Pasta with goat cheese and zucchini. Easy and flavorful pasta dish and ready in under 30 minutes.
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know I love a fast and easy pasta recipe and this pasta with goat cheese and zucchini is one of those dishes.
It’s quick and easy to put together and ready in under 30 minutes.
The hot pasta is tossed with a light, tangy goat cheese sauce that’s lemony and has a touch of heat from some red pepper flakes and minced garlic. Sautéed zucchini is added and its mild taste lets the goat cheese sauce shine through. Throw in some toasted almonds for crunch and your dish is ready to serve.
If you’re a goat cheese fan then this recipe is for you. Even if you’re on the fence about goat cheese this recipe may push you solidly into the FOR camp.
I’ve been experimenting with this recipe for a while now. The goat cheese is creamy and tangy but needs to be balanced out with some lemon – which brightens up the whole dish.
Next, minced garlic and red pepper flakes are added to the sauce to give the dish a little fiery kick. Zucchini, with its mild taste, is a great addition to this recipe – it’s also a good source of dietary fiber.
This recipe is a perfect weeknight dish – easy and flavorful – and takes less than 30 minutes to make.
Tips for making this recipe:
- This dish comes together quickly, so have everything prepped, measured and chopped before you begin cooking.
- Use a large sauté pan to cook the zucchini. If the pan is too small, the zucchini will steam rather than brown.
- If you’re not a zucchini fan, then asparagus or sautéed spinach would work well as a substitution.
- Reserve a little of the pasta water before draining the pasta and add a couple of tablespoons of pasta water at a time to loosen up the sauce if necessary.
Pasta with Goat Cheese and Zucchini
Pasta with goat cheese and zucchini. The perfect weekend night dish – easy and flavorful – and ready in under 30 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 to 4 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups penne pasta
- 3 small/medium sized zucchini (about 1 pound) – quartered vertically then sliced into 1/4″ slices.
- 1 veggie bouillon cube
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 3 large cloves of garlic – minced
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2.5 oz of goat cheese – half a 5 oz package – crumbled
- 1/2 large lemon – about 3 tbs
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds – toasted
- 2 tbs minced parsley – I used flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add bouillon cube and pasta and cook according to package instructions. Before draining pasta, set aside a little pasta water to add to the sauce if the pasta seems too dry.
- In a large sauté pan, toast almonds over high heat for 1 minute until slightly browned. Shake the pan continuously so they don’t burn. Set aside.
- Using the same large sauté pan, heat 1 tbs of olive oil over medium heat and add the zucchini, one clove of minced garlic and 8 twists of black pepper from a pepper mill. Stir occasionally until zucchini is nicely brown and cooked through – about 8 minutes.
- When pasta is done, drain and set aside in the colander. In the same pan that you cooked the pasta, add 2 tbs olive oil, 2 minced cloves of garlic, lemon juice and red pepper flakes. The pan will be hot so swirl the ingredients around for 30 seconds then add in the drained pasta and most of the crumbled goat cheese. Stir to combine. Add in the cooked zucchini, toasted almonds and minced parsley. Toss gently to combine. If pasta and goat cheese sauce seem dry then add a few tablespoons of reserved pasta water to loosen up the sauce. Sprinkle a little crumbled goat cheese on the top of the dish before serving. Serve immediately.
Notes
I used penne but fusilli or ziti would work well also.
Sheila
Love this recipe, the goat cheese melts into a lovely creamy dressing, fabulous.
Geraldine
I agree – some people don’t like goat cheese but I love it. Thanks for leaving a comment and a rating!
Mayra
This is such a delicious recipe!!! I stumbled upon it today and made it for dinner. I love how all the flavors in this dish come together and enhance one another! Not only is it flavorful but so very healthy too!!!!!
Thank you!!!
Geraldine
Thanks so much, Mayra! Goat cheese really does give it a unique flavor. So glad you enjoyed it!
Kelly @ Inspired Edibles
There’s something magical about the combination of pasta and lemon… how the citrus penetrates the warm noodles and imparts that tart punch of flavor — irresistible! Love how you’ve brought in the dollops of goat cheese in tandem with the spring inspired zucchini… I’m definitely feeling a touch of spring fever at the moment with the glorious weather we are enjoying 🙂 A lovely fresh and fuss free pasta Geraldine. I can imagine how delicious it is too!
Geraldine
Thanks so much, Kelly – glad you’re getting some lovely weather. It’s been really warm here – perfect weather for my mom who was just out for a visit!
Robyn @ Simply Fresh Dinners
Hi Geraldine,
I’m with you – I live on these kind of dishes. Loads of flavor and speedy preparation. Goat cheese is a gift from heaven and mixing it with the zucchini and almonds has me so excited about trying this dish! I could eat this every day, lol Thanks for a great recipe!
