Blue Cheese Pasta

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This Blue Cheese Pasta is the perfect comfort food that takes less than 30 minutes to make - loaded with a simple blue cheese sauce that coats every nook and cranny of the noodles. Top with crumbled bacon and fresh arugula for a quick and easy adult mac and cheese!

You'll Love This

• This blue cheese pasta is an adult version of mac and cheese - with the classic shells pasta shape, but a super creamy blue cheese sauce, LOTS of crumbly bacon, and a handful of peppery arugula, just to balance out the rich flavors.
• If you're a blue cheese fan, you NEED to keep this recipe in your back pocket for nights when you need a quick and easy dinner to satisfy that blue cheese craving! The blue cheese flavor is perfectly balanced out by the half and half so that it's not too overpowering. It's subtle in all the right ways and oh SO DELICIOUS!
• The cheese sauce is super easy to make - no roux required! Most cheese sauces require a roux - a mixture of melted butter and flour - which seems easy but can sometimes be a little tricky to get just right. This cheese sauce is literally just blue cheese and half and half seasoned with fresh sliced garlic and dried oregano. When cooked all together, you get a perfectly creamy blue cheese sauce that rivals any cheese sauce made with a classic roux!

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve half a cup of pasta water! Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place bacon in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake bacon for 20-25 minutes or until crispy. Let cool and crumble.

Heat oil in a large pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and oregano, and cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute.

Add blue cheese, and half and half to the pan and continue to cook over medium-low heat.

Stir until the blue cheese is melted and makes a creamy sauce. 

Add pasta.

Toss pasta and add pasta water as needed until the sauce evenly coats the pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add crumbled bacon, fresh arugula, and chopped parsley, and enjoy!

Tips

• You could totally use Gorgonzola in this blue cheese pasta recipe and you'll end up with a very similar result. I've actually made this with Borgonzola (Brie AND Gorgonzola cheese together) before and it was delish! Borgonzola does have a rind like Brie, so the sauce won't get quite as creamy but WOWZA, the flavors are amazing!
• You can use whatever kind of noodles you have on hand. I love large shells in this recipe, but literally, any cut of pasta would work great in this dish; spaghetti, fettuccine, rotini, or penne are all great options. This blue cheese sauce will coat every nook and cranny of whatever noodle you choose!
• If you forget to save the pasta water - it happens to the best of us - don't worry! You can use broth or half and half in its place. The pasta water is nice because it's got the starch from the pasta so it really helps the sauce evenly coat each noodle. However, ultimately you just need a liquid to thin the sauce a bit and help with the process of tossing the noodles in it. Stat with a couple tablespoons of sauce and add more as needed until the noodles are thoroughly coated in sauce.

Family Favorite Pastas

• Easy Tomato Bruschetta Chicken Pasta
• Veggie Loaded Pesto Pasta
• Simple Mediterranean Pasta Bake
• Creamy Vegan Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
• Ravioli with Peas & Asparagus
• Easy No Boil Baked Pasta

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