Baked Goat Cheese and Marinara is a simple, subtle sauce with tomatoes, onion, garlic, and basil, letting the goat cheese be the star of this dish.

Baked Goat Cheese and Marinara

I was first introduced to the idea of goat cheese and marinara at one of my favorite restaurants, Mon Ami Gabi, in Las Vegas. They have a killer appetizer with homemade marinara mixed with goat cheese. I loved it served this way. It took a few years for me to find something that tasted relatively close to it. That was until one of our favorite local restaurants started to serve it. They didn’t mix the goat cheese and marinara but had medallions of goat cheese in a warm pool of marinara. Mmm, so good.

Baked Goat Cheese and Marinara is a simple, subtle sauce with tomatoes, onion, garlic, and basil, letting the goat cheese be the star of this dish.

What I love about this dish is that the marinara is not overly seasoned with several Italian seasonings. It is simple with just onion, garlic, and basil, letting the goat cheese be the star of this dish while perfectly complementing it at the same time. My favorite pairing for any start of a meal, or on some occasions, as my meal.

Enjoy one of my favorite versions of this classic Italian dish.
XOXO San

How do you make Baked Goat Cheese and Marinara?

  • Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until onions are translucent. Stir in wine and scrape bottom of pan to deglaze. 

  • Then add plum tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Let it come to a low boil. Then using the back of a knife, bruise the basil and add the pan. Reduce to a simmer and cook on low for 2-3 hours. Remove the basil leaves.

  • Turn oven to low broil.
  • Slice the baguette and brush each slice with a little olive oil, set in the oven and let it cook until toasted and a light golden brown.
  • Slice the goat cheese into 1/2-1 inch slices.

  • There are a couple of ways to serve this, for sharing or as individual servings.

  • For sharing, lay down 1-2 cups of sauce in a shallow baking dish. Spread out 8-12 goat cheese slices. Place in oven on low broil until goat cheese is slightly golden and sauce is bubbling. Remove from oven and garnish with chopped basil. Serve with toasted baguettes.

  • For individual servings, spoon about 1/3-1/2 cup of sauce in mini circular dishes, like souffle dishes. Top with one goat cheese slice. Place in oven on low broil for a few minutes until goat cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling. Remove from oven and garnish with chopped basil. Serve with toasted baguettes.

 

Here are some more of my favorite Italian inspired appetizers: Pull-Apart Pizza Bites, Italian Meatball & Goat Cheese Flatbread.

Don’t forget to pin this to your favorite Pinterest board to save for later!

Baked Goat Cheese and Marinara

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 2 hours 15 minutes
Total: 2 hours 35 minutes
Calories: 2340 kcal
Baked Goat Cheese and Marinara is simple with just the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and basil making a subtle sauce and letting the goat cheese be the star of this dish while perfectly complementing it at the same time.

Ingredients
 

  • 28 ounce can plum tomatoes I like San Marzano Style
  • 28 ounces tomato sauce
  • 6 ounce can tomato paste
  • 6 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 yellow onion chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup wine water maybe a substitute or ¼ cup apple juice & ¼ cup water
  • 4 fresh basil leaves
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 10 ounces goat cheese
  • 1 French baguette sliced and toasted
  • 6 fresh basil leaves chopped for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until onions are translucent. Stir in wine and scrape bottom of pan to deglaze. 
  • Then add plum tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Let it come to a low boil. Then using the back of a knife, bruise the basil and add the pan. Reduce to a simmer and cook on low for 2-3 hours. Remove the basil leaves.
  • Turn oven to low broil.
  • Slice the baguette and brush each slice with a little olive oil, set in the oven and let it cook until toasted and a light golden brown.
  • Slice the goat cheese into 1/2-1 inch slices.
  • There are a couple of ways to serve this, for sharing or as individual servings.
  • For sharing, lay down 1-2 cups of sauce in a shallow baking dish. Spread out 8-12 goat cheese slices. Place in oven on low broil until goat cheese is slightly golden and sauce is bubbling. Remove from oven and garnish with chopped basil. Serve with toasted baguettes.
  • For individual servings, spoon about 1/3-1/2 cup of sauce in mini circular dishes, like souffle dishes. Top with one goat cheese slice. Place in oven on low broil for a few minutes until goat cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling. Remove from oven and garnish with chopped basil. Serve with toasted baguettes.

Notes

Cooking time includes the sauce simmering for 2 hours.
Calories: 2340kcalCarbohydrates: 256gProtein: 101gFat: 100gSaturated Fat: 47gCholesterol: 130mgSodium: 8132mgPotassium: 6933mgFiber: 37gSugar: 91gVitamin A: 15780IUVitamin C: 215.3mgCalcium: 894mgIron: 29mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know what you think!

Kids review: Kids love to have really anything to dip their bread in, they have a tendency with this dish to avoid the goat cheese all together and just gobble up the sauce, which is fine by me as my husband and I have more to enjoy!

Similar Posts

39 Comments

  1. Date night fancy mean at home! Thanks for sharing this. I think it is something that hubs would enjoy. My kids might wrinkle their noses. At least until they tried it!

  2. You’d think I’d like gost cheese after growing up on a goat farm, but don’t. However, this looks like a beautiful recipe for fans of it!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating