Baked Goat Cheese with Tomato Sauce
Enjoy this goat cheese and tomato sauce dip as an appetizer or light meal. It's creamy, saucy and easy to make. Serve with crusty bread or sturdy crackers!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 27, 2024
Happy Super Bowl Sunday to you, happy snack day to me, and happy birthday to Sonja of A Couple Cooks! Today, Iโm popping in to share a delicious appetizer from Sonja and her husband Alexโs new cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking.
This baked goat cheese dip features a simple, marinara-like tomato sauce with goat cheese on top. Fresh basil and crusty whole grain bread take it to the next level. This recipe is easy to make and definitely a crowd pleaser.
If you donโt have a chance to make this appetizer today, it also makes a lovely light dinner for two. Sonja and Alex recommend serving it with red wine and marinated olives, and that sounds like a good idea to me. Sonja and Alex are full of good ideas!
I think youโll really enjoy their new book, Pretty Simple Cooking, too. Itโs bursting with 100 simple, delicious, vegetarian recipes, and each recipe has its own photo.
Between the chapters, they offer 10 life lessons for a sustainably healthy approach to cooking, artfully illustrated with custom watercolors. The book will be officially released on Tuesday. Pre-order now or keep an eye out for it on bookshelves near you!
Baked Goat Cheese with Tomato Sauce
Enjoy this goat cheese and tomato sauce dip as an appetizer or light meal. Itโs creamy, saucy and easy to make. This recipe doubles easily; use a 28-ounce can of tomatoes and double the remaining ingredients. Recipe as written yields 4 appetizer servings, or a light dinner for 2.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
- ยฝ cup finely chopped white onion
- 2 medium garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil or ยผ teaspoon dried basil
- ยผ teaspoon red pepper flakes (omit if sensitive to spice)
- ยผ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 ยฝ teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted or San Marzano, if possible
- ยฝ teaspoon kosher salt or ยผ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- Whole grain baguette or crusty bread or crostini or naan, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a medium saucepan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sautรฉ for 3 minutes, then add the garlic, red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon of the fresh basil (or ยผ teaspoon dried), and oregano, and sautรฉ for 1 minute.
- Add the white wine vinegar and sautรฉ for 1 minute, then carefully add the tomatoes, salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Reduce the heat, cover, and allow the mixture to simmer, lightly bubbling, for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired (if you want a spicier dip, add more red pepper flakes!).
- Spoon the tomato sauce into shallow baking dishes or ramekins, then add dollops of goat cheese. Bake until the cheese is warmed through, about 15 minutes. If desired, broil for a minute or two to brown the top of the cheese.
- Let the dip cool for a few minutes, then top with the remaining 1 teaspoon fresh basil (optional) and a light drizzle of olive oil. Serve warm, with crusty bread on the side.
Notes
Recipe Excerpted fromย A Couple Cooks | Pretty Simple Cooking: 100 Delicious Vegetarian Recipes to Make You Fall in Love with Real Foodย byย Sonja Overhiser and Alex Overhiser. Copyright ยฉย 2018. Available fromย Da Capo Lifelong Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Make it gluten free: The dip is gluten free. Just serve it with gluten-free bread or sturdy gluten-free crackers.
Recommended equipment: I baked this dip in two onion soup bowls from CB2 (affiliate link).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
this sounds absolutely delicious, just perfect for a chilly night.
It is perfect for a chilly night!
Oh my goshโฆI need this ASAP!
Itโs delicious!
This looks so yummy! I love the bowls as well :) Cheese and tomato sauce always make a great meal!
Let me know what you think, Amber!
This looks so delicious! I have to agree with the comment from โEating Browniesโ that this is perfect for a cold night or just wintertime in general! Thanks so much Kate!
Youโre welcome, Jordan!
Kathryne, thank you so much for this very kind feature of our book and recipe! Your support along the way has been incredible and itโs been amazing to watch you rock it with Love Real Food. We love seeing it on the bookshelf next to Pretty Simple Cooking here in our kitchen! Sending big love (and Luna says Hi to Cookie)!
Youโre very welcome, Sonja! Happy to do so. Iโm enjoying going through the book! This is just one of many great recipes. Best of luck to you. (hi to Lunda as well!)
Quick question because I am a goat cheese fanatic: Does it matter what type of goat cheese you use? There is a large variety of goat cheeses out there. I know you are using a soft goat cheese for this recipe but have you tried using other types?
Iโm not quite sure what you mean, Emily? Are you referring to log goat cheese vs pre-crumbled?
You can buy goat cheese Brie and/or a dense hard cheese goat cheese like Garrotxa. I was just wondering if you have tried the recipe with any different types of options. I know of at least 10ish different types of goat milk cheese. Iโm just a crazy cheese loving gal.
Katie, this recipe sounds so lovely! I just love goats cheese. I canโt wait to make it and dig in some fresh bread. Yumm!!
Let me know what you think, Nora!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I ended up making this AND using your next post of roasting a spaghetti squash. Followed both exactly. I was going to just use the goat cheese tomato sauce as a side with sliced baguette, but it was all so good I ended up dumping it right on top of the perfectly roasted squash. I mixed in some spinach so I could say I had my greens too. Wonderful dinner!
Great combination! Thanks for sharing and for the review, LT.
This looks utterly delicious! Definitely planning to scoop this up with some crusty homemade rosemary bread for a great, easy meal :)
One quick question though: do you think I could substitute passata for the crushed tomatoes? I just prefer the smooth texture of passata, but sometimes I find it needs extra flavoring added, so Iโd appreciate any suggestions or recommendations you may have :)
thank you
Youโre welcome!
Bought some ramekins to give this recipe a go. Very pleased I did as it was excellent. Delicious and surprisingly substantial for what was intended as a light dinner for two.
A new regular. Thank you.
Great to hear! Thank you for your review, Greg.
Kate, could canned diced tomatoes work instead of crushed? Just trying to clean out my pantry..! Thanks!
Hi! Crushed work the best for this. You could try it and then mash them up some in the cooking process. Let me know how it turns out!
This was wonderful!!! We received a box of crostini for Christmas so I was looking for a goat cheese/tomato dip. I used a can of diced San Marzano tomatoes. It worked out fine but I think crushed would have been better. Thanks for sharing this!
This would be perfect! Youโre welcome, Jenny. Iโm glad you loved it.
Can you use fresh cherry tomatoes from garden?
Hi Annie, I havenโt tried it with fresh. This recipe was really meant for canned tomatoes.
Great recipe!! My family LOOVES IT!
Thatโs great!
Wow โ this might just be the best dip Iโve ever had! To feed a group of ten, I tripled the recipe and baked it in a 9ร9 ceramic casserole dish. Everybody gobbled it up and Iโve been asked to make it again for the upcoming holiday. Thank you for such a quick, fabulous recipe!
Hooray! Iโm glad you loved it, Sarah.
I used to love this as a kid. My parents would take me with them to their favorite upscale restaurant every now and then, and I would always eat this for dinner. It tasted almost exactly like the one I used to order. Brought back good memories.
Yet another reason I cook recipes from your site so often. Sorry it took so long to say hi, and thanks!!
Thanks for taking time to comment, Andrea! Iโm glad you enjoyed it.
Iโve mage this several times. Itโs a hit! I used herbed goat cheese and Calabrian chiles.