Baked Goat Cheese Pasta

• servings: 5 servings
• active time: 5 minutes
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

24 ounces grape tomatoes*

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

5 ounce log of herbed goat cheese

8 ounces dried short, whole wheat pasta (I used penne)

1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

2-3 cup baby spinach leaves

Directions

Preheat oven to 425F. In a large baking dish, toss tomatoes with olive oil, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Spread tomatoes into an even layer in the dish, leaving a small space in the center for the goat cheese. Add goat cheese and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

While the dish is baking, boil your pasta in salted water according to package directions. I add about 1 tbsp salt to my boiling water.

Before you drain the pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water and set aside.

Remove dish from oven. Add in garlic and spinach. Drizzle about 1/4 cup of the pasta water over the spinach and toss all ingredients together until spinach begins to wilt, cheese melts in the tomatoes, and a thick sauce forms.

Toss in cooked and drained pasta. Add in more pasta water as needed to thin the sauce. Serve.

Nutrition

• Calories: 293 kcal
• Total Fat: 9 g
• Saturated Fat: 4 g
• Total Carbohydrate: 41 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2 g
• Total Sugars: 1 g
• Protein: 9 g