Ingredient notes for goat cheese pasta
This pasta is so easy to make, essentially a stovetop version of this Instant pot pasta (if you have a pressure cooker, head over to that recipe!). For the stovetop version, it’s simply a matter of cooking up some penne, and making a quick marinara sauce at the same time. Here are a few ingredient notes: Why we love this recipe: This pasta is so tangy and creamy, sweet from the tomatoes and lightly peppery from the fresh basil. The secret to the creaminess is that goat cheese, which brings a complexity that’s almost like a vodka sauce. Combined with chewy penne, it’s out of this world tasty!
Use fire roasted tomatoes if you can find them. Fire roasted tomatoes taste sweet right out of the can, and don’t require simmering for hours to get good flavor. If you can’t find fire roasted, look for the best quality crushed tomatoes you can find. You could also blend up some diced fire roasted tomatoes if you can find those. Another key to this recipe is fresh basil. Adding whole fresh basil leaves to the sauce adds a peppery undertone that’s quite unlike any dried herb you can buy. You can use the remaining fresh basil leaves as a garnish for the pasta when it’s done. Soft goat cheese (chevre) is the star ingredient. Look for a 4 ounce log of chevre, which is simple to find at most grocery stores.
Frequently asked questions
Goat cheese has more vitamins and minerals than cow’s cheese. Goat’s milk is richer in essential nutrients than cow’s milk (like vitamin A & B, calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium). Goat cheese has slightly less calories than cow’s cheese. Goat cheese has just 75 calories per ounce—less than cow cheeses like mozzarella (85), Swiss (108), and cheddar (115). Goat cheese is easier to digest. Goat cheese has less lactose than cow’s milk and a slightly different protein structure. That means even people who are lactose intolerant many times can digest goat cheese!
You want to catch the pasta right when it goes from crunchy to tender. It should still be slightly firm inside–but not crunchy! 4.3 from 4 reviews
