15 Delicious Uses For Goat Cheese That Aren't Salad

The history of goat cheese is a pretty strange thing. For much of the world, goat cheese has been a staple for more than 7,000 years. It makes sense: Goats are hardy, social animals that were first domesticated around 10,000 years ago, but strangely, goat cheese really only became popular in the U.S. in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 

That's really surprising, because goat cheese is a delicious source of a number of vitamins and nutrients — like protein, vitamins A, B2, and B3, and calcium — as well as gut-friendly probiotics. For anyone who loves soft cheeses but suffers the unfortunate side effects of a mild lactose intolerance, goat cheese can sometimes be a safe, easy-to-digest option.

It's also incredibly versatile, and if you've just been using it on salad, you're seriously missing out. That distinctive flavor of goat cheese can elevate a number of savory dishes from ordinary to extraordinary, and the good news is that in many cases, it's a super easy addition. Since we do love easy ways to make big improvements, let's talk about some of the best ways to use a little added goat cheese for some serious flavor.

Something magical happens when you fry potatoes, and we'd argue that if there were a competition for the perfect food, these would be in the running. The flavor and texture of chunky, crispy-and-soft potatoes means they're a blank canvas that's almost infinitely customizable, and adding a sprinkling of chunks of goat cheese is a great, easy way to dress up fried potatoes. Use chunks that are large but not too large for a tangy flavor and soft creaminess that works really well with all your favorite herbs, on classic home fries, and on french fries, too.

On the subject of fried potatoes, the tang of goat cheese also works really well alongside the distinctive flavor of sweet potatoes, and a handful of crumbles can help balance out a dish that some might find to be just too sweet. For anyone who prefers to dip their fries rather than have all that melty goodness on top, mixing up a dip with goat cheese, cream cheese, and some seasonings and herbs of your choice makes a brilliantly easy, delicious alternative to ordinary old ketchup.

Any time you're looking for something quick, easy, and impressive-looking to take to a potluck, game night, book club meeting, or that party that you totally, definitely didn't forget about, consider a tart. Keep some puff pastry in the freezer to make things even easier, and goat cheese works well with a number of different types of tarts.

Registered dietitian and recipe developer Kristen Carli gave us here at Tasting Table an idea for a brilliant asparagus goat cheese tart that takes just four ingredients — including that aforementioned frozen puff pastry. Goat cheese also pairs really well with beetroot for a tart that's as tasty as it is colorful, and you can also make goat cheese tarts with roasted cherry tomatoes, onions, or leeks, and it's also a great way to use artichokes, too. They're a great option for dinner on those hot summer nights when there's fresh veg at the farmer's market, and you don't feel like making something that's going to keep you in a hot kitchen for a long time.

Did you know that goat cheese makes for a tangy pasta dish, with no sauce even needed? If not, you do now, and we would argue that makes for either a perfect full meal or even a side dish. Crumble goat cheese over hot pasta to melt it into a deliciously creamy sauce replacement, add chunks of chicken, slices of Italian sausage, or slices of chorizo for some spice. It's also great with the added crunch of something like pine nuts or any number of vegetables. Not sure what to do with those last few leftover mushrooms or the last tomato that's left? This dish is your answer.

This funky cheese can also make an excellent addition to pasta dishes when you're still planning on using that sauce, and the first time you add goat cheese to your favorite lasagna recipe, you'll wonder why you haven't been doing it all along. Replacing ricotta entirely or partially with goat cheese will add a whole new depth of flavor while keeping that creamy texture, and trust us when we say it's a total win.

We'd suggest that there's a place for appetizers in everyday meal planning, not only on special occasions, dinners, and parties — especially when they're as easy as using goat cheese to make cheese logs and balls. These easy-to-assemble apps are perfect for snacking on while you cook, adding to a snack plate for a movie night, or just keeping in the fridge for those moments when you're feeling a little peckish.

Goat cheese can be easily turned into a show-stopping appetizer by simply taking a log-shaped chunk of goat cheese and rolling it in edible flowers, pine nuts, sliced almonds, or a mix of herbs and spices. Grab some crackers, and you'll have a beautiful, spreadable snack. You can also opt for making individual, bite-sized cheese balls: Use a mixture of cream cheese and goat cheese, chill, form into balls, then coat with a mixture of things like herbs, dried fruit, and finely-diced nuts. Believe it or not, goat cheese wrapped in brined grape leaves also brings a delicious, creamy, tangy, and zesty saltiness that's an unparalleled addition to any charcuterie or snack platter.

