Caramelized Balsamic Goat Cheese Pasta.
Oh my gosh, THIS PASTA!!
It is so different from any other pasta recipe I’ve made before. First off, it has zero cream, it’s light on the cheese and has only two tablespoons butter. I know, I know, what?!? Even though this caramelized balsamic goat cheese pasta is missing a lot of the indulgent stuff (that I normally love), it has so much flavor and is so quick to make!
If you’re a little confused as to exactly what IS in this pasta, let me just tell you all the details. Have you guys ever had balsamic glaze? I’m sure you have, it’s often served over caprese salads or drizzled atop many a pasta dish. Balsamic glaze is technically just reduced balsamic vinegar, pretty much the sauce for this pasta. You do need to have to appreciate balsamic to enjoy this recipe, but if you do, than you absolutely must give this a try!
The reduced and caramelized balsamic is tangy and slightly sweet, it’s quite possibly one of the most delicious sauces to coat pasta in…and when paired with a respectful amount of creamy or whipped goat cheese? Well, the result is pasta dinner PERFECTION!
So real talk for second? I’ve decided that the best recipes are born after the hardest of days. I’m just going to be honest here, I have been having a bit of a hard time creativity wise lately, and it’s it been KILLING me. Last week, after a particularly hard day, I decided pasta was needed for dinner, but I didn’t feel like getting a million and one things out and making the kitchen a complete mess…again. Plus, after days and days of cooking and shooting, I really just wanted something simple. All I had on hand was pasta (obviously), multiple bottles of balsamic vinegar (a bulk buy from Costco) and a couple of logs of goat cheese (always). I remembered a recipe I had seen in Donna Hay for balsamic pasta. So…inspired by that recipe, I basically just threw everything together in a skillet, roasted some beets and called it a day.
When I finally sat down and took a fork full, it was only then that I realized this pasta was kind of amazing…and the most perfect thing for a stressed out mind. I mean, it has such a different flavor, it’s unbelievably DELICIOUS! I do love balsamic, but guys, even if I only liked it…wow, you just have to give this recipe a try, you really do!
The secret to this dish is the caramelizing of the balsamic. It sounds fancy, but it’s actually really easy. To start, you quickly cook up some mushrooms and garlic for a little added flavor, then add the balsamic vinegar and simmer until the sauce reduces into a thick, syrup-like sauce. Since we’re using this sauce on pasta, I didn’t let mine get too thick, but if it thickens too much, just thin it with water. Then all you do is add your pasta, toss, add the cheese, roasted beets, and EAT. Easy as can be!
The beets are perfectly paired with this pasta (and they add a nice festive red color to the dish too!), and the goat cheese really balances out the sharp and tangy flavors of the balsamic. When I made this dish again to photograph, I had some leftover whipped goat cheese on hand (just whip goat cheese with a little cream and salt), so I used that, but any goat cheese will do. If you’re not a fan of goat cheese, try using burrata, as I’m sure that would be delish as well!
Bottom line here: you really need to give this pasta a try. Preferably as soon, maybe even for dinner tonight. Or maybe for your holiday party this weekend? After all, this pasta is rocking some pretty solid holiday colors. Love it!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Caramelized Balsamic Goat Cheese Pasta.
By halfbakedharvest
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: goats cheese pasta
A beautiful main meal that is a little different from your usual heavy pasta dish!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 medium red beets, quartered
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 pound long cut pasta, such as spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2-3 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese or whipped goat cheese
- pomegranate arils, for serving (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
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On a baking sheet, toss together 2 tablespoons olive oil, the beets, thyme, and a good pinch of salt + pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes or until the beets are tender and lightly charred.
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Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta until al dente according to package directions. Just before draining, reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain.
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Melt the butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until they just begin to caramelize on the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute or until fragrant. Remove the mushrooms and garlic from the skillet and place on a plate. To the same skillet, add the balsamic vinegar, honey and crushed red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and cook for 5-8 minutes or until the balsamic reduces by about 1/3 and is sticky to touch. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the pasta and mushrooms. Toss to coat, if the sauce seems too thick, thin it with a little of the pasta cooking water. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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Serve the pasta immediately, topped with roasted beets, goat cheese, and pomegranate arils (if using). Eat!
