hi Natasha, I was excited to make this dish. I had only ordered goat cheese at the Tapas restaurant (cheese balls in a honey glaze, I think) so knew we all like it. I checked online and my grocery store had a garlic-herb one that I wanted, but of course I could not find it once I was there. I got a herb chevre instead. Used entire 4 oz. log.
Followed the awesome commenters advice and added chicken sausage (with sage) and a 5 oz. bag of baby spinach to make it a meal. The crushed tomatoes had basil. Hubby said it had a nice “tangy” taste to it that he really liked. He and son (who like spice) both declined to add the red pepper flakes as it was tasty enough for them. Nice!
Thanks for the tip on the pasta water, I did add just a little bit to thin out the sauce. Told hubby to add a little more to the leftovers since I know the pasta will absorb a lot.
Thanks again for another awesome dinner that will be added in to the rotation!
I’m glad it was a hit, and your tweaks sound delicious! 🙂
I was very pleased with this. I cut the red pepper flakes in half to accommodate the spice tolerance of my audience, and I used fire roasted tomatoes to add an extra dimension to the flavor. I used one huge clove of elephant garlic, which was probably at least the same volume as three regular garlic cloves, but likely imparted a milder flavor overall. (If I use elephant garlic next time, I might use more.) Otherwise, I followed the recipe closely.
This is a very easy and fast dish to make, and it produces an impressive, luxurious, rich result. You should make this dish because it is delicious, and not because it is a healthier alternative to a cream based dish. That said, it’s interesting to compare the nutritional information for this dish with the same author’s “super easy creamy tomato pasta”. By using goat cheese instead of cream, this dish has less than half the fat, 50% more protein, and about 20% fewer calories.
I used a fairly tangy chèvre and the flavor came across strongly in the final result. That’s not a bad thing if you love goat cheese like I do, but if you or your guests are new to goat cheese, I suggest starting with one on the milder side.
As others have noted, I expect this dish will be a great foundation that could support many complementary additions, such as bacon, sausage, chicken, mushrooms, or other vegetables.
Thanks for your review, Ron!! I’m glad you enjoyed it, and yes, it definitely lends itself to many other additions! 🙂
I tried this again with the following variation: I started with two Italian sausages. I removed the sausages from the casing and sautéed them, breaking them apart into fine crumbles. I then removed the sausage crumbles from the pan and cooked the onion in the sausage fat in lieu of olive oil. I returned the sausage crumbles to the pan when I added the tomatoes. I also used a milder chèvre this time ( Île-de-France instead of my grocery story brand). The result was really next level. It took an already good dish into the stratosphere.
Yummmmmm
Hi! This looks perfectly delicious:) Any way I could make this ahead of time and bake it when ready to eat? Or will the sauce get too dry?
Hmmm… I am not sure to be honest! Do you mean like make it all (including the pasta?). I think it’s worth trying, though. I’d say if you’re really concerned, make the sauce separately and add a little extra veg/chicken broth to the sauce then cook the pasta and it should be good.
YUM! This is my new go-to cheesy pasta recipe 🙂 thank you thank you! super easy to make. i usually just throw in the whole box of pasta and it works out perfectly.
That’s wonderful!! You’re very welcome! 🙂
Really tasty and so easy to make! I am so glad I found this recipe because I had some goat cheese that needed to be eaten. I didn’t have the crushed tomatoes so I substituted a jar of pasta sauce. Used spaghetti pasta and put it all on top of a pile of fresh, raw power greens. A delicious and balanced meal! Thank you!
I’m so glad it worked out for you! You’re very welcome.
This was so incredibly tasty!!!! We also added some green pepper since I had one I needed to get rid of, as well as some chicken, and woah, it was amazing.
Fantastic!! So glad you liked it, Lois.
Super delicious dish! Easy to prepare, and even easier to devour! I had to share this recipe with family and friends tonight. I will be making again, soon! Thanks for sharing your amazing creation Natasha!
Thank you!! 🙂 You’re very welcome, Sheri!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was a hit with the kids and my husband especially loved it! I also enjoyed it! I didnt have crushed tomatoes so I subbed canned whole tomatoes in tomato puree and just simmered it for a bit (and crushed the tomatoes myself!). It came out perfectly!
Thanks for a lovely recipe, this one is definitely going to be a new go to!
That’s great!! I’m so glad it worked out for you and that the family liked it! 🙂
Hello, my local super market doesn’t have soft goat cheese logs.. do you think I could use hard crumbled goat cheese?
Hi! You could definitely try. I haven’t tested it or made anything similar, but I think it should still melt. Let me know! 🙂
I didn’t have basil (and think they would add something nice to it) but it was still really good! Added chicken for a protein, but I think sausage or even spinach would have been great.
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it!! 🙂 Agree on the sausage or spinach.