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This creamy Goat Cheese Pasta with Chicken and Rosemary is simple enough to make for a weeknight dinner but elegant enough for a special date night in.
INTRO
CREAMY GOAT CHEESE PASTA
Years and years ago, I used to frequent Michael Symon’s former restaurant, Bar Symon, in my hometown.
It was there that I discovered this pasta recipe. From the first time I had it, I was hooked. The goat cheese sauce was creamy, tangy, and perfectly infused with fresh rosemary, while the chicken made it hearty enough for a main course.
It’s one of those dishes that forces you to instinctively close your eyes and truly enjoy what is dancing around in your mouth. It was love at first bite and I knew I had to find a way to replicate it at home.
I expected to need a long list of ingredients to make such a gorgeous plate of food. I was pretty amazed that it actually consisted of such a short list of ingredients:
- Rigatoni
- Heavy cream
- Fresh rosemary
- Fresh garlic
- Goat cheese
- Shredded roast chicken
- Salt and pepper
I know what you might be thinking. No, this isn’t a low-calorie recipe. But sometimes you just have to go a bit decadent, especially for a celebration or a date night in.
HOW TO MAKE GOAT CHEESE PASTA SAUCE
The ingredients are not the only thing that’s simple about this recipe – the prep work is also a breeze.
Sometimes I use leftover roast chicken, but you can make it even more simplistic by picking up a rotisserie chicken from your local market.
To make the goat cheese pasta sauce, pour the cream into a large saucepan and add the crushed garlic cloves and chopped rosemary. Bring the cream to a simmer and let it reduce by about half.
Simmering the cream with the garlic and rosemary in it infuses the cream with way more flavor than just adding them at the end!
Once the cream has reduced, stir in the goat cheese and chicken and let the sauce simmer until it coats the back of a spoon.
When the sauce is ready, season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in cooked rigatoni pasta.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH THIS PASTA
The chicken in this Goat Cheese Pasta really helps to make this a dish that can stand on its own as an entree. I like to serve mine alongside a green salad (usually with homemade blue cheese dressing).
If you want some bread, try making buttery Parker House Rolls or grab a loaf of crusty bread and make some Extra Virgin Olive Oil Herb Dip.
If I’m making this for a dinner party or a special date night, I like to wrap up the meal with dessert. Classic tiramisu would be just special and elegant, or you could go with something bright and tart like Lemon Cheesecake to balance some of the richness from the pasta.
If you love goat cheese, I know you’ll adore this creamy, simple pasta recipe!
Goat Cheese Pasta with Chicken & Rosemary
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound dried rigatoni
- 1 quart heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 clove fresh garlic crushed
- 8 ounces goat cheese
- 2 cups shredded roasted chicken
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- 1. Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a rapid boil. Add the oil and rigatoni to the water and cook according to the directions on the package, 10-12 minutes.
- While you are waiting for the water to boil, pour the cream into a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the rosemary and garlic to the cream and bring it to a simmer – take care not to let it boil over. Allow the cream to reduce by about half.
- Stir in the goat cheese and chicken and continue cooking cooking it till the cream coats the back of a spoon.
- Thoroughly drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the sauce. Coat the pasta in the sauce and simmer over low heat for a few minutes. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Wow, I made this and I am so disappointed! What a waste of expensive ingredients… :(
Hello! Came across this recipe on Pintrest and want to make it tonight. I was wondering what the garnish you have on top is in the photo? It doesn’t look like rosemary…
Thanks!
Michelle-
The garnish is flat leaf, Italian parsley. I hope you enjoyed the mac and cheese. Have a great day!
-Jamie
Where did you get those little dishes? Are they cast iron, they look so rustic and I would really like to find them!
Hi!
They are made by Lodge, I picked them up at Cabbella’s. Hope this helps.
Jamie
Jaime!
You are too awesome! I was able to find them on the Lodge website and will now be picking up 6 of these little guys. Though I hope the girlfriend doesn’t get too upset at my “constant and spontaneous buying of random dinnerware”!
-H
Plan on making this tonight once I figure out how many calories it would be. Worried about the heavy cream and might have to find a substitution. Looks delicious though.
this looks delish! will definitely have to try making it.
SOO Bland. was so excited about this. But, the flavors were not that great. I even added some shrooms and roasted asparagus. Still bland. It was very pretty and fairly easy, but I won’t make it again
You are inspiring me to cook more w fresh ingredients and get my kids away from packaged products full of preservatives! Totally want to try this recipe as my 5 year old is “addicted” to mac and cheese and I Hate the boxed kind.
I just stumbled across this recipe as I was looking for a unique & fresh take on basic mac n cheese … oh my goodness. I just made this for a company potluck and it was the first thing to go. It was SO good – I prepared the sauce the morning of and only cooked my rigatoni for a few minutes – then I combined everything in a crockpot and set it to warm until lunch – it was perfect. The noodles were perfectly done and the sauce was sooo creamy. Thank you so much for sharing!
Made this tonight and instead of the heavy cream I substituted a mixture of whole milk and half and half, plus 2 tsp cornstarch to thicken the sauce. It was a little on the bland side – maybe a Tbsp or two of butter melted in would have made it taster richer without adding as much fat. Or maybe a few tbsp of parmesan would have amped the flavor. The garlic/rosemary combo was nice though and I think this is worth experimenting with more for a healthier version. (I’m sure the full fat version is delicious as written)
I came across this recipe via Pinterest and made it tonight for dinner. It was fabulous! I loved the balance of the goat cheese and rosemary with the rich cream. Thanks for posting it!!