Looking for a mouth-watering pasta dish that takes minutes to put together? Try the world’s best blue cheese pasta with sweet cherry tomatoes!

Blue cheese is a pungent, sophisticated cheese, for the serious cheese lover. It is creamy, savory, and arguably one of the most famous distinct cheese varieties in both taste and appearance.

If your mouth waters at the thought of a tender, buttery steak with a blue cheese crust, or the delectable balance of blue cheese with a burst of juicy pear melting together on your tongue, then you must make this blue cheese pasta. If you love the taste of blue cheese, then this pasta recipe is for you.

This post is all about the world’s best blue cheese pasta recipe that is both quick and easy, and totally mouth-watering.

And after the popularity of my lamb ragu pasta recipe, I have decided to start a new series called Pasta Night! The most desirable recipes using my favorite pantry staple, will be showcased the first Friday of every month!

What Makes Blue Cheese, Blue?

First, before we jump into the recipe, let’s explore the star of the show, the blue cheese.

Unlike other varieties of cheese, Penicillium roqueforti, a type of mold, is what gives blue cheese its unique flavor. Certain types of molds produce compounds called mycotoxins, which are toxic to humans. Unlike these molds, Penicillium does not contain toxins, making it safe to consume. Some people even believe that eating blue cheese varieties are beneficial to your health.

How Is It Made?

To make blue cheese requires three special ingredients. First, the milk receives bacterial cultures, added at the beginning of the cheese making process to help turn the milk’s sugar into lactic acid. Next, Penicillium is poured in, along with rennet (an enzyme that causes the milk to curdle). After about 20 minutes and gentle stirring, curds begin to form. These curds are then drained of liquid (called the whey) and transferred into wheel-shaped molds. They rest in these molds until they settle and are free of excess whey, resulting in dense wheels of cheese. They are salted and kept in warm humid rooms for a few days.

After a few days, cheesemakers move the cheese wheels into a cold room. Steel rods get poked through the cheese wheels, which allows oxygen to penetrate the cheese and enables the mold to grow throughout the aging process. This process takes about 2 – 3 months. It allows the beautiful ribbons of blue and green to weave their way throughout the body of the cheese, creating the signature marbling of blue cheese. How long the cheese is left to age determines how creamy or pungent the cheese is destined to be.

If this cheese making process interests you, check out the Food Insider YouTube video linked below. It brings you inside of one of Italy’s Gorgonzola (an Italian blue cheese) manufacturers where you can see the whole process in great detail!

Types Of Blue Cheese

Although all varieties of blue cheese primarily rely on bacterial cultures, Penicillium, and rennet to create their unique flavor, there are also other factors that help determine flavor. In addition to aging times, the type of milk is a huge flavor factor. Cow’s milk, sheep’s milk, and even goat’s milk, are used for the different varieties of blue cheese, which can be found throughout the western world. Below is a list of some of the different types of blue cheese, and where they are from.

Roquefort – produced from sheep’s milk, has Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) as declared by the European Union law, made exclusively in Roquefort, France (southern France), and aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.
Gorgonzola – produced from cow’s milk, has Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) as declared by the European Union law, made in the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Piedmont.
Blue Stilton – produced from cow’s milk, has Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) as declared by the European Union law, made in the English midlands.
Danablu – produced from cow’s milk, has European Union Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), made on the Danish island of Funen.

Click HERE to read about the different types of Protected Geographical Status under the European Union law.

The Blue Cheese Pasta Ingredients

Pasta

You can use any pasta you like, but I recommend a long noodle. Perhaps some thick spaghetti or bucatini? Long flat strands of fettuccini could work here, too, or if you feel extra daring, maybe even a plump little gnocchi.

Tomatoes

There are many different versions of blue cheese pasta recipes out there. This recipe is truly unique in that it calls upon the surprising combination of tomatoes and blue cheese. First, cherry tomatoes are sautéed for a bit, atop chopped pieces of onion and garlic in a drizzle of olive oil, to bring out their innate sweetness. This sweetness produces a beautiful contrast against the strong, salty flavors of the cheese. Don’t skip the tomatoes; they make this dish.

Onions And Garlic

Some recipes only call for blue cheese and no vegetables of any kind. Trust me when I tell you, you don’t want to skip these either. There is a reason that so many great cuisines, worldwide, cook with onions and garlic. On account of being finely chopped and sautéed, they add a delicious, mild layer of sweetness, and won’t overpower the cheese or tomatoes once they are cooked down.

Butter

The purpose of the butter is two-fold. It not only adds delicious flavor, but it also creates a thick and velvety-textured sauce when mixed in with the cheese and vegetables.

Pasta Water: The Secret Ingredient

The secret ingredient to pretty much EVERY PASTA SAUCE is the starchy water from the pot where your pasta is cooking! As you will see in many of the upcoming Pasta Night recipes, this is one of the mainstays. The starchy water will thicken sauces, and makes sure sauce sticks to each noodle.

Ready To Get Cooking?

If you are anything like me, I sometimes find it frusturating to go back and forth between reading a recipe and cooking. Sometimes it’s nice to just cook along with someone else. Watching a video can be a little tricky while you’re trying to chop veggies and work with an open flame. So I had an idea that will hopefully help you as you cook, and let you know that you’re not alone in the kitchen!

I’ve added an audio version of the recipe! Click the audio below so we can become cooking buddies! I will walk you through each step of the recipe so you can play and pause as necessary and cook with me at your own pace. Cool, huh?

And if you end up making this dish, or any other one of our recipes, post a pic to Instagram or Facebook and use the hashtag #DitePatra_Food.

Happy Pasta Night!

The World’s Best Blue Cheese Pasta

With creamy blue cheese or Gorgonzola, sweet cherry tomatoes, and a smattering of finely diced onion and garlic, married in a drizzle of olive oil and melted into a velvety sauce with some butter, this is truly the world's best blue cheese pasta recipe. It is so quick and easy to pull together, perfect for a weeknight meal or anytime you're craving a savory dish.

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Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Italian

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

1/2 onion, finely diced
2-3 cloves fresh garlic, finely diced or minced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup blue cheese crumbles for sauce (if using a more densely packed, creamy cheese, you may want to use a 1/2 cup)
2 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup reserved pasta water
dry parsley
salt
pepper
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles to sprinkle on top
1 lb spaghetti (or any pasta)

Instructions

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot and shimmery, add the diced onion, stirring to coat. Let the onions soften. Right before they turn translucent, stir in the minced garlic and a sprinkle of parsley.
Fill a separate pot of water about 3/4 of the way. Bring water to a boil and add the spaghetti. Salt the water, stir, and let cook for about 8 minutes, or until al dente.
Once the onion and garlic have softened and slightly caramelized, add the tomato halves and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Place them in the skillet skin side up. Let the meat of the tomatoes caramelize a bit, browning the edges a little and releasing the juices.
Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the skillet and stir it into the tomatoes, onions, and garlic. Add 3/4 cup of blue cheese crumbles to the skillet and the reserved pasta water. Stir everything together to incorporate, and simmer on medium low heat. Once the cheese has mostly melted, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to the sauce to make it thick and smooth.
When al dente, drain and add the spaghetti to the skillet. Toss to combine with the sauce. Serve right away with a sprinkle of the remaining blue cheese crumbles on top, and enjoy!

Keyword pasta, pasta night, quick recipe, weeknight meals

PASTA NIGHT | The World’s Best Blue Cheese Pasta

RELATED POST: The Ultimate Lamb Ragu Recipe To Elevate Your Weeknight Meals

What Makes Blue Cheese, Blue?

How Is It Made?

Types Of Blue Cheese