Recipe Snapshot
- Dish: Baked macaroni and cheese with goat cheese, fontina, and sun-dried tomatoes
- Flavor Profile: Creamy cheese balanced by savory tomatoes and garlic crumbs
- Key Ingredient: Goat cheese adds tang and depth while blending smoothly into the fontina sauce
- Method: Pasta is folded into a béchamel-based cheese sauce, baked, and finished with toasted breadcrumbs
- Servings: 6
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Effort Level: Moderate
A More Flavorful Take on Baked Mac and Cheese
This goat cheese mac and cheese is the ultimate baked mac and cheese for true cheese lovers thanks to a trio of tangy chèvre, silky fontina, and sweet-tart sun-dried tomatoes. A handful of fresh chives lightens the richness, while a crisp garlic-panko topping adds texture that contrasts nicely with the creamy pasta underneath.
Goat cheese melts beautifully into a béchamel-based sauce and adds character without overwhelming the dish. Pairing it with fontina keeps the sauce smooth and mellow, while the sun-dried tomatoes bring concentrated flavor that makes the casserole feel substantial enough for a meatless dinner.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
A few key ingredients make this recipe work – here’s what to know. A complete list with quantities is in the recipe card below.
- Fontina cheese: Fontina melts beautifully into the sauce, giving it a smooth, creamy texture and mild buttery flavor. For the best results, grate it yourself rather than using pre-shredded cheese.
- Goat cheese: Soft chèvre adds tangy, slightly grassy flavor and gives the sauce extra creaminess. Let it soften at room temperature before adding it to the sauce so it blends in more easily.
- Sun-dried tomatoes: Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes work best here because they’re tender and full-flavored. Drain them well before chopping, and reserve some of the oil to use in the garlic breadcrumb topping.
- Fresh chives: Chives add a light onion note that balances the richness of the cheeses without overpowering the sauce. Fresh chives are worth using here because their flavor is gentler than scallions or onions.
- Parmesan cheese: The nutty flavor of Parmesan works well in the crumb topping, gives it a pronounced, savory finish.
A Quick Look at Preparation
How to Make Goat Cheese Mac and Cheese
Here’s how this dish comes together, along with a few tips for the best results. Full instructions are in the recipe card below.
This baked macaroni and cheese starts with a classic béchamel sauce, a reliable technique that creates a smooth, creamy base without relying on heavy cream. Warming the milk before adding it to the roux helps the sauce come together more evenly and reduces the chance of lumps. Once the fontina and goat cheese are melted in, the sauce becomes rich and velvety smooth.
Sun-dried tomatoes and fresh chives are stirred into the sauce before the pasta is added, giving the dish a savory, slightly Mediterranean flavor profile that sets it apart from more traditional mac and cheese recipes. Pipette pasta works particularly well here because the curved shape catches plenty of sauce in every bite.
The casserole is baked just long enough to heat through before being topped with garlic-toasted panko breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan. Adding the topping near the end keeps the crumbs crisp and prevents them from absorbing too much moisture from the sauce.
Tested Tips
- Use oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes for the best texture and flavor. Drain them well before chopping so they don’t add excess oil to the sauce.
- Don’t overcook the pasta before baking. Keeping it firmly al dente helps it hold its texture once combined with the sauce.
- Allow the goat cheese to soften slightly at room temperature before adding it to the sauce for easier blending.
- Let the casserole rest briefly before serving so the sauce can settle and thicken slightly.
Serving Suggestions
Because this goat cheese mac and cheese is rich without feeling overly heavy, it works equally well as a meatless main dish or a side. For dinner, serve it with a crisp green salad dressed in a simple vinaigrette to balance the creamy sauce and tangy cheese.
As a side dish, it pairs nicely with lighter entrées like broiled fish, sautéed shrimp, or pan-seared chicken breasts. A simple vegetable like steamed green beans or sautéed spinach can round out the meal.
More Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipes
If you enjoy this goat cheese mac and cheese, we have other ways to build on the same creamy, baked pasta concept with different cheeses and flavor combinations. French Macaroni and Cheese with Ham combines sheep, goat, and cow’s milk cheeses with ham and herbes de Provence for a rich casserole-style dinner; Baked Truffle Macaroni and Cheese pairs fontina, mozzarella, sautéed mushrooms, and truffle flavors in an earthy baked pasta dish.
Goat Cheese Mac and Cheese with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 12 ounces short, ridged pasta, pipette, shells
- 3-3/4 cups whole milk
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 8 ounces coarsely grated fontina cheese, coarsely grated
- 6 ounces goat cheese (chèvre), softened
- 1/2 cup oil-packed, sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
- 1-1/2 tablespoons oil reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes, (or olive oil)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup panko crumbs
- 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter a 2-1/2 to 3-quart baking dish.
- Warm the milk in the microwave or in a saucepan over low heat until hot but not simmering.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is smooth and pale golden, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Gradually whisk in the warm milk until fully incorporated. Cook, whisking frequently, until the sauce is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 7 to 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Reduce the heat to low and stir in the fontina until melted. Add the goat cheese and stir until smooth. Fold in the sun-dried tomatoes and chives.
- Add the cooked pasta and stir until evenly coated in the cheese sauce. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
- While the macaroni bakes, heat the reserved sun-dried tomato oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the panko and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and mix in the Parmesan cheese.
- Remove the macaroni and cheese from the oven, sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture evenly over the top, and return to the oven for 5 minutes longer.
- Let the macaroni and cheese rest for 5 to 7 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
YUM!!! Sun dried tomatoes in oil or no? Thinkin’ some spinach would be a good add too.. 🙂
Hi Jillian,
I usually don’t use sun dried tomatoes in oil, but you certainly could, just drain them well. Regarding the spinach – I think you’re right – it would be a nice addition.