Be sure to share! 🙂
oooh, love the sound of using reduced balsamic vinegar as the base for this sauce! when i first saw the pics, i thought these were sweet potato noodles; these look a tiny bit transparent/glassy to me for some reason!
Yeah they can look somewhat transparent!! They’re just spaghetti though! The balsamic is delish! I hope you get to try it Heather!
Oh yum, this looks too good to be true!!!
https://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt
Thanks Ruth!!
Wow this sounds incredibly delicious and so creative too!
Thanks girl!!
I’ve never seen anything like this and it sounds incredible! I’ll definitely try this one over the next few weeks since I have about 3 bottles of balsamic vinegar to use. haha! Yay for easy recipes!
Sounds like the perfect time to try it out!! Thanks a bunch Caroline!!
It does sound delicious and we have balsamic glaze in our house all the time. Couldn’t be without it. When I’m low on regular balsamic for our salad, I drizzle a little on my salad with some good olive oil. I have become a beet fan after years of being told that it has little nutritional value –HAH! — I say to them. Thank you for the inspiration — necessity is the mother of invention (I didn’t think that up 🙂 )
Awh yes balsamic glaze is delish!
Thanks so much Marisa! So happy i can inspire!! (:
Made the similar recipe from Donna Hay (as mentioned) but just tried yours – so lovely! I and added some baby spinach stirred through at the end for some ‘greens’ and squeezed some lemon juice over it before serving – actually placed a grilled lemon quarter on each persons plate.
I can’t imagine how exhausting it would be to cook, shoot and post receipts and photos every single day but please keep it up! Easy and stress free is also inspiring. You’re amazing and we love it!!
Yours from Hong Kong!
Thats sounds amazing Michelle!
Its hard but so fun!! I don’t plan on stopping any time soon haha! Thank you so much!
Pasta is always my go-to when I’m frazzled. I absolutely LOVE the flavors in this – and the beets are such an amazing addition. Bookmarking for my hard days. Hope you’re having a better week this week!
Thanks so much Christine hope this one helps you get through the tough days (:
yum! i love the way you described this dish; it sounds so friggin’ tasty! looks like it too! xo
Yay so happy you like it!! Thanks so much!!
Balsamic and goat cheese are clearly enough to take this pasta over the top and make it incredible. I so have to try this!
Thanks girl! Hope you love it!! As always please let me know!! (:
How do you do it, Tieghan?!? I come here every day to see an amazing new recipe, and I’m just in awe that you can continually come up with things that are so delicious and creative. Can your cookbook come out like…. now? Thanks 😉
Awe, wow! Thank you! I have been having serious doubt in my photos lately, so this means A LOT!!! The cookbook will be out fall of 2017. Thanks again Sarah! Hope you are having a great week!
I think I’ll try this one this week! I have everything for it except beets – any suggestions for alternatives? Beets are just okay to me. Or should I give them another try? 🙂
haha! I would give them another try, but I love beets! LOL! Broccoli, carrots or brussels sprouts would all be great though! Hope you love this and let me know if you have questions. Thank you!
This sounds like complete heaven to me 🙂 I LOVE goat’s cheese.
Rachael xx.
theteacozykitchen.blogspot.co.uk
Thanks Rachael!!
Wow! This pasta looks dee-lish Tieghan! Love the beets! Always looking for ways to include them!
Yes me too!! Thanks Mary Ann
I am constantly amazed by you, Tieghan!!!! This looks absolutely incredible!
Thanks so so much Jennifer!! So happy you like everything (:
I can’t wait to try this!
Hope you love it thanks Sara!
I believe you!! Holy cow look at all of that flavor! Incredible!
Yay thanks Alice!!
HOLY PASTAAAAA. Omg what a genius idea!!
Thanks Sarah!
This is a seriously GORGEOUS dish!
Thank you Gina!!
