You heard that right... Penne with Five Cheeses. FIVE KINDS OF CHEESE GUYS. We've reached a new level of goals!
This Penne with Five Cheese situation is 1000% going to change your life. It's loaded with mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, fontina, goat cheese, AND ricotta cheese. There's an optional 6th cheese because have you met me? It happens to be none other than our favorite... BURRATA!! So feel free to add it if you want 🙂 On top of all of that, there's a creamy tomato sauce that you'll be so into you'll probably want to lick your bowl clean.
It's decadent but not crazy heavy. It's perfect for a crowd. It makes a TON of leftovers so hello leftover lunches for the week. Also the actual step by step of this recipe is really simple. Most everything is just combined in a bowl and you add some par-cooked pasta to the mixture and then bake until perfect. The pasta will continue to cook in the tomato sauce while baking and suck up ALL THAT FLAVOR.
Alright! Off you go. Penne with Five Cheeses HERE WE COME.
Penne with Five Cheeses
Ingredients
- 1 14- ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
- ½ cup shredded fontina
- ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- 10 fresh basil leaves roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 ounces burrata cheese torn into pieces (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Combine all the first 11 ingredients in a large mixing bowl and combine.
- Cook the penne for 5 minutes until al dente. It will still be super al dente, but not to fear, it will continue to cook in the cheese mixture while baking. Drain the pasta and add to the ingredients in the mixing bowl, tossing to combine.
- Transfer the pasta into a large baking dish. Dot with the butter and bake until bubbly and brown on top, about 10-15 minutes. Once you take it out of the oven, top it with the burrata cheese if you're using. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
This is one of my favorite recipes! A guaranteed crowd-pleaser AND it received the stamp of approval from my Italian husband
Can this recipe be frozen? Our oldest is in PA school and I’m trying to stock her freezer.
yes!! absolutely! but maybe skip the burrata on top and add that once she thaws it if she wants
A quick and easy dinner that was delish!!
I’m not a goat cheese fan. What would you substitute?
just omit it!!
Would never have thought of this combination of cheese but it is so flavorful, especially with the fresh basil. Yum.
If making the day before, would you bake and then refrigerate or just mix and bake off the next day?
I would make the sauce and pasta, keep them separate, and mix and bake when ready
Definitely five stars for this recipe!! LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS dish! The best part about it is I had somone make it for me. They brought it to a party and I'm not gonna lie, I hid half the dish in the back of the refrigerator so there would be leftovers!! I didn't even know at first it was a WGC recipe but I couldn't stop talking about how good it was and finally asked for the recipe and then I just said "of course" when I got the text message and it linked me to Gaby's site! Make this...or better yet find someone to make it for you! You definitely won't regret it!!
How do you pin this to my Pinterest. There’s no pin button?
This looks incredible! Is there a substitute for ricotta cheese in this dish or could you just leave it out?
just omit it!
Slowly cooking my way through your recipes - loved them all but this may be at the top so far! You’re the best, Gaby!
SO happy to hear it!!
This was amazing! We added hot Italian sausage...it was spectacular
Yum. The fusion of flavors with cheese!!!
This recipe changed my life years ago when I started making "Ina Gartens" very similar recipe. I have served it at countless get together's and it is truly delicious!
How many servings would you say this makes?
6-8!
I made this last night and it's an instant fav!!! My husband and I are in love. Thanks! May try adding chicken or sausage next time!