Love asparagus? Love goat cheese? Love pasta? Got 15 minutes? Then this easy recipe for goat cheese pasta with asparagus can be all yours for dinner tonight, full of fresh asparagus and creamy, dreamy goat cheese flavor!
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Why we love this recipe
One of the things that I love most about this recipe (besides the pasta and the goat cheese and the asparagus parts) is that it is a proud member of my Dinner In A Hurry category of recipes.
And by dinner in a hurry, I mean recipes that call for very few ingredients and that can be on your supper table in 15 or 20 minutes, but still tasting like you might have been slaving away in the kitchen all day.
The other wonderful part? There is exactly one pot involved. So clean-up is almost as delicious as dinner itself!
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Goat Cheese: You can find this in the fancy cheese section of your supermarket, usually in four ounce rolls (the exact amount we need!). It comes in both plain and flavored varieties…we use plain for this recipe, but if one of the flavored versions calls out to you, go for it!
- Pasta: We use fettuccine, but any long pasta (linguine, spaghetti) will also work just fine.
- Asparagus: Asparagus is available all year long, and is especially wonderful in the spring and early summer when it is in season. Look for asparagus that have dry, tightly closed tips, and when you are chopping it up, leave off the bottom two to three woody ends. Not an asparagus fan or just want to shake things up? Swap out the asparagus for about 9 ounces of baby spinach!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
How to make this recipe
STEP 1: Cook your pasta according to the package directions in heavily salted water. Add some chopped asparagus 3 minutes before the pasta is done, and scoop out a cup of the pasta water before you drain everything.
STEP 2: Return the drained pasta and asparagus to the pot. Add some walnuts, soe soft goat cheese, a little grainy mustard and some chopped fresh parsley and drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water.
Toss this deliciousness with tongs until everything is well mixed and the goat cheese is melty.
STEP 3: Keep drizzling in the pasta water until you have a nice light sauce, then divide it up among plates and serve!
And…you’re done!
Equipment we used for this recipe
These are some of my favorite kitchen tools! These are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little something if you buy through my links at no extra cost to you. (Which helps pay for all that bacon I keep buying! 😄) And I only share things I use and love. I’m so grateful for your support!
- Large Pot: You probably have one of these, but I wanted to share our fave!
- Strainer: We have a drawer full of strainers, but this one is the one we keep coming back to.
- Cutting Board: These sturdy, dishwasher safe cutting boards come in all different sizes from mini (great for chopping herbs) to extra large (for that extra large steak you just grilled!)
- Tongs: Perfect for tossing this pasta, tossing your favorite salad, etc etc!
- Measuring Cup: We love these angled measuring cups where you can read the measurements from the outside and the inside.
- Measuring Spoons: These are our go-to spoons – they are separated (no jangling extra spoons on a ring) and they come in two shapes per spoon.
- Food Scale: Because this is the best way we know to measure pasta (203 ounces per person) and so many other things
Recipe FAQs
When pasta cooks, it releases starch into the water (that is what makes it a little cloudy. And since hopefully you have thoroughly salted your water, at the end of the pasta cooking time you have a starchy, salty water that is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT for making or loosening up a light pasta sauce. It’s truly magical.
You can! Or you can swap in another kind of nuts (cashews and macadamia nuts are both amazing). You can either leave them whole or chop them up – your choice!
This is a variety of mustard where the mustard seeds are roughly ground, not pureed into a smooth texture like regular mustard. We find it to be a little milder and perfect for the other flavors in this dish. But if you want to try it with a different mustard, go for it!
Pop your question in the comments section below and I will answer pronto!
Want to round out your meal?
If you have some extra goat cheese and want this to be a goat cheese extravaganza meal, these cute little goat cheese truffles have our whole heart.
We also love some grilled flatbread on the side to sop up any extra sauce. And for dessert? A light and lovely strawberry banana sorbet!
Other veggie pasta recipes we love
Want even MORE pasta? Here’s our complete collection of pasta recipes for you!
Could you leave us some stars?
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.
Goat Cheese Pasta
This easy recipe for goat cheese pasta pasta with asparagus together quickly for a delicious supper full of rich flavors.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 8 ounces pasta (any kind will work, but we love fettuccine for this one!)
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 4 ounces goat cheese, room temperature and cut into pieces.
- 2 tablespoons grainy mustard
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions in heavily salted water. Add the chopped asparagus 3 minutes before the pasta is done, and scoop out a cup of the pasta water before you drain everything.
- Return the drained pasta and asparagus to the pot. Add the walnuts, goat cheese, mustard and parsley and drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss with tongs until everything is well mixed and the goat cheese is melty.
- Keep drizzling in the pasta water until you have a nice light sauce, then divide among warmed plates and serve!
Notes
-
- Goat Cheese: You can find this in the fancy cheese section of your supermarket, usually in four ounce rolls (the exact amount we need!). It comes in both plain and flavored varieties…we use plain for this recipe, but if one of the flavored versions calls out to you, go for it!
-
- Pasta: We use fettuccine, but any long pasta (linguine, spaghetti) will also work just fine.
-
- Asparagus: Asparagus is available all year long, and is especially wonderful in the spring and early summer when it is in season. Look for asparagus that have dry, tightly closed tips, and when you are chopping it up, leave off the bottom two to three woody ends. Not an asparagus fan or just want to shake things up? Swap out the asparagus for about 9 ounces of baby spinach!
Wendy Stevens says
Due to allergies, I cannot use tree nuts. So a generous helping of hemp hearts on each serving was both tasty and nutritious. Looking forward to trying your other pasta recipes.
Hi Wendy and thanks for this idea – I know it will be helpful to other readers with that allergy. Hope you find some more of our pasta recipes that you like! :)
Jeanie says
This pasta is definitely calling my name. I know whatโs for dinner tomorrow! AND I love the retro picture of the the southern daughter! Evokes great memories of when I first discovered your blog. โค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธ
Hi Jeannie! I knew there would be some wonderful readers like you who have been on this blogging journey with me ever since the “pool jump” days! So thank you for all these years of support…and I hope you love the pasta! :) xoxo
Liz says
So good! And so easy to make!
Thank you so much! I am making it again next week because I have a hunk of goat cheese in my fridge just dying to be made into supper. :) :)