Everything in this recipe looks amazing, except the mushrooms 🙁 — I have an irrational hatred for mushrooms. Can you suggest something I could use instead? TY!!!!!
Hey Kelly! You can just omit the mushrooms from the recipe, not big deal! If you wanted to add another veggie, I would toss in some spinach. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love this! Thank you!
I think I would try any thing that had a base of pasta .
Same!! Its always delish!!
This pasta looks gorgeous, Tieghan! I’ve never thought of caramelizing balsamic vinegar before, but it’s such a great idea!
Thanks Lisa!!
How did you know pasta is just what I’m craving? I’m all about that caramelized balsamic!
This time it was lucky! haha! I’m all about it too!! Thanks Laura!
What a unique pasta recipe! This sounds unbelievable. We will definitely be trying it in our home soon!
Hope you love it!! Thank you!
MAD PROPS on the creativity. It looks and sounds delicious 🙂
Thank you so much!!
Yummy!
Thanks!!
I could just sit here and gush over these pictures forever. This is food porn in it’s finest form! Haha! Keep the amazing recipes coming! 🙂
Hahaha thanks so much Erika!
Stopped dead in my internet-scrolling tracks when I saw this! This looks amazing and I can’t wait to make it for NYE dinner this weekend!
Woo! I hope you love this! Thanks so much Lauren!
Would another cheese be good? My husband hates goat cheese. I on the other hand LOVE IT!
Hey Holly! What about burrata or mozzarella. I think either would be great. Hope you love this!
I’ve made this twice now (once exactly per your recipe, and then with a different pasta, carrots and only olive oil sans butter) and it turned out amazing! It was way better following your exact recipe. This is my new favorite pasta dish to make at home. Thank you so much! Any idea of the calorie count?
I am so glad that you love this dish so much! I actually do not do calorie counts, so I do not know how many calories would be in this dish. Sorry about that. Thank you, Richa!
Hi, Tieghan!
YUM! MY!
SO yummy that I did my conversion magic again:
1 pound = 450 g long cut pasta such as spaghetti
8 ounces = 225 g cremini mushrooms sliced
1 cup = 160 ml balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup = 100 g crumbled goat cheese or whipped goat cheese
Keep your recipes (and beautiful pictures) coming!
From Augsburg, Germany, Eike
Ah wow! So happy you made it! Thanks for the conversion, i’m sure theres lots of people appreciate it (:
I just made this for supper tonight…exactly like your recipe. There are just no words to describe! It is amazing and just so delicious. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. My family gives it a five star rating!
Awh yay, i’m so happy you all liked it Sheila (: Thank you so much!
I made this for dinner this past week and it was delicious! A great dish for Meatless Monday.
So happy you made the past and liked it!! Thanks so much Nancy!
Just made this and ate it up! When hubby is out of town I like to eat less meat, and I love roasted beets and goat cheese, so thought, why not? WOW, this was so much better than I even expected. An amazing new favorite. Thank you!!! (I saw Burrata as a substitute to the goat cheese, but I think only the tang of goat cheese will give it the perfect balance, just my two cents.)
Perfection!
Thank you Mary Kay! I am so glad you loved this and it turned out great for you!
I just tried this and really enjoyed it! I’m not a beet person, so I substituted onions – I thought they would quarter well, but in practice the quarters fell apart when I tossed them with the olive oil/thyme/salt. I think I’ll try pearl onions next time to get around this.
One thing – it didn’t actually taste like balsamic to me! The balsamic dyed the pasta a really gorgeous color, but the taste didn’t come through at all. Instead, it tasted buttery from cooking the garlic (I omitted the mushrooms – maybe that’s why, if the butter didn’t get absorbed into them). I have zero complaints about that, since buttery pasta is delicious, but was the balsamic taste noticeable when you made it? Maybe I should use more balsamic next time…
Hi! Yes, the balsamic is supposed to be noticeable, so weird you did not really taste it. Maybe it cooked out too much? Next time I would just finish off with a fresh drizzle of balsamic. Let me know if you have questions. So glad you love the recipe!
