Rigatoni pasta is tossed with a creamy sauce made with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes then baked in the oven until bubbly.
I bet if you checked our fridge any day of the week, you would find goat cheese. We love it. We eat it as is, cook with it, spread it, pour honey over it, smoke it and do whatever we can to eat it! This recipe is a fantastic excuse to add some goat cheese to your fridge, don’t you think?
How to Make Creamy Rigatoni
The rigatoni pasta actually gets a little bake time in the oven before serving. After tossing in a creamy sauce made with cream and goat cheese, we top the it with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs.
The sauce comes together quickly. To make it, we cook garlic, red pepper flakes, and sun-dried tomatoes in a little olive oil then we add cream and the goat cheese. In goes cooked rigatoni pasta and then we add everything to a baking dish and top with the breadcrumbs.
The easy rigatoni pasta recipe comes together quickly. Try adding cooked chicken, shrimp or roasted vegetables – just toss them into the sauce at the same time as adding the pasta.
Makes approximately 4 servings
You Will Need
8 ounces rigatoni pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 cup heavy cream
4 ounces goat cheese
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until it is tender but not mushy. Drain.
3Meanwhile, in a small bowl, toss the bread crumbs with 1 tablespoon of oil and lightly season with salt and fresh ground pepper.
4Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the cream, goat cheese and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer and cook until the cheese has melted into the sauce, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust with salt and/or pepper.
5Add the rigatoni to the cream sauce and toss until well coated. Spoon the pasta into baking dish, top with bread crumbs and bake, uncovered, until the breadcrumbs turn golden brown; about 10 minutes.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
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To make breadcrumbs, toss day-old bread into a food processor and process until crumbs form. You can use them or go one more step and toast them in a skillet until light brown.
I was searching for a recipe tonight that included goat cheese and sundried tomatoes and came across this one. It was super easy and very good!!
* I didn’t have heavy cream on hand so i substituted with half and half
* I added mushrooms and shrimp to the sauce
This recipe looks so simple and delicious. I will definitely add it to my “must make soon” folder! My husband and I love goat cheese in every form possible too 🙂 Love the combination of sun-dried tomatoes, creamy goat cheese, rigatoni and basil. Yum!
I made this dish last night but added same sauteed chicken to it before baking..it was wonderful!! Thanks for sharing!! I highly recommend this recipe!
Hi Ivy, try substituting the goat cheese for about 1/4 cup of Parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. We also think a pinch of nutmeg would be lovely to add too in this case.
Hope that helps!
Joanne
We are Adam and Joanne, the creators of Inspired Taste, a recipe blog devoted to home cooks. Look around for easy recipes, straightforward recipe videos, and cooking inspiration. More about us.
Do you drain the sun dried tomatoes or just add the oil?
Hi Rhonda, We do not use the oil from the jar in this recipe.
How can I make bread crumbs?
To make breadcrumbs, toss day-old bread into a food processor and process until crumbs form. You can use them or go one more step and toast them in a skillet until light brown.
Looks amazing!! What wine pairing would you recommend?
Hi Michelle, Good question! A dry white could be nice to cut through the cheese or a light bodied, dry red (maybe Chianti).
Love this pasta!!! My clients will love it too!!!
I was searching for a recipe tonight that included goat cheese and sundried tomatoes and came across this one. It was super easy and very good!!
* I didn’t have heavy cream on hand so i substituted with half and half
* I added mushrooms and shrimp to the sauce
Sounds great. Can this recipe be made ahead?
Yes, just keep tightly covered in the refrigerator.
Great recipe. My kids liked it. Super easy, but not low fat at all.
This recipe looks so simple and delicious. I will definitely add it to my “must make soon” folder! My husband and I love goat cheese in every form possible too 🙂 Love the combination of sun-dried tomatoes, creamy goat cheese, rigatoni and basil. Yum!
This looks delish!
I’m going to make this this weekend only I will top the pasta off with some homemade pesto and chopped tomato! YUM
there’s no oven temperature for baking it 🙂 i used 425 and it worked pretty well!
Hi Rae, We the oven temp was is in the first line of the method — it’s 400 degrees. Thanks so much for trying the recipe 🙂
Joanne
I made this dish last night but added same sauteed chicken to it before baking..it was wonderful!! Thanks for sharing!! I highly recommend this recipe!
Awesome! Love the idea to add chicken, shrimp would be a great idea, too!
-Joanne
This pasta looks really yummy. Love the breadcrumbs on it!
This looks amazing! I need to cook more with sun-dried tomatoes.
Thanks, Julie — We found ours at a local farmer’s market and were so glad to have found them there! So sweet and delicious.
-Joanne
What can you suggest instead of goat cheese? Thanks! 🙂
Hi Ivy, try substituting the goat cheese for about 1/4 cup of Parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. We also think a pinch of nutmeg would be lovely to add too in this case.
Hope that helps!
Joanne