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Boursin Tomato Pasta Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 20 reviews
  • Author: Erica Baty
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Pasta
  • Method: Boil + Roast
  • Cuisine: Italian
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

This baked Boursin pasta is the creamy, low-effort weeknight dinner you’ll want on repeat with burst tomatoes, roasted garlic, fresh basil and a silky cheese sauce.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3 cups cherry (or grape) tomatoes
  • 1 whole head garlic, cloves broken apart and root ends chopped off
  • 1 5.2-oz round Boursin cheese (I prefer garlic and herb)
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 10-oz short-cut pasta (like radiatorre, penne, fusilli)
  • 3/4 cup starchy pasta water
  • 3 cups spinach, chopped (optional)
  • Fresh basil, chiffonade *see note
  • Red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the Boursin cheese on a rimmed sheet pan or 9×13-inch baking dish. Add the tomatoes. Chop off the root end of the cloves of garlic. This makes it easier to squeeze the roasted garlic out of the peel. Add the garlic cloves to the pan. Drizzle everything with extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes if you’re spicy like that.
  2. Roast for 15-20 minutes until the tomatoes are bursting, the garlic is golden brown and roasted and the cheese is beginning to brown on top. Remove from the oven and squeeze the garlic cloves out of the peel and use a fork to mash the garlic into a paste.
  3. While the tomatoes and cheese are roasting, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (I like to use a huge pinch of kosher salt). Cook your favorite pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ¾ cup of the starchy pasta water. Drain and add the cooked pasta to the roasted garlic/tomatoes/cheese. Give it a first toss. Add the chopped spinach and basil along with half of the reserved pasta water. Stir again, until the cheese, starchy water, roasted garlic paste and tomatoes form a sauce that coats the pasta, adding more water to reach your desired level of sauciness (I use the full ¾ cup of water).
  4. Scoop into bowls and top with more fresh basil, grated parmesan cheese and fresh cracked black pepper if desired!

MUAH. Doesn’t get much easier or tastier than this my lovelies.


Notes

For a boost of protein, I like to add a package of sliced chicken sausage! I add this to the sheet pan to roast with the tomatoes and cheese.

Chiffonade is a fancy French term for how to thinly slice basil. See my notes and photos on ‘how to chiffonade basil’ in this blog post!

Refer to the above blog post for expert tips, variation ideas and answers to frequently asked questions.

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Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/4 recipe
  • Calories: 433
  • Sugar: 4.6 g
  • Sodium: 190.3 mg
  • Fat: 19.2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 50.2 g
  • Protein: 16.1 g
  • Cholesterol: 16.3 mg