Hi is the beetroot you is it fresh or pickled from a jar ?
I use fresh beets. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Wow, just WOW!! This might be the most unexpectedly amazing combination of ingredients ever! I also added some proscuitto to the mushroom mixture & tossed in some arugula at the end. What an amazing meal!
I am so happy you liked this Jessica! Thank you!
I won’t be able to convince my husband of the beets. WOUld squash work here? Looks so so good!
Squash will be delicious! Love that idea! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holiday’s ? 🙂
This was soooo delicious! I have never actually enjoyed beets very much, but all the other ingredients are favorites of mine. SO I tried it, and these roasted beets were irresistible right off the baking sheet, and then once all the flavors were combined, just amazing! I will be making this again. So sad I sent my son home with the leftovers!
Haha I am so glad you loved this recipe Linda! Thank you so much!!
Thank you. My husband legitimately liked it too! I’ll make it again sometime.
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you Brando!
Your photography is excellent & the colors in this dish are so warm & yummy!!
I was inspired by your ingredients and as I didn’t have everything, I had to improvise …
caramelized chunky onions with garlic, butter and some avocado oil … then added finely diced mushrooms and cooked them along with the browned onions. Added some leftover white wine to speeded things along.
Finished with some lemon pepper.
I mixed feta and cream and ran it to make a thick cream that I added to the mushrooms and lots of fresh pepper.
For the pasta sauce, used a kind of red chilly that I had pickling in vinegar for months, along with the honey and balsamic.
Didn’t have anything else but this was a great meal – Thank You!! (How do I send you pics??)
Hi! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Do you have social media? I find it easiest to share photos through instagram or twitter. Otherwise I would suggest creating a URL for the photo and attaching it in a comment! Thank you!
Hello! I’m excited to make this this weekend. Can anyone tell me if I’m to remove the skins from the beets—either before or after baking? Also, do you think adding a touch of while milk to the goat cheese will make it “whipped?” Thanks!
Hey Jen! I do not peel my beets, but do cut away any rough spots. PLease peel them if you prefer. Yes, adding whole milk to the goat cheese will make it light and more whipped like. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
This is my all time favorite pasta, I made if for my family and my dad has always been a beet skeptic, and loved loved loved this, I assed some broiled pancetta and doubles the veggies!!
Thank you so much Kayla!
This wa so delicious I had to share it on my blog! Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe! https://katherineelisabethh.wixsite.com/theelisabethpost/home/2-recipes-for-nationalspaghettiday-you-must-try-now
Thank you Katherine!
I made this for dinner and it was absolutely amazing. Quite possibly one of the tastiest things I have ever made! Thank you for a wonderful recipe. I’m looking forward to the leftovers and to make it again soon!
Thank you so much Samantha!
Absolutely delicious!!! I doubled the garlic, red pepper flakes, and goat cheese (I love them) and it was still great. Thank you for another awesome recipe!!!!
Amazing! Thank you so much for trying this Caitlin! xTieghan
Recommendations for substituting beets? Unfortunately, I really do not like them. thanks! Erin
HI! I would recommend using one of your favorite vegetables. Brussels sprouts or broccoli would be my top picks. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
Verrry intriguing. Big fan of both balsamic and goat cheese, but detest mushrooms and beets. For this flavor profile, are there any other veggies you’d suggest would work as a substitute for those two? Carrots maybe? (You always have the most gorgeous photos!)
HI!! You can really use any vegetable you love. Carrots, broccoli, brussels sprouts! It will all work. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Umm! Oh my this was delicious!! Mushrooms and beets are my favorite, and even with my love of balsamic I was a teensy bit skeptical. I should not have been because it was super delicious!!! I definitely could have reduced the balsamic more, but it tasted amazing! Thanks for the great recipe
Thank you Sonia! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This was delicious — just made it tonight and it was a hit. I am allergic to mushrooms so I substituted eggplant and as someone else suggested, I added spinach. Really great flavor! Thank you — love this site!
Thank you so much Emily! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan