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Baked Goat Cheese Marinara

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Baked Goat Cheese Marinara
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When I think about which cheeses that I have in my fridge the most often, goat cheese is definitely up there and I am always looking for new way to enjoy some. Not too long ago I came across this recipe for a baked goat cheese marinara on Culinary Cory that sounded so good that I just had to make it right away! You just cannot go wrong baking cheese until it is nice and warm and melty and I liked the sound of baking it in a tasty marinara sauce . For the marinara sauce I made a simple and yet tasty one with kalamata olives (see below). Once you have the marinara sauce this dish is as simple as toasting some bread and baking the sauce with the cheese floating on top. I did however take one extra step and rubbed some fresh garlic onto the baguette after toasting it.
This baked goat cheese marinara is so good! I could easily have finished the whole thing all by myself in one sitting! Although the goat cheese retained its shape after broiling it quickly melted into the sauce as you pressed into it with your bread creating a really tasty combination of sauce and melted goat cheese…mmm… I was also impressed at how amazingly good the toasted baguette was made by the simple act of rubbing some garlic onto it and it added rather beautifully to the flavour medley.
Marinara sauces are pretty easy to make and I have been making my own for a while now. In their simplest form a marinara sauce is tomato based sauce with olive oil, garlic and herbs. I often like to add onions, carrots and celery for some more vegetable goodness and I often toss in other various things depending on what I feel like at the moment. Given that his dish was so simple with just the sauce and the goat cheese I wanted a savoury sauce that was simple and yet tasty. The carrots add a sweetness to a marinara so they were out and I did not have the celery on hand so that was out too. I had been wanting to try adding kalamata olives to a marinara sauce and I was sure that the sauce would be nice and tasty with just them in. After I made the marinara sauce I pureed it a bit to make it smoother as I figured it would be easier to scoop up with the bread that way.

Baked Goat Cheese Marinara

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Baked Goat Cheese Marinara

Baked Goat Cheese Marinara

Prep Time:5 minutes Cook Time:20 minutes Total Time:25 minutes Servings: 4
ingredients
  • 1 baguette (sliced)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce (see below)
  • 4 ounces goat cheese (sliced)
directions
  1. Brush the baguette slices with olive oil.
  2. Broil the slices until golden brown on top. (Note: Watch them carefully as they can burn really quickly on broil.)
  3. Let the baguette slices cool and then rub them with the garlic.
  4. Place the marinara sauce in a baking dish and top with the goat cheese.
  5. Broil until the goat cheese is soft and golden brown, about 4-6 minutes.
Kalamata Olive Marinara

Kalamata Olive Marinara

Cook Time:40 minutes Total Time:40 minutes Servings: 4
ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion (chopped)
  • 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
  • 1/2 cup red wine (optional)
  • 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup kalamata olives (pitted and chopped)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian herb blend
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 handful basil (chopped)
directions
  1. Heat the oil in a pan.
  2. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  4. Add the wine and deglaze the pan.
  5. Add the tomatoes, kalamata olives, Italian herbs, bay leaf, salt and pepper and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 30 minutes.
  6. Remove from heat and stir in the basil.
  7. Puree to the desired consistency. (optional)
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Use in:
Eggplant Parmesan (Lasagna Style)

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Culinary Cory says

    March 4, 2010 at 3:18 am

    I'm so thrilled to see you tried my baked goat cheese marinara! Your pictures look SOOOO good with the beautiful color on your goat cheese. This totally made my day.

    Reply

  9. Conor @ HoldtheBeef says

    March 4, 2010 at 4:42 am

    I'm having a VERY dopey day and I thought you meant "baked goat, cheese marinara" when I read the post title, and was confused about how you could get baked goat, cheese and marinara to go well together. Goat cheese is one of my favourite things too! I need a nap…

    Oh and this looks delicious 🙂

    Reply

  11. sophia says

    March 4, 2010 at 5:44 am

    Kevin, I'm pretty sure you made this for me, at the risk of sounding totally egoistic. I adore goat cheese, and I've had a jar of olives in my pantry since forever!

