This easy goat cheese spaghetti and meatballs recipe combines fresh goat cheese, smashed tomatoes, and fresh basil, garlic, and onion for a delicious meal in less than 20 minutes!

A while back, I woke up in the middle of the night with the idea of mixing one of my favorite comfort foods, spaghetti and meatballs, with goat cheese saucy goodness.  

Why?  It must have been in a dream or something because I never get great ideas in the middle of the night.  

So I scribbled down the ingredients for my easy goat cheese spaghetti and meatballs idea and tried to get back to sleep, but couldn't.

Best Spaghetti with Goat Cheese Recipe:

So instead, I got up and started boiling a pot of gluten-free noodles and creating this creamy goat cheese sauce.  

I started with an olive oil and grape tomato base, added fresh basil and baby spinach, spiced it up with some onion and garlic powders, and sprinkled in the thick goat cheese after smashing the tomatoes (which is very fun to do!).

What type of herbs or seasonings to use?

We are still moving and unpacking things into the farmhouse, but we have finished planting our flowers, herbs, and veggies for the year (container gardening for the win this year!) and I couldn't wait to start cooking with my fresh herbs!  

This was a great excuse to use my fresh basil for the first time this year.  

If you don't have fresh basil, dried basil will work in a pinch!

What to pair with goat cheese spaghetti:

We like to pair our spaghetti and meatballs with a nice warm loaf of cheesy gluten-free zucchini bread and a nice healthy bowl of Air Fryer Asparagus!

Goat Cheese Spaghetti Ingredients:

• Gluten-Free pasta
• Gluten-free meatballs, cooked
• olive oil
• gluten-free vegetable broth
• baby spinach
• fresh basil, chopped
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• grape tomatoes, halved
• parmesan cheese, shredded
• goat cheese

How to make spaghetti with goat cheese:

For full detailed instructions, scroll down to the recipe card.

1. In a large pot, heat your water and boil your noodles according to package instructions.
2. While your noodles are cooking, in a medium saucepan, combine the olive oil, broth, spinach and basil, tomatoes, and garlic and onion powders over medium heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the parmesan cheese. Once the cheese is melted, take the pan off of heat.
3. With a large spoon, carefully smash the tomatoes and add in the goat cheese. Stir the sauce until the goat cheese is completely melted.
4. Drizzle the sauce over the noodles and add in the meatballs. Enjoy!

How do you smash tomatoes?

There are lots of different ways to smash tomatoes. The most common way is described beautifully by food.com's article Crushed Tomatoes.

This article describes how to properly crush tomatoes by boiling them and removing the outer skins.

However, I don't have the time and patience to do all of that!

You can follow along and properly smash your tomatoes, or you can do as I do, and do it a bit differently.

When I am "smashing" tomatoes for this recipe, I simply use a large spoon or ladle and push on the simmering tomatoes with skins on and all.

With enough pressure the tomatoes will burst underneath the large spoon.

And after 10 minutes of simmering, I will say, that the tomatoes shouldn't be too hard to smash.

How to store leftover goat cheese spaghetti?

You can store leftover spaghetti in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

How to reheat leftover spaghetti:

To reheat your spaghetti, place your leftover spaghetti in a microwave-safe dish with a cover on it fitted loosely so that air can still escape.

Place a tablespoon of milk, cream, or extra goat cheese in the dish with your leftovers and give it a good stir.

Microwave on high for 45 seconds, stir the spaghetti, and check the temperature.

If you'd like your spaghetti even warmer, nuke it in the microwave for an additional 30-45 seconds.

More amazing pasta recipes:

• Cajun Chicken Pasta
• Gluten-Free Chicken Taco Pasta
• One-Pot Rosemary Goat Cheese Chicken Pasta
• Spicy Cajun Chicken Pasta
• Spicy Lemon Honey Hot Chicken Pasta
• Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
• Truffle Mac and Cheese
• Skinny Champagne Alfredo
• Chicken Pasta in Basil Butter Sauce
• Southern Goulash
• Cucumber Pasta Salad