These goat cheese recipes are the best way to eat the creamy, tangy cheese: from pasta to pizza, everything's better with a little goat cheese.

Goat cheese

Goat cheese is one of our very favorite ingredients to cook with here at A Couple Cooks. And we'll put it in just about anything! Pasta, pizza, salads, and eggs are exponentially better with tangy, creamy goat cheese crumbles. Aside from the flavor, goat cheese has some benefits over cows cheese as well. We've founded up our very favorite goat cheese recipes and a bit of info on the benefits of eating this delicious soft cheese.

Is goat cheese healthy or better for you than cow's cheese?

If you're a cheese lover and healthy eater, goat cheese is one of your best bets. There are many benefits of goat cheese over a standard cow's cheese like cheddar or mozzarella. Here are some of the benefits of goat cheese (Source: Prevention):

  • 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!

At the top of the list of our best goat cheese recipes: baked goat cheese! If you're looking to distract party guests with a finger food they can't resist, this is it. Our most well loved of these goat cheese recipes, something about the tangy cheese roasted in a sweet, garlicky roasted tomato sauce that keeps everyone coming back for more. Serve it with bread to dip and it tastes like deconstructed pizza!

This mushroom and goat cheese pasta has big flavor with fresh herbs and lemon! It takes only 25 minutes to put together, but tastes like it took all day to make. The pasta is smothered with creamy goat cheese, the mixed mushrooms are sauteed with fresh thyme and oregano until they're super savory, and there's a pop of fresh lemon to round it off. Oh and there's some nutrient dense leafy greens, too.

A great trick for entertaining? Goat cheese stuffed dates! These beauties are incredibly easy to make, and the flavor of this simple pairing is outrageous. There's the sweet caramel chewiness of Medjool dates. Pair that with tangy, fluffy goat cheese, and the sweet-savory combo is out of this world. It also works as a quick snack or "side" for a healthy lunch, and involves no cooking at all.

Here's a goat cheese recipe that takes little effort but delivers massive flavor: Goat Cheese Salad with Arugula and Apples! It's simple and comes together quickly, but my does it deliver! The crunch of the apples, creamy goat cheese, and fluffy arugula are the ideal pair for the creamy balsamic dressing. You won't be able to stop eating it.

This goat cheese crostini could not be easier! Bake up some homemade crostini, top with goat cheese and honey, and you've got the most delicious sweet and savory taste treat. The flavor of soft goat cheese is so perfect in itself that you don't need any other seasoning. Once you make this once, it will become part of your repertoire for years!

If you're looking for goat cheese recipes, it's as simple as adding dollops to your eggs! This recipe for fluffy scrambled eggs is pretty incredible and ultra simple. Cook the eggs over low heat and gently shape them into soft folds, then add goat cheese for tangy flavor. What results is a creamy, gooey, addicting mess. If asparagus is in season, it's the perfect pairing.

Try this cheese tortellini in creamy marinara sauce! In just 15 minutes, you've got a pasta skillet that's a literalsymphony flavor. The fresh basil-infused marinara sauce is perfectly complimented with pillows of tangy goat cheese. (In fact, it's our baked goat cheese dip made into a main dish, because we love it so much we needed a way to justify it as dinner.)

This 20-minute creamy penne 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 body to the sauce that's almost like a vodka sauce. Combined with chewy penne, it's out of this world! And best of all, you barely have to think to make it.

Got an Instant Pot? Make this pasta using our Creamy Instant Pot Pasta recipe.

This goat cheese spread is a 5 ingredient, 5-minute easy appetizer that takes your happy hour to the next level with a very little amount of effort! The magic ingredients are goat cheese, olive oil, paprika, and Dijon mustard, which form into a creamy orange dip. And the final magic ingredient: capers! They add just the right amount of savory saltiness that make the dip shine. This is one of our quickest goat cheese recipes.

Goat cheese on Brussels sprouts? Why not! These are roasted in a very hot oven so that they become blackened and crisp. Dollop with mild harissa, a North African red pepper sauce that adds big flavor. Then of course crumble over chunks of creamy goat cheese. These days, Brussels sprouts are seeing a big comeback in popular opinion: this is one of the most delicious ways to eat them!

Goat cheese makes any pizza better, and this one is full of colorful (and dare I say, healthy) topping ingredients: peppers, tomatoes, red onion, and everyone's favorite: the avocado! A thin layer of our easy homemade pizza sauce makes a savory base. Then add the kicker: dollops of creamy goat cheese. Sprinkled with strips of peppery fresh basil, it's downright heavenly.

One of our favorite goat cheese recipes is this pumpkin gnocchi bake! It's got a savory pumpkin sauce made creamy with a little Greek yogurt. Doughy gnocchi pillows are baked in the sauce along with gooey goat cheese. It's probably one of the coziest comfort foods we've baked up, and it consistently gets rave reviews!

This is one of those goat cheese recipes for special occasions, but the effort is absolutely worth it. This sweet potato, goat cheese and lentil main dish is gooey, creamy, crispy, fresh, and earthy all at once. The goat cheese is not only crumbled over the top with black lentils, fresh thyme, and crunchy celery leaves, but it's mixed into the inside of the sweet potato for a creamy, savory filling.

Speaking of crusty bread, here's another one of our goat cheese recipes that's perfect as an appetizer! This bruschetta features mushrooms sauteed with fresh herbs and lemon, served over a tangy fluffy spread of goat cheese. Words can't really describe the taste sensation!

And rounding out these goat cheese recipes, this rainbow vegetable sandwich! It looks stunning and tastes just as amazing as it looks. One of the best ways we've found to get kids–and adults–to eat veggies is simply to make them look good. This sandwich features pickled radishes, roasted peppers, avocado, and red onion — and then of course goat cheese! Goat cheese is mixed with fresh herbs to make an over-the-top delicious sandwich spread. It's a great component to add to any of your sandwiches, be it this one or others!

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Description

This baked goat cheese recipe is one of the best party appetizers out there! Creamy goat cheese is baked in a tangy basil tomato sauce.

  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ½ teaspoon dried basil
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 28-ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
  • 8 ounces goat cheese
  • 1 baguette
  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Mince the garlic. In a medium skillet, combine the olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, dried basil, dried oregano, and kosher salt. Over medium high heat, stir and sauté for around 45 seconds until the garlic sizzles but before it starts to brown. Stir in the tomatoes and heat at a gentle simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sauce starts to thicken. Remove from the heat.
  3. Pour the tomato mixture into an oven-proof baking dish, then add goat cheese mounds on top. Bake for 15 minutes.
  4. If desired, broil on high for 3 to 5 minutes, watching carefully, until the goat cheese is golden brown. Serve with baguette slices (or to make crostini, toast baguette slices at 375°F for 15 minutes).
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: Goat Cheese Recipes

Last updated: January 2020

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and wife. Expert home cooks. Authors of recipes you'll want to make again and again.