    Reply

  12. Nina Timm says

    March 4, 2010 at 6:36 am

    Kevin, I am sad to say, that I will have to stop coming to this site…………………………………………………………………………………………………every time I come, I gain a few pounds and my shopping list grows longer…both very bad at the moment!!!

    Reply

  25. Nina says

    March 4, 2010 at 2:26 pm

    OMG this is incredible.For me..Marinara always connects to pasta…cudnt have thot abt this one….looks fabulous.I love goat cheese!

    Reply

  27. Anonymous says

    March 4, 2010 at 3:05 pm

    WOW! What a GREAT idea! I love the flavor combos, the kalmata marinara especially and the casual deliciousness of the presentation! yum!

    Reply

  30. Anonymous says

    March 4, 2010 at 4:36 pm

    It must be really delicious! I love goat cheese (thought the beginnings of this love were pretty difficult) and will defnitely try it!

    Reply

  35. Cassandra says

    March 4, 2010 at 8:03 pm

    I love the slightly purple-red color of this marinara sauce! This would be great for a more formal party or a really casual night with friends (especially a game night!)

    Reply

  43. LuckyTiger says

    March 5, 2010 at 6:10 pm

    For another great use of goat cheese, I highly, highly, highly recommend this appetizer at San Antonio's Liberty Bar:

    For cheese spread:
    *

    6 ounces soft mild goat cheese, at room temperature
    *

    12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
    *

    1 small garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with ¼ teaspoon salt
    *

    1 teaspoon chile morita paste or minced canned chiles chipoltes in adobo sauce
    *

    For sauce:
    *

    1 tablespoon chile morita paste or minced canned chiles chipoltes in adobo sauce
    *

    8 ounces piloncillo (Mexican unrefined sugar)
    *

    1 cup heavy cream
    *

    Accompaniment: grilled bread, corn chips or crackers

    *

    Make cheese spread:
    *

    In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together cheeses, garlic paste, and chile morita paste or minced chipolte chiles. Transfer mixture to a small serving bowl and chill, covered, at least 4 hours or overnight.
    *

    Make sauce:
    *

    In a small saucepan combine chile morita paste or minced chiles chipoltes, piloncillo, and cream and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up sugar, until piloncillo is melted and sauce is smooth, about 20 minutes. Transfer sauce to a small serving bowl and chill, covered, for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
    *

    Spread cheese on grilled bread, corn chips or crackers and lightly drizzle with sauce.

    http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/747491-Piloncillo-Goat-Cheese-Spread

    Reply

  44. Jasmine Nicole says

    March 5, 2010 at 8:41 pm

    This was amazing, the flavors of the marinara and cheese worked really well and balanced each other out nicely. I made a batch last night. I am certainly going to make it again in the future!

    Reply

  45. Chris says

    March 6, 2010 at 4:19 pm

    Why would you build a marina out of goat cheese? All the boats would float away.

    Oh….Marinara 😉

    Seriously though, phreaking phantastic appetizer here Kevin.

    Reply

  50. Caitlin says

    April 6, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    just wanted to say I made this this past weekend and it was super delicious! thanks for the fabulous recipe I've added to my collection 😀

    Reply

  51. Jamie-lee says

    April 8, 2010 at 2:02 pm

    I've been eyeing this dish for some time now, and I'm fianlly making it this weekend. Beleive it or not, I'm a goat cheese virgin!! I love cheese, but i just haven't tried goat cheese. Looking forward to it.
    I wonder if this would work in a bread bowl ?

    Reply

  52. Kevin says

    April 9, 2010 at 10:33 am

    Jamie-lee: If you wanted to use a bread bowl you would have to protect the bread while broiling it otherwise it would burn up. If you carefully wrapped the bread part in foil while leaving the marinara and cheese exposed it would probably work.

    Reply

  57. Ashley V. says

    May 11, 2012 at 2:34 pm

    I make this reguarly– it's SO good with warm, crusty bread. I just use jarred marinara (Monte Bene's is GOOD) and it's ready in no time! Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

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