We've teamed up with Vermont Creamery to share our all-time best recipes starring goat cheese. Our top pick for cooking, baking, crumbling, spreading, and more: Vermont Creamery's award-winning Classic Goat Cheese—with a mild flavor and fresh milk taste, this smooth, gently tangy goat cheese is a must-have for all sorts of dishes, from savory to sweet and everything in between.
Goat cheese isn't one of those wallflower ingredients, to be whisked into a subtle sauce or used as a base for building flavor. With its signature tang, goat cheese makes its presence known at the very first bite—and that's exactly why we love it. Especially one that's fresh and mild, like Vermont Creamery's Classic Goat Cheese, which is versatile enough for both savory dishes and baked goods on the sweeter side.
From goat cheese snacking cookies scented with thyme to goat cheese crostini with red onion jam, here are 15 of our greatest (and most popular) dishes starring goat cheese—there's something for every season and occasion.
1. One-Pot Kale & Quinoa Pilaf
One of our most popular recipes of all time, this easy kale and quinoa pilaf comes together in a single pot and gets little pops of zippy flavor from Meyer lemon zest and juice and crumbled goat cheese, plus textural crunch from scallions and pine nuts.
2. Toasted Goat Cheese Crostini with Basil & Red Onion Jam
These goat-cheese-topped crostini are the ultimate snack or app to throw together on the fly; the recipe calls for homemade jam that'll last in the fridge for up to a couple weeks, but you can easily use a store-bought version if you're pressed for time.
3. Goat Cheese & Thyme Snacking Cookies
"In these soft, thyme-scented thumbprint cookies, goat cheese adds a welcome savory twist to the classic," writers recipe developer Joy Cho. "And because Vermont Creamery’s Classic Goat Cheese errs on the milkier, milder side (rather than some more acidic varieties), the salty-sweet ratio is just right."
4. Beet Ravioli with Goat Cheese, Ricotta & Mint Filling
Luscious, tangy goat cheese and earthy, slightly sweet beets are a foolproof combo, which shines in this stunning homemade pasta dish (just look at that gorgeous purple-pink hue).
5. Mashed Potatoes With Caramelized Onions & Goat Cheese
Fluffy-as-heck mashed potatoes with a few extras that make 'em really shine: swirls of goat cheese and jammy caramelized onions. Oh, and a garlic-infused mixture of half-and-half and butter.
6. Fried Goat Cheese with Honey & Black Pepper
Fried cheese is always a winner in our book, and these crispy goat cheese balls drizzled in honey and sprinkled with ground black pepper are no exception—they even won our contest for Your Best Recipe With Honey.
7. Watermelon & Goat Cheese Salad with a Verbena-Infused Vinaigrette
The ultimate summer salad, ready for toting to the beach, a picnic, barbecue—you name it. Here, juicy cubes of watermelon are tossed with a verbena-infused vinaigrette, toasted pistachios, and bits of savory goat cheese.
8. Sweet & Savory Burger With Fig Jam, Goat Cheese & Arugula
Cheddar, Swiss, and American cheese are all burger mainstays, but let this savory-sweet number inspire you to try yours with goat cheese next time. (It's a winner.)
9. Herbed Goat Cheese & Root Vegetable Galette
All the flavors of fall—hearty root vegetables, cozy herbs, and smooth goat cheese—in one buttery, flaky package.
10. Creamy Goat Cheese Grits
"They're creamy and soft (I add a bit of milk to the cooking liquid)," writes our co-founder Merrill Stubbs, "with just the right amount of tang from the goat cheese and a nice hit of heat from coarsely ground black pepper."
11. Cheesy Quinoa Fritters With Arugula Salad
This Big Little Recipe from Emma Laperruque has a short ingredients lists and big flavor, thanks to fresh goat cheese, quinoa, and a lemony arugula salad.
12. Roasted Red Peppers with Anchovies, Garlic & Goat Cheese
Inspired by a recipe from the Canal House: Pronto cookbook, this roasted red pepper dish gets an extra hit of anchovies, plus goat cheese and peppery arugula at the end. Hot tip: It goes great on top of toasted slices of crusty bread.
13. Orecchiette Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash, Kale & Caramelized Red Onion
A pasta for squash lovers, this orecchiette is studded with roasted butternut, caramelized onions, kale, and goat cheese—all coated in a rich white wine sauce.
14. Blackberry Galette with Flaky Goat Cheese Pastry
The only thing that can make buttery pastry even better? Goat cheese. For a savory, fragrant touch, you might even want to use an herbed version, like the one from Vermont Creamery, which features a bright blend of rosemary, basil, oregano, and thyme.
15. Roasted Apple & Fennel Salad With Toasted Hazelnuts & Goat Cheese
This recipe contest winner is the quintessential autumn salad, with roasted apple and fennel, toasty hazelnuts, and flecks of creamy goat cheese. Serve it as a holiday side dish alongside a glistening main meat, or all on its own for a light dinner.
Our friends at Vermont Creamery know a thing or two about producing the very best goat cheese. They've been making it since 1984, when a special dinner featuring Vermont-made products brought together cheese-maker Allison Hooper and Bob Reese, who was working for the Vermont Department of Agriculture. All of Vermont Creamery's goat cheese products—from their creamy Classic Goat Cheese to holiday-ready Crumbled Goat Cheese With Cranberry and Tarragon—begin with fresh goat's milk cheese, distinguished by its bright taste, mild flavor, and smooth texture. Ready to stock up? Find your nearest retailer, right this way.
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