Pasta with Baked Camembert

This easy recipe for Pasta With Baked Camembert cheese is a glorious and elegant version of macaroni and cheese that is good enough for a dinner party!

Why we love this recipe

I think of this glorious, dreamy, flavor-packed pasta recipe as macaroni and cheese for grown-ups.

The cheese is a creamy Camembert that is baked up with a some garlic and rosemary and olive oil until it is melty, and then tossed with cooked pasta and baby spinach and oh my my!

I mean, the kiddos COULD eat this, but they are going to have to arm wrestle me for it.

It’s the perfect easy, speedy pasta supper that works just as well as a dinner party main course or a comfort food supper on a regular Wednesday evening.

This heavenly pasta ia based on Jamie Oliver’s recipe, and if you have ever cooked anything that Jamie Oliver dreamed up, you KNOW is it going to be amazing…and it is!

Ingredients you need

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Camembert: This is a soft creamy cow’s milk cheese that is similar to Brie cheese. It is round with a soft white rind around it, and it usually comes in a wooden box in the fancy cheese area of your grocery store. If you can’t find it, any kind of Brie cheese will also do, and can be baked up in a small baking dish.
• Rosemary: You do need the fresh kind for this recipe! Look in your supermarket’s produce area.
• Pasta: I like a short pasta (like campanelle or penne) for this recipe, but any pasta will work.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Here’s how to make this recipe

STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350.

STEP 2: Unwrap your box of glorious Camembert cheese, put it back in the wooden box, or in a small baking dish if it didn’t come in a wooden box

STEP 3: Cut a circle in the top of the rind, then peel that part of the rind off and throw it out.

Pro Tip: Leave your Camembert in the fridge until right before you cut that top bit off – it will be easier since the cheese will be firmer when it is cold.

STEP 4: Slice a clove of garlic as thinly as you can and lay it on top of the cheese, and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Scatter some fresh rosemary leaves over the top and grind some fresh pepper on top.

STEP 5: Put the cheese in its box on a baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes until it Is melty and soft.

STEP 6: When the cheese has 10 minutes left to cook, cook some pasta according to the package directions. When the pasta is cooked, add some baby spinach to the pasta for about 30 seconds, scoop out a cup of pasta water, then drain the whole thing together.

STEP 7: Put the drained pasta back in the pot. Add a little olive oil and some grated Parmesan to the pasta and give it all a good toss. Season with salt and pepper.

STEP 8: Remove the cheese from the oven and scoop the melted cheese out of the rind and into the pasta. Toss thoroughly, drizzling in a little pasta water if you want to loosen up the sauce a little, and serve it up!

Recipe FAQs

Side dishes that go well with this recipe

You might be happy eating this pasta supper all by itself (hey, it has spinach in it after all) but if you want to round out the meal, we love serving up a quick and simple cherry tomato and green bean salad, especially during fresh green bean season.

Another delicious addition is this easy grilled flatbread, which not only tastes great but gives you a another way to scoop up every drop of the delicious Camembert cheese sauce.

And if you are going all out and making dessert, a slice of chocolate chess pie is the perfect way to round out this delectable pasta supper.

Other easy pasta recipes we love

Looking for more pasta inspiration? Here is our complete collection of pasta recipes!

Could you leave us a review?

If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.

Pasta with Baked Camembert

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This easy recipe for pasta with baked Camembert cheese is a glorious and elegant version of macaroni and cheese that is good enough for a dinner party!

• Author: Kate Morgan Jackson
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop and Oven
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 8 ounce round of Camembert (the kind that comes in the thin wooden box)
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary with the leaves stripped off
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• 8 ounces pasta (I like short pasta like ziti or campanelle for this recipe)
• 1 pound baby spinach

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Open the box of cheese and unwrap it. Put it back in the wooden box, or in a small baking dish if it didn’t come in a wooden box.
3. Cut a circle in the top of the rind, then peel that part of the rind off and throw it out.
4. Lay the garlic slices on top of the cheese and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
5. Scatter the rosemary leaves over the top and grind some fresh pepper on top.
6. Put the cheese in its box on a baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes until soft.
7. When the cheese has 10 minutes left to cook, cook the pasta according to the package directions. When the pasta is cooked, add the spinach to the pasta for about 30 seconds, scoop out some pasta water, then drain the whole thing together.
8. Add remaining olive oil and grated Parmesan to the pasta. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Remove the cheese from the oven and scoop the melted cheese into the pasta. If you want to loosen it up a little, drizzle in some pasta sauce. Toss thoroughly and serve.

Notes

• • Camembert: This is a soft creamy cow’s milk cheese that is similar to Brie cheese. It is round with a soft white rind around it, and it usually comes in a wooden box in the fancy cheese area of your grocery store. If you can’t find it, any kind of Brie cheese will also do, and can be baked up in a small baking dish.

• • Rosemary: You do need the fresh kind for this recipe! Look in your supermarket’s produce area.

• • Pasta: I like a short pasta (like campanelle or penne) for this recipe, but any pasta will work.

Lightly adapted from Jamie Oliver’s recipe in his cookbook Ministry of Food