Inspired by the famous "tik tok pasta", this Baked Goat Cheese Pasta is so easy to make. Baked tomatoes, garlic, shallots, and goat cheese are mixed with cooked pasta and herbs for a delicious one dish meal.
This pasta originally became famous from a Finnish blogger and then was transformed into a viral tik tok video and was made with baked feta. For this recipe, I tweaked the cooking process to better suit the softer texture of goat cheese and changed a few of the ingredients. This will become your new favorite pasta recipe for a few different reasons.
- Everything bakes together in one dish, so outside of boiling the pasta, there aren't a lot of other pots and pans to wash.
- You can't mess it up! It's the easiest pasta recipe and very hands-off.
- This is a great dish to cook for a crowd. Just add everything except the tomatoes to the baking dish and store in the fridge. Add in the tomatoes right before baking.
- The sauce is super creamy without any added cream - it's just the baked cheese and a little bit of pasta water.
Ingredients
Goat Cheese - I buy the 11oz goat cheese logs (also called chèvre). Make sure there is nothing added to it, like honey, although if you buy herbed goat cheese you can skip adding additional herbs here. These are a great deal at Costco and Trader Joe's, but I love the quality of Vermont Creamery.
Cherry Tomatoes - This is roughly 2 pints of cherry tomatoes, but sometimes you can find the larger 20oz packages. Here I mixed in mini heirloom tomatoes since I had those on hand. As long as they're small - you can use them!
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - This is also a large base for the sauce so pick one that's a favorite. I like to use Trader Joe's Greek Kalamata Olive Oil.
Garlic and Shallots - Whole cloves give the pasta lots of flavor and cook down in the oven so they're softer and have a less intense flavor. Feel free to eat them or remove before serving. For the shallot, thinly sliced shallot also mellows out while baking.
Basil and Thyme - Feel free to change these out with whatever you like, just remove the thyme stems before serving. Oregano would also work well here.
Pasta - I used penne here, but any favorite pasta will work. Just use roughly 10oz total so you have the proper cheese to pasta ratio.
How to Make Tik Tok Pasta with Goat Cheese
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Add olive oil to a large (3qt) baking dish, then add the goat cheese in the center.
- Sprinkle garlic, shallot, tomatoes, and herbs around the goat cheese log. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bake on the middle rack for 25 minutes, then turn the broiler to high heat. Broil for 3-5 minutes (still on middle rack) until light brown and bubbling. The tomatoes should be lightly charred and bursting! Meanwhile bring a pot of salted water to a boil and prep the pasta according to package directions.
- Remove the baking dish from oven and take out the thyme stems. Stir in pasta, reserving some pasta water just in case you like a thinner sauce. Taste and adjust any seasonings. Add extra fresh basil on top!
Variations
- Use any pasta on hand. Penne, farfalle, rigatoni, bow tie, rotini are all great options.
- Add a protein. At the end, mix in rotisserie chicken or grilled chicken, ground turkey, or ground beef.
- Add more vegetables. Mix in fresh spinach while it is still hot (so it can wilt down) or bake broccoli or artichoke hearts along with the tomatoes.
- To make this gluten free, use certified gluten free pasta.
- Substitute goat cheese for Boursin cheese or cream cheese. Using Boursin cheese or cream cheese will lower the cooking time - keep an eye on it and remove once lightly browned and beginning to melt.
Cooking Tips
- Don't use aged goat cheese - only the soft goat cheese log/chèvre will work for this recipe.
- Mix up the herbs or use whatever you have on hand. The basil is most important to the overall flavor of the dish.
- Don't overcook the pasta. This works best with "al dente" pasta. So try the lowest time on the package and taste it.
- If your pasta gets done way before the dish finishes baking, drain it, but reserve some warm pasta water. I like to dip the pasta back into the hot water to "refresh" it, especially if it's sticking together a bit.
- Add the full amount of olive oil. This creates the rich and creamy sauce.
Storing Leftovers
This baked goat cheese pasta is best the same day just because the texture is super creamy when it's warm. But I haven't had any complaints about the leftovers when I make this for friends!
Refrigerator - This pasta will store up to 3 days. Wait for it to cool before placing in the fridge.
Freezer - This pasta can be frozen up to 3 months. It is best reheated covered with foil in the oven on a low heat setting like 300-350 degrees F.
More Pasta Recipes to Love
For more recipes like this tik tok pasta with goat cheese, see these posts.
If you make any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me #thedizzycook or @thedizzycook on Facebook and Instagram. And please leave a review below!
Baked Goat Cheese Pasta
Ingredients
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 11 oz plain goat cheese log
- 20 oz cherry tomatoes or mini heirloom tomatoes
- 3 whole garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 shallot, peeled and sliced
- 10-12 oz pasta like rigatoni, farfalle, or penne
- 10 large leaves fresh basil
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a 3qt baking dish, add olive oil and place goat cheese in the center. Add in tomatoes, garlic, and sliced shallot all around it. Sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper. Add in 3-4 basil leaves and thyme. Bake for 20-25 minutes until light brown on top and slightly bubbling on the sides. Turn the broiler to high heat and broil for 2-3 minutes until tomatoes are bursting and the cheese turns a golden brown. Watch carefully to prevent burning as broilers vary in heat levels. Remove thyme stems, if using.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside, keeping some pasta water behind to refresh the pasta (if it sticks together) and to add to the sauce, if needed.
- Mix the pasta into the cheesy tomato sauce till throughly combined. Top with the remaining basil and taste to adjust any seasonings. To thin out the sauce, add 1 tablespoon of pasta water while mixing with the cheese sauce.
Notes
- Store up to 3 days in the fridge or freeze after baking.
- Mix up the cheese by using Boursin or cream cheese, but the baking time will need to be reduced.
- Fresh herbs are optional, but the basil really does add a lovely flavor. I would keep the fresh basil at the very least.
So good! I didn’t get enough tomatoes but I learned my lesson. I paired it with some air fried salmon and that was a great combo. Dumb question: do you take out the whole cloves of garlic after cooking? Chop them up?
That sounds great with the salmon! I just leave them in and someone gets a whole garlic. You could definitely mash them up (they should be really soft) and mix them in if you want a more intense garlic flavor.
This pasta was delicious!! It was easy to make and done quickly so perfect for a weeknight meal. Next time I might even add in some rotisserie chicken after baking.
This was SO easy to make with few ingredients. This will be a recurring meal for our family.
Works great with Boursin too. love it!
Thank you!!