This pasta with roasted vegetables and chipotle-goat cheese tomato sauce hits the spot with its creamy spicy sauce and heaps of veggies in every bite!
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When The.Boy. and I first started dating, he was quite concerned that I would be one of those vegetarians.

You know which kind I mean.  The sort that attempts to force their ethical, moral, socio-economical, political, and taste bud-ical beliefs on just about everyone they encounter, not limited to but including friends, family, boyfriends, random first dates (that then, I’m sure, never turn into second dates), and anyone standing in front of the mass-produced non-cage free/free-range chickens at the supermarket.

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And while I can’t promise that I don’t have a secret desire to take down Perdue and anyone who deigns it “okay enough” to actually consume, I’m just not that kind of girl.

I have much more of a live and let live attitude towards these kind of things.  If you don’t try to force a steak down my throat, then I won’t force tofu (with a side of self righteousness) down yours (although kale is a whole other story. But, even in my most carnivorous of days, I’ve always been on the “Eat More Vegetables!” side of the food spectrum).  Deal?

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Unbeknownst to him, however, this may only be because I have bigger fish to fry.  Or, err, chipotle peppers to get him acclimated to.

You see, my boyfriend has the spice tolerance of a five year old child.  And, now that I’ve put up with it we’ve been together for almost a year I intend to force my spice-loving ways on him. One Scoville heat unit at a time.

Last week, I edged my way in with my chipotle black bean soup, and this week it was pasta with chipotle-infused tomato sauce.  I added some goat cheese to cancel out some of the spice, but he was still panting and gulping down water as if he had just run a marathon.

I will concede that perhaps I added one too many chipotles into the mix.  But that being said, he also {willingly} ate the leftovers the next day and said it was delicious.  If that’s not progress, I don’t know what is.

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One year ago…Pumpkin Layer Cake with Butterscotch Filling
Two years go…Tortilla de Sweet Potatoes, Banana Cranberry Bread with an Amaretto Glaze
Three years ago…Grilled Turkey, Bacon, Arugula and Blue Cheese Sandwiches on Beet Buns, Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake
Four years ago…Pesto Pizza with Butternut Squash, Peas with Honey and Lemon Pepper

Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and Chipotle-Goat Cheese Tomato Sauce
 
This pasta with roasted vegetables and a chipotle-goat cheese sauce hits the spot with its creamy spicy sauce and heaps of veggies in every bite!
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
  • 1 (1 lb) eggplant, cut into ¼-inch thick sticks
  • 2 small zucchini, cut into half moons
  • 2 small red bell peppers, seeded and cut into ¼-inch thick rings
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 2 chipotle chiles in adobo, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 14.5 oz canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1 large white onion, halved and sliced ¼-inch thick
  • 4 oz goat cheese
  • 12 oz whole wheat pasta
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375. Toss together the eggplant, zucchini, and bell peppers with 2 tbsp olive oil and chili powder in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Spread out on parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes or until tender and beginning to turn brown, turning occasionally.
  2. To make the tomato sauce, blend the chipotles and garlic in a food processor. Add in the tomatoes and pulse until almost smooth but with some texture.
  3. Heat one tbsp oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook 5-7 minutes or until brown and softened. Stir in the tomato mixture, turn heat down to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the goat cheese until melted into the sauce.
  4. Cook pasta according to package directions. Toss pasta with tomato sauce and vegetables, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
Notes
Adapted from Vegetarian Times
Nutrition Information
Serving size: ¼ of recipe

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You are reading this post on Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of Eats Well With Others. All rights reserved by Joanne Bruno.
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84 Responses to Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and Chipotle-Goat Cheese Tomato Sauce

  1. Haha poor Mike! I would love this, though! Any excuse for pasta and goat cheese:-)

  2. Awesome! Way to go with sneaking in the spice 🙂 Too fun and cute. Love the addition of goat cheese in these. But then again, when have I ever not loved goat cheese?! Exactly.

  3. HAHAHA! Eric said that if I didn’t eat fish, he probably wouldn’t have gone out with me. The funny thing is that he actually likes eating my vegetarian cooking… but I think I won him over with dishes like this. Looks awesome!

