Forget Parmesan: Give Pasta Sauce An Easy Creamy Upgrade With This Cheesy Addition

Al dente pasta of any shape or size draped in warm, savory sauce is a fast, delicious remedy for everything from a long day at work to dreary weather. Something about the bite of starchy pasta coated in tangy, herby marinara, rich Alfredo, or luscious pesto makes everything seem a little bit brighter, especially if you've discovered the best way to upgrade ordinary spaghetti sauce: with creamy, funky goat cheese. Unlike parmesan, soft, creamy slices of goat cheese don't just sit on top of your sauce — they melt into it to make the whole dish richer and more satisfying.

Though goat cheese has a bougie reputation, it's high on the list of affordable charcuterie board finds at Aldi and Trader Joe's, meaning you can enjoy this simple, fancied-up sauce without overshooting your budget. It's also really easy to make since the upgrade truly is as simple as dropping goat cheese into the warm sauce of your choice and stirring it through as it melts. The dairy softens the acidity of tomato-based sauces while making creamy sauces denser and silkier, plus it adds a hint of salty, earthy funk that keeps them from becoming too rich.

This hack is also perfect for upgrading both store-bought and homemade sauces. In a homemade sauce, it helps bring out the vegetal sweetness of tomatoes, effortlessly thickens cream-based sauces, and turns homemade pesto into an aromatic, velvety dream. In store-bought sauces, it helps develop suppressed flavors and balance sauces that are too sweet or simply bland, adding a funky freshness that deepens flavor for a restaurant-style experience.

Though the combo of, say, jarred marinara and plain goat cheese is delicious on its own, this pairing is also the perfect base for layering flavors, or playing with different flavor profiles. For instance, just as marinated goat cheese is perfect for your next cheese board, it's also delicious melted into said marinara sauce. Soaked in earthy olive oil and whole spices, such as bay leaves, peppercorns, and garlic cloves, marinated goat cheese is a flavor bomb in and of itself. The olive oil clinging to it gives your sauce extra richness while the seasonings soaked into it provide deeper flavor.

Marinated or flavored goat cheese is also the perfect one-step flavor bomb to upgrade other styles of pasta sauce. Try adding jalapeño-infused goat cheese to a carbonara to cut through the rich, oily flavors of egg yolk and rendered pancetta. Olive- or dill-infused goat cheese also work well with this sauce since pork and fatty egg yolks both marry beautifully with sharp, briny flavors. These infused styles also bring out different nuances of the cheese, letting you highlight its earthiness with the suggested flavors or go more umami with garlic and herbs. Incidentally, garlic and herb-infused goat cheese is one of the best choices for an Alfredo or other cream-based pasta sauce, which have a tendency to skew a bit bland. A funky infusion of goat cheese blended with aromatic herbs and pungent garlic may be just the lift your sauce needs.