Scrambled eggs are a breakfast staple, and they've been appearing on plates and in breakfast burritos since the dawn of time. (Probably.) Because they're so common, they can get pretty boring. Fortunately, there's no shortage of ideas on how to keep them new, interesting, and flavorful, and Ina Garten's go-to cheese for extra-velvety scrambled eggs is goat cheese.

Garten's technique involves adding the goat cheese at the very end and melting that tangy, creamy cheese into the scrambles. How much cheese is too much cheese? That's for each and every person to decide for themselves, but we'd also like to add that these extra-creamy eggs can be made even more perfect with the addition of things like spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, chives, or slices of hot peppers. The secret is in the timing. Cook your eggs too much, and it's not going to work nearly as well. Think of it as incorporating the goat cheese with the eggs rather than melting it to coat in, and you're heading in the right direction.

Miriam Hahn is a wellness coach and recipe developer, and one of the delicious ideas she gave us here at Tasting Table is for an asparagus and goat cheese panini. Roasted red pepper and asparagus are paired with a pesto mayo, and a layer of spreadable goat cheese is melted to hold the whole thing together like incredibly flavorful glue.

You could argue that it's the goat cheese that completes this vegetarian sandwich, and we'd suggest that it's an idea you could use in countless other sandwiches and burgers. In addition to roasted veg, it pairs really well with chicken, turkey, and ham, and makes an excellent addition to a grilled cheese sandwich. If you've ever wanted to experiment with adding fruit to sandwiches, try apricot or fig jams, and that same spreadable goat cheese is excellent on a hot honey chicken sandwich, an onion-heavy beef burger, or even spread across some focaccia.

For anyone who defaults to ordering the spinach and artichoke dip at Applebee's, this one's for you. Goat cheese is an excellent base for your own homemade version, and when it's added to cream cheese, artichoke hearts, spinach, and then seasoned with things like garlic, it might just become a family favorite. That distinctive tanginess of goat cheese works well with other flavors to create a dip that's great with crackers, bruschetta, or even tortillas that have been baked or fried into homemade nachos.

Add pumpkin to your baked goat cheese dips for a cozy fall favorite, and depending on how much pureed pumpkin you add, this can be as sweet or as tangy as you want it. Recipe developer Miriam Hahn gave us here at Tasting Table a great recipe for a five-ingredient goat cheese dip that only calls for chives, lemon, garlic, and goat and cream cheeses, and it's a great base that lends itself to experimentation.

Quiches and frittatas are both a great way to use goat cheese. One of our favorites is a bacon, onion, and goat cheese quiche, because there's just something magical about the combination of caramelized onions and goat cheese. Prefer a vegetarian option? Goat cheese also works well with mushrooms, tomatoes, leeks, bell peppers, artichoke hearts, or even beetroot. If you like the idea of meat but find yourself short on bacon, try pancetta, ham, or salmon.

The same pairings work really well when they're mixed in a frittata, and one of the great things about this is that it's absolutely an option for opening up your fridge, seeing what's left, and getting creative. Remember that the distinctive taste of goat cheese works really well to balance out sweetness, so experiment with things like a colorful carrot and goat cheese frittata. Also, they freeze well, so if you find yourself with veg that you don't want to waste, bake one of these, cool, then freeze to have a dinner-in-a-pinch ready and waiting to go.

Goat cheese is an easy way to add creativity to burger night. The Juicy Lucy reinvented the idea of the cheeseburger by putting the cheese inside the meat patty, and swapping goat cheese into the equation makes for a deliciously creamy burger filling down to the last bite. We'd also suggest that if you've ever stocked up on ground lamb and wondered what to do with it, you can turn your beef burgers into lamb burgers, fill them with your goat cheese, and add a classic tzatziki sauce for a Greek burger. 

Finally, goat cheese makes a great addition to a chicken or turkey roulade, too. Just as a chicken roulade using cranberry and goat cheese can bring a little bit of fall flavor to the table any time of the year, you can also take this idea and turn a regular old Thanksgiving turkey into something moist, flavorful, and also great for sandwiches in the following days. Instead of using a whole turkey, use a butterflied turkey breast stuffed with your cranberry and goat cheese mix. As a bonus, it'll be completely cooked and on the table in a fraction of the time.

When it comes to desserts that traditionally lean toward the sweeter side, goat cheese might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But goat cheese actually makes an excellent addition to butter cakes, and we even have a recipe that works great with this idea: This gooey brown butter cake recipe can be adapted in a number of ways.

You'll notice that there's batter and filling in that recipe, and one of the easiest ways to add goat cheese is to replace some of the egg. You absolutely don't have to stick with that as a hard-and-fast rule, though, and you could also opt to add some goat cheese into the mix when you brown your butter. You'll want to use the creamy kind of goat cheese for this, and different types, flavors, and strengths of goat cheese are going to have a different impact on the cake's final flavors. Fortunately, butter cakes are extremely easy to make and come together in just about half an hour, so it's easy to experiment with this one and get it just right.