  4. Glad that the leftovers got rave reviews the next day…love it when persistence and just serving the food over and over, pays off. 14+ years together, just this year!! my husband says that broccoli isn’t terrible. It just took…14 years to get there 🙂

    Beautiful food, Joanne. I love heat and love the peppers!

  5. Pam says:

    Perfect! I posted a suggestion for what to do with leftover chipotles today!

  6. Foodycat says:

    That’s a worthy mission. There are so many more delicious things that you can eat once you can take a bit of spice!

  7. My big pet peeve is always the *spice* issue. I’m not into mouth-burning hotness, but it drives me crazy when I meet people my age who will only eat plain pasta with red sauce; chicken fingers and fries; and hamburgers…and look on broccoli with horror.

  8. Audra says:

    Ooh- Andy would love it spicy! I love this recipe- creamy goat cheese is one of my favorite things!

  9. Karis says:

    This post reminds me of meals at my house. The main meal starts out the same, but then my husband adds meat and spice to his portion. He goes through an insane amount of crushed red pepper and Sriracha sauce. Perhaps if he’d been kind enough to start one Scoville heat unit I’d have a better spice tolerance now 🙂

  10. Amy says:

    Hee hee! When I first met Paul, he thought that Olive Garden made good Italian food. In his defense, he grew up in the midwest and his mother thought sprinkling chicken with salt, baking it, and serving it with over steamed broccoli was a fantastic dinner. He now knows better. And likes raw fish, spicy, and artichokes. Your boy will come around. Rome wasn’t built in a day. And hey…almost 1 year. Woot!

  11. I love spicy food and have a high tolerance for it. And, I love ANYTHING I can get chipotles in to. I have a feeling this dish will be a hit in my kitchen.

  12. What a great way to use colour the Pasta and the dinner table with freshly roasted veggies! I absolutely love it prepared in any way (and all the vitamins in veggies are just a bonus! Ha!) This looks so good, however, I’ll have to give the chipotle-infused ‘sauces’ a try!

  13. Cathleen says:

    Haha, nice. I LOVE spicy food, and am kind of glad my boyfriend does too, because I’m not as sneaky as you. 😉 This looks delicious

  14. SallyBR says:

    You got me at Chipotle Goat Cheese Tomato sauce… I will eat pretty much anything with it, including tofu.

    Great recipe!

  15. You change that boy!! I don’t know how anyone can’t love a little spice! Ok, maybe a lot of spice! I love this dish, it’s so pretty and I bet it tastes amazing!!!!!!

  16. Marcia says:

    This looks delish! I’m pretty sure too spicy for my 6 year old. I have 2 cans of adobo in the cupboard. I really need to use them. But if I do, I need to make something that only my husband and I will eat. I can’t seem to find the time to cook an extra thing…

  17. Too funny Joanne! I just did a similar post about eating a plant based diet but that it is important to be non-judgemental of people and to make informed decisions. I’m also doing a TofuXpress tofu press if you would like to enter!!!
    xoxox!
    Dawn

  18. That is progress girl! Love this pasta, spiciness and all!

  19. Ha. My spice tolerance was terrible but little by little (and with more and more spicy food), it’s getting better. So there’s hope for the boy!

  20. Jessie says:

    Very sneaky! Sounds like you’re building up his spice tolerance bit-by-bit 😉 I’m sad to say I have the spice tolerance of an infant. I LOVE spicy flavors, but they burn out my tastebuds so that I can’t taste anything else, besides the fact the spiciness is painful. Sad, I know! I want to try your pasta, with perhaps a bit less spice 🙂

  21. Gloria says:

    Love this pasta with all I love it! My daugther is veggie she loves all these plates, but my son is absolutely meat man sigh!!

  22. Natalie G says:

    Pasta with roasted veggies is the best! I would probably use parm cheese instead since I don’t like goat cheese though. Great recipe 🙂

  23. Looks like we are on the same goat cheese train today! Goat cheese is so good and so versatile, and this pasta sounds great especially with the chipotles! For me, the spicier the better 🙂

  24. wow, this pasta would be enough to get any meat loving, non-spicy food eater to change their ways!