This will be going into next weeks Healthy Weekly Meal Plan! Sharing 🙂
Geraldine
Thanks so much, Robyn – I really appreciate being included in your weekly meal plans!
Adri
I love dishes like this – quick, healthy and tasty. With a little imagination it is really something how good a weeknight dinner can be!
Geraldine
Thanks, Adri. I agree – a little goat cheese definitely make a quick pasta dish a bit more special!
Denise | Sweet Peas & Saffron
YES! I recently made goat cheese pasta and I was wondering why I hadn’t really seen it before! It is so creamy and the goat cheese adds such a nice flavor! I’ll have to try your version, looks so delicious especially with those slivered almonds!
Geraldine
Thanks, Denise – I agree – goat cheese is going to be my new, quick add in to pasta dishes – it melts so easily and adds a great tangy flavor!
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
I also like fast and easy. This pasta looks wonderful, especially with the goat cheese! That is such an automatic flavor booster! I’ll be adding this to my menu for this week! 🙂
Geraldine
Hope you enjoy it, Kathy!
Meghan | Fox and Briar
Oh yes, I LOVE goat cheese, so I am already a fan. But I absolutely love the addition of the lemon and chili here. This is the perfect simple and delicious pasta dish! Pinning!
Geraldine
Thanks, Meghan – this dish is definitely for all the goat cheese fans out there and thanks for the pin!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
I am a BIG fan of goat cheese, Geraldine… are there really people out there who arent?! Gah- more for me!!! 😉 LOVE this pasta! Creamy, dreamy, quick and easy = Perfection! Love that you paired this with zucchini! This the type of pasta dish dinner dreams are made of! Cheers, dear!
Geraldine
Ha Cheyanne! – more for you and me! Hope you have a great weekend!
Emma {Emma's Little Kitchen}
Oh, gorgeous! I do the pasta-zucchini thing frequently, but it has never occurred to me to throw in some beautiful creamy goat cheese. Delish!
Geraldine
Thanks so much, Emma – definitely add in some goat cheese and some lemon next time! I wonder how a flavored goat cheese would work – mmmm?!
Heather (Delicious Not Gorgeous)
for some reason i don’t really do zucchini and pasta (i really don’t know why), but i should because this sounds so tasty! have you ever tried the apricot stilton from trader joe’s? i think that would be yummy instead of (or maybe in addition to!) the normal goat cheese here.
Geraldine
Hi Heather – I don’t think stilton will work. You really need a creamy, melting cheese – goat cheese melts very easily. If you’re not a big fan of zucchini with pasta I have lots of other fast pasta dishes on the site if you’re looking for something quick to make – just look under the 30 minutes or less category.
Michelle | The Secret Ingredient Is
Love, love, love this! I too love fast and easy pasta recipes (we make it at least once a week) and goat cheese is an absolute game changer! Such a great addition, especially with the touch of lemon + red pepper flakes, and that zucchini – yum. Gorgeous photos!
Geraldine
Thanks so much, Michelle! I agree, goat cheese definitely takes pasta to the next level – and it’s so easy to just throw it in and add a nice, tangy creaminess to the dish.
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen
Love everything about this pasta dish Geraldine! The goat cheese, the zucchini, the lemon and lots of little red pepper flakes for me please! The spicier the better! And in 30 minutes or less…a total win!
Geraldine
Thanks, Mary Ann – the first couple of times I made this I didn’t include red pepper flakes and it was definitely missing something – it really needs the red pepper flakes to give it a kick!
sippitysup
I’m a fan of everything in this. GREG
Geraldine
Thanks, Greg!
Stephanie | The Foodie and The Fix
I’m such a sucker for goat cheese! This looks amazing, Geraldine and I’m completely with you, there’s nothing better than being able to whip up a quick and easy pasta for dinner!
Geraldine
I agree, quick dinners are the best! Thanks, Stephanie!
Traci | Vanilla And Bean
Ooooh, love the goat cheese in this, Geraldine! Add the lemon, pepper flakes and a splash of pasta water and creamy it IS! Nice work here! Pasta makes such a delicious week night meal and it’s soooo comforting! I like your suggestions of asparagus or or spinach too… whatever I have on hand! Thank you for this Geraldine! xo
Geraldine
Yes to goat cheese, Traci! I took me a while to embrace goat cheese but now I love it. And definitely any veggie would be a great substitute in this dish – I’m all for using up whatever you have in the fridge!
annie@ciaochowbambina
Okay – so, I don’t tend to visit the goat cheese camp very often, however, you just might make a believer out of me with the addition of lemon, certainly, but all the other interesting flavors you have going on here! I adore the addition of the almonds and the pop of freshness the parsley adds! Beautiful dish, Geraldine! Keep those easy and delicious pasta dishes coming!
Geraldine
Thanks, Annie – Goat cheese is definitely an acquired taste but the addition of lemon and red pepper definitely balance out the tanginess of the goat cheese – hope you try it!