This Blue Cheese Pasta with Walnuts is one of the most comforting yet easy pasta dinners.
The creamy blue cheese sauce is simple to make while the pasta cooks and the toasted walnuts add a wonderful crunch to this delicious vegetarian pasta dinner.
Serve it midweek for an easy meal or over the weekend with guests. Eat it as a main meal, add a seared steak or fillet of fish, and use it as a deliciously creamy, cheesy side.
Ingredient Notes
These notes are here to help make this recipe a success; they cover some but not all ingredients. For a complete ingredient list, check out the recipe card below.
Blue cheese: You can use any blue cheese that you like. You can crumble it from a block or buy blue cheese crumbles at the grocery store. Also, you can use up little bits of cheese left over from a cheese board. I store blue cheese in the freezer tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.
Pasta: I love this with a small pasta shape like shells or spirals; the shape holds the sauce well. But you can use long pasta noodles if you prefer.
Heavy cream: The sauce is a mixture of cream and cheese, so you need the heavy cream to ensure the sauce isn't thin and watery. If you substitute for half and half, you will need to thicken the sauce with flour or cornstarch slurry.
Rosemary: Fresh is best here; the oils work so well with the blue cheese and perfume the whole dish. Dried rosemary doesn't work for this recipe, so leave it out if you don't have fresh. Or check out the adaptions/substitutions below for other herbs.
Recipe Tips
We've tested this recipe at least 3 times to ensure it works well for you. Have a look at our tips for getting the best dish you can!
- The key to creating a smooth blue cheese sauce is to remove the blue cheese from the fridge about 10-20 minutes before you want to start cooking.
- If you use a block of cheese, crumble it while it is cold, as it will be less messy.
- When you roast nuts in the oven, it is so easy to overcook them and end up with burnt nuts (not good!); set a timer so you will remember them.
- Before draining the pasta, reserve at least a cup of the cooking water. This helps to thin the sauce if it gets too claggy and helps it adhere to the pasta.
Why You'll Love This Blue Cheese Pasta
- It is a comforting pasta dish that takes 20 minutes to make.
- It is fancy enough to serve to guests but quick enough for midweek.
- You can serve it as a side dish or a main dish.
- It only needs a few ingredients, which are easy to find at the grocery store.
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Recipe Adaptions
These are all just suggestions and things that have worked in our test kitchen, but it is your dinner, so adapt it to suit your family. That is the beauty of cooking; we can all create our own delicious meals.
- Swap the blue cheese for goat's cheese; it will melt into the sauce like blue cheese.
- Swap the walnuts for pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, or pinenuts.
- Instead of nuts, add a crispy pangrattato to the top of the pasta.
- Change your herbs: Swap the fresh rosemary for fresh sage or some chervil. Or skip the herbs and add black pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. A reader suggested this and after trying it I was so happy she did!
- Add chunks of cooked chicken, leftover steak, or roast beef to the sauce when adding the pasta.
- Add some baby spinach or steamed asparagus spears for extra veg.
- For a crispy, salty, smoky hit, crumble cooked bacon over the top of the pasta just before you serve. Opt for a mild blue cheese for the sauce to avoid salt overload.
Serving Suggestions For Blue Cheese Pasta
Sides: This rich, creamy pasta is perfect with a side salad and some crusty bread. I like a peppery arugula salad, but you could do a simple green salad. Alternatively, it is an excellent side dish with a pan-seared steak and steamed asparagus.
Wine: The saltiness of the blue cheese wants a wine with a hint of sweetness. An Italian Rose would be perfect, as would a Pinot Gris. Or go for a rich, buttery Chardonnay or an off-dry Riesling. Try an Italian Gavi di Gavi if you dislike off-dry wines. If you want red wine, go for something fruit-forward, like a jammy Zinfandel or Merlot.
Enjoy x
If you make this Blue Cheese Pasta with Walnuts, please come back and comment. You can also tag me on social media.
Any questions about the recipe? Use the comments section below.
Get the Recipe
Blue Cheese Pasta with Walnuts
Ingredients
- ¼ cup walnuts see post for alternatives
- 10 oz pasta
- salt
- 1¼ cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary see note 2
- ½ cup blue cheese room temperature (see note 1)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F/220ºC.
- Place a large pan of water onto boil.
- Place the walnuts on a lined baking tray and bake then for 5 minutes until golden. Set a timer.¼ cup walnuts
- Once the pasta water is boiling, salt it generously and cook it for a minute less than the packet suggests.10 oz pastasalt
- Before draining the pasta, reserve 1 cup of the cooking water.
- While the pasta is cooking, pour the cream and rosemary into a small heavy-based pan and heat over medium heat until it is almost simmering. (See note 3)1¼ cups heavy cream1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- Add the crumbled blue cheese to the cream and stir gently until it has melted.½ cup blue cheese
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and ¼ cup of reserved water.
- Toss the pasta gently in the sauce until everything is coated and the pasta is cooked to your liking. Add more pasta cooking water as required.
- Serve sprinkled with the toasted walnuts.
Notes
- You can use any blue cheese that you love. Either crumbled from a block or bought as crumbles. If using a block, crumble it while it is cold, as it is more manageable.
- If you can't get fresh rosemary, then leave it out.
- Don't allow the cream to boil, which can make the sauce thick and claggy. If it does, remove it from the heat immediately and add a teaspoon or two of cold water to cool and thin it.
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
Jake says
Had never tried blue cheese on pasta before, and wow... I ever knew what I was missing! Used your recipe last night and it came out AMAZING. Thanks for writing such a detailed article that took me step by step. Can't wait to check out more of your unique recipes for future meais. Thanks!
Faye says
Loved the mix of textures in this dish. Creamy pasta, velvety blue cheese, and the crunch from the walnuts. The blue cheese sauce coated the pasta, and those toasted walnuts gave it a nice crunch. Seriously good stuff!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Oh I am so happy you enjoyed it Faye 🙂
Cx
Linda Weisz says
Instead of using fresh rosemary, I can advise you to use freshly cracked black pepper and nutmeg for some extra taste! (It won't taste the same obviously, but it's really good this way! Thank you for this recipe 🙂 Also added dry white wine to this in order to use less cream!
molly says
Love the idea. just say yum can't wait to try it, Thanks for sharing....
Claire McEwen says
Thank you Molly. It really is such a comforting pasta dish 😀