This gorgonzola pasta is rich and delicious, and surprisingly easy to make! Penne pasta swims in a decadent gorgonzola sauce that only has three ingredients. Ready in about 20 minutes!
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It's a shame that gorgonzola pasta is not really 'a thing' in the US. What are we afraid of? Trying to say gorgonzola out loud? We certainly like blue cheese on lots of other things, so pasta seems to make a lot of sense. But you just don't find it in restaurants.
Good news: It's just about the easiest thing to make at home, EVER. It will take you longer to boil the pasta than it will to make the sauce! You only need 5 ingredients total, including salt.
This recipe is inspired by memories of backpacking in Italy and our stay in Rome. We found a really good, really cheap little family run restaurant (with the cute son working behind the bar), so we had dinner there 5 days in a row. They made an incredible gorgonzola pasta and my traveling companion ordered it every single night. This is my tribute.
What is gorgonzola?
Gorgonzola is one of the oldest types of blue cheese in the world, with its origins in a town called - you guessed it - Gorgonzola, Italy. Now it's made throughout the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Piedmont. It generally has a milder flavor than French blue cheeses like Roquefort. Formaggio Kitchen has a great article about the history of gorgonzola cheese-making and how it has evolved into what we know today.
Ingredients
- Gorgonzola cheese: There are two types of gorgonzola cheese most commonly found in the States, dolce which is creamier and piccante which is more crumbly. Both will work in this recipe. And you may find that it's not even labeled, so go with what you got.
- Penne pasta: Penne is the ultimate vehicle for this gorgonzola sauce. Just enough surface area on the outside and the right amount of absorption through the hole in the middle. Use GOOD pasta, I like DeCecco which is widely available.
- Heavy cream and unsalted butter: Because what else would you need for a cream sauce?
- Kosher salt: For the pasta water ONLY! The gorgonzola will probably have enough salt on its own to season the sauce.
- Pasta water: You'll need to save some of the pasta water to thicken the sauce and ensure it sticks to the noodles.
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add kosher salt until it "tastes like the sea." Add pasta.
Once the pasta has been cooking for about 8 minutes, melt the butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat, then add the cream.
Add 6 ounces of the gorgonzola to the pan and stir gently until melted. Don't let the heat get too high, you don't want to scorch the cream.
When the pasta noodles are just barely al dente, transfer them directly into to the sauce using a spider strainer or slotted spoon.
Continue to cook the pasta in the sauce for a couple of minutes, until it thickens slightly. Transfer to plates, crumble the remaining gorgonzola on top.
Tips
- Salted water takes longer to boil than unsalted, so wait until your pasta water is boiling before you salt it!
- Don't be tempted to turn up the heat too high on the sauce. You're in danger of scorching the cream. You just want it warm enough to melt the cheese. The heat of the pasta and pasta water will make the sauce nice and hot in a gentler way.
- You probably won't need to salt the sauce, as the cheese has plenty, and the pasta noodles will be seasoned from the salted water.
- This might seem like a lot of cheese when you taste the gorgonzola sauce alone, but once the pasta is added it will be less concentrated and milder.
- Don't drain the pasta in a colander! Just transfer it straight into the pan. It will still have pasta water on it, and that is what you want, so that the starches will thicken your sauce. I like a spider for this, but a slotted spoon works well, too.
FAQs
Should you use gorgonzola dolce or gorgonzola piccante in this recipe?
Either one will work, so use what you can find. Dolce will be a bit creamier, resulting in a thicker sauce, piccante is a bit more crumbly.
What's the best pasta shape for gorgonzola sauce?
I tested this will penne and rigatoni. I prefer the penne, because it gives a good ratio of sauce to pasta. This sauce isn't terribly thick, so it kind of got lost through the large holes in rigatoni. With the penne pasta, just the right amount of sauce clings to the noodles and gets into the center for a perfect balance of flavors.
What kind of wine should be served with gorgonzola pasta?
If you like white wine, try a Chardonnay to complement the creaminess. If you prefer red, try a light-bodied Chianti or Sangiovese to cut through the richness of the sauce.
Related Recipes
Here are more pasta recipes with very few ingredients.
- Butter and a whole bottle of red wine combine for a mind-blowing sauce in this Red Wine Spaghetti.
- A spicy tomato sauce makes Penne all'Arrabbiata a simple yet satisfying dish.
Recipe
Gorgonzola Pasta
Equipment
- spider (hand held strainer) or slotted spoon
Ingredients
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 8 ounces gorgonzola cheese
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- kosher salt for the pasta water
- ¼ cup reserved pasta water see note
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add kosher salt until it "tastes like the sea." Add pasta and return to a boil.
- Once the pasta has been cooking for about 8 minutes, melt the butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium low heat, then add the cream.
- Add 6 ounces of the gorgonzola to the pan and stir gently until melted. Don't let the heat get too high, you don't want to scorch the cream.
- When the pasta noodles are just barely al dente, transfer them directly into to the sauce using a spider strainer or slotted spoon.
- Add about ¼ cup of pasta water to the skillet and continue to cook the pasta in the sauce for a couple of minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly and the penne is perfectly al dente. Transfer to plates, crumble the remaining gorgonzola on top. (Sauce will continue to thicken once removed from heat.)
Notes
- Don't be tempted to turn up the heat too high when making the sauce. You're in danger of scorching the cream. You just want it warm enough to melt the cheese. The heat of the pasta and pasta water will make the sauce nice and hot in a gentler way.
- You probably won't need to salt the sauce, as the cheese has plenty, and the pasta noodles will be seasoned from the salted water.
- This might seem like a lot of cheese when you taste the gorgonzola sauce alone, but once the pasta is added it will be less concentrated and milder.
- Don't drain the pasta in a colander! Just transfer it straight into the pan. It will still have pasta water on it, and that is what you want, so that the starches will thicken your sauce. I like a spider for this, but a slotted spoon works well, too.
- You may need a bit more pasta water, depending on the creaminess of the cheese you're using. Start with ¼ cup and adjust if necessary.
- Be sure to read the post above for ingredient tips and answers to FAQs.
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