Description
Cozy Goat Cheese Pasta with Brussels Sprouts topped with buttery walnut breadcrumbs! A crave-worthy vegetarian weeknight meal on the table in 30 minutes. Almost 20g of protein per serving!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 12 oz pasta of choice, like rotini, cavatappi, etc (reserve 2 cups pasta water)
- 12 oz Brussels sprouts, woody ends removed and quartered or sliced
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (gluten free if needed)
- 1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup shallot, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 oz goat cheese (use log style versus pre-crumbled)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F and line your largest baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place Brussels sprouts on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Try to get the sprouts cut side down with plenty of space in between so they brown. Roast for 10 minutes then remove from oven. Remove any crispy browned outer leaves and set aside. (These bits taste the best and we don't want them to burn!) Stir and roast pan for another 10 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. (Make sure you only use 3/4 box if it's 16oz.) Reserve 2 cups of pasta water then drain pasta and set aside.
- While pasta cooks, warm 1 tbsp butter over medium heat in a large pot (I used my 5.5 qt dutch oven). Add breadcrumbs and walnuts and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring very often, until golden brown and fragrant. Transfer mixture to a small bowl.
- In the same pot, melt remaining 2 tbsp butter. Add shallot and a pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and and cook another 1 minute. Add goat cheese, 1 1/2 cups of the reserved pasta water, lemon juice, salt and pepper, stirring until you have a creamy sauce. It will look thin.
- Remove from heat and stir in pasta. Fold in roasted Brussels sprouts and leaves plus 1/2 cup of the breadcrumb mixture. Season to taste. The pasta will absorb liquid as it sits, so serve immediately or add more pasta water as needed to loosen. Top with remaining breadcrumbs before serving. I like to top with a pinch of red pepper flakes and a tiny drizzle of honey--sounds crazy but is delish!