The next time you're looking for a quick and easy dessert that's sure to stun, don't forget about this no-bake apricot goat cheese cheesecake recipe. Because yes, you can absolutely use goat cheese for a stellar cheesecake, and we particularly love this because it's perfect for those hot days when you're looking for a dessert but definitely don't want to turn on the oven. A graham cracker crust holds a tangy-and-sweet mix of cream cheese and goat cheese, and while this particular recipe calls for a dollop of apricot jam, it's a base that you can switch up with a number of flavors.

Once you taste it, you'll know just how versatile this is. Try adding candied pistachios or walnuts along with a lemon or a honey drizzle, swap the apricots for raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, dates, or figs, or you could lean into the savory side of things. Whip up a red onion or red pepper jam, or add a few roasted cherry tomatoes for something truly unique. It's simple, elegant, and if you know someone who's not a fan of sweet cakes and you wonder what to make them every time a birthday rolls around, give these savory, tangy cheesecakes a try.

Classic latkes are another dish that might get overlooked when it comes time to plan meals for the week, and they absolutely shouldn't. These grated, battered, and fried potato cakes come together in a snap, are great for leftovers, and there's no end to the ways you can use them. Serve as a side dish, as a main course, and they also make a pretty great breakfast, especially with a runny fried egg on top. We're here to talk about goat cheese, though, and adding a whipped goat cheese topping to your latkes is a total win.

This is another idea that is incredibly versatile. Whip goat cheese and cream cheese together, add other types of cheeses or yogurt, experiment with different types of herbs and spices, and when it comes to other toppings, the sky's the limit. Layer on some smoked salmon, lox, or trout, add a drizzle of that last little bit of leftover marinara or curry sauce, or serve alongside a tomato or root veg-based soup. Latkes just might become a staple, and they absolutely should.

You'll have noticed by now that goat cheese is much more versatile than it's often given credit for being, and that distinctive, earthy tanginess works particularly well when paired with some vegetables in particular. If you're looking to incorporate more vegetarian meals into your routine, it's a great ingredient to keep on hand as it elevates things like artichokes and bell peppers into the centerpiece of a full meal.

Food stylist, photographer, and recipe developer Michelle McGlinn's specialty is meals for a crowd, and she's behind this cheese-stuffed artichoke recipe that we here at Tasting Table absolutely love. Artichokes might be one of those vegetables that's a hard sell to the whole family, or you might be wondering just what the heck you do with them. Boil, add a cheese sauce made with goat and fontina cheese, bake, and serve — it really is that easy! You can also stuff mini bell peppers with a goat and cream cheese mixture, or opt for banana peppers, poblanos, or jalapeños. We'd even suggest a mix-and-match approach that's the perfect idea for that first night after visiting the farmer's market. Take your cheese stuffing mix, add your favorite herbs and spices, and it's an ideal summertime meal.

Cocktails garnished with cheese? Absolutely, and hear us out. Cocktails that lean more toward the savory side of things than the sweet can be a fun way to mix things up, and there's a reason that martinis are so popular. In fact, fat-washed goat cheese vodka might be just what your next dirty martini needs, and it's not as weird as it sounds, we promise!

That's definitely true if you like gin, and goat cheese-washed gin is a completely legitimate and very real thing. (Again: We promise.) Fat-washing involves freezing gin (or vodka) in a container with cheese, then straining out the solid contents and leaving behind a liquor infused with all those wonderful flavors. Using the gin for a goat cheese martini (and even adding goat cheese-stuffed olives) makes for a great twist on a cocktail, especially for anyone who loves their dirty martinis extra-dirty.

Even if you have your favorite go-to pizza place, there's a lot to be said for making pizza at home. It's super easy, super fun, and you can think way beyond the red sauce for unique pizzas that never get boring. You can also think beyond the mozzarella cheese, too, because while it's undoubtedly delicious, goat cheese is a great option, too.

And sure, you can add a sprinkle of goat cheese to your favorite red sauce pizza, but we have some other ideas for you, too. Goat cheese works really well on a pizza piled with caramelized onions and mushrooms, and if you're in the mood for something light and easy, look no further than taking a cracker crust, adding a smear of goat cheese, and some sliced cherry tomatoes. That's dinner sorted! Other great toppings could include bacon, chilis, shallots, a drizzle of honey, asparagus, fresh herbs, or even an egg. Use crumbs of goat cheese or whole slices from a log, and definitely don't forget the red pepper flakes.