  25. Ashley says:

    OK this is hilarious…I was just asking you about this yesterday! LOL. I suppose I’m glad I didn’t try to force any bacon on you…but you can “force” me to eat tofu wrapped in kale on top of hot peppers any day! This looks awesome…great combo!

  26. This looks incredible, Joanne! Lovely recipe for a light and easy to make pasta salad. Saving it to try soon!

  27. Ashley Bee says:

    Ohhh I need to make this! Where my chipotle peppers at… I loove a good veggie-filled pasta.

  28. Beth says:

    That definitely sounds like progress. What a delicious meal!

  29. That sauce sounds so freaking delicious! I loooove it!

  30. Big Dude says:

    Great story Joanne – boys must be made into men and need a good woman to to it :-). I love chipotles and would be all over this dish.

  31. This sauce….I need to make this sauce!

  32. Pam says:

    Love it! I can’t believe you guys have been together nearly a year… time flies. The pasta looks delicious – I love that it has a kick to it!

  33. Jenna says:

    Joanne, my eyes lit up when I saw your first picture . . . and continued to glow as i read the recipe. It looks and sounds absolutely fantastic. And best of luck transforming The.Boy’s palate . . . I can say from experience that it IS possible!

  34. You have already transformed his palate – look at all the Kale and greens he is eating! I am with you Joanne – never too many vegetables for me!

  35. I can easily veganise this recipe and this dish is SO going on my “cook ASAP” menu plan! Even my omni husband is going to ask for a second bowl of this one Joanne :). You are truly my go to foodie wunderkind!;)

  36. marie says:

    I once heard a bit a comedian was doing on vegetarians. It was so funny he was saying how he loved and cared for vegetables so much he wouldn’t eat em’. Only meat, yes sir he was devoted to those veggies. It was hilarious. I am like you, I don’t eat a lot of meat, I eat tons of veggies, but funny is funny.

  37. Karen says:

    Sounds delicious – we love spicy in our house.

  38. Congratz on one year! I wasn’t even a vegetarian when I went Rob.. he was thrilled I would eat anything. Now look what he’s got! 🙂

  39. Guru Uru says:

    What a gloriously delicious pasta dish 😀

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  40. Haha, your boyfriend and I totally have the same tolerance for spice apparently. I’m a total wimp! I do love my veggies though, and roasting them is my favorite so this looks amazing 🙂

  41. This recipe looks so full of flavor – hopefully not too much so that you aren’t running your guy off 😉

  42. That;s funny. When my husband and I got together he also had the spice tolerance of a five year old. Now he can handle more than me. SO I guess that just shows it’s possible!

  43. Erica Berman says:

    I feel for you, I could never be with a man who doesn’t like spicy food!

  44. teresa says:

    yes to more veggies! you’re definitely my kind of vegetarian. if i didn’t think my husband would totally revolt, i might actually join you.

    this looks amazing, i love how creamy that pasta is, so flavorful!

  45. Sounds like his heat tolerance is definitely improving! You should add an extra chipotle next time and see if he notices 🙂

  46. tigerfish says:

    I like how the roasted vegetables adds smokiness to the entire dish, and plus the spice in the sauce? I would say the “Eat more Vegetables” spectrum is such a good zone to be in 🙂

  47. Debbie says:

    One year??? Wow, does time go fast! I love the heat in this dish. Never too spicy….oh I don’t care for Perdue either. I am trying and trying and hope one day to be a vegetarian. I feel like such a hypocrite since I just adore all animals. Can’t even watch the ASPCA commercials on TV. My son and I have to turn them off immediately or else the tears will start….

  48. bellini says:

    Progress has been made Joanne. Next comes nut cakes.

  49. daphne says:

    awww indeed it can be taught and trained!! Chili is an acquired taste after all right? I love such a hearty meal- I’m eating a whole bunch of veges and carbs at the moment that this will be so appetising to me.

  50. I love chipotle in ANYTHING! Why didn’t I ever think to try it in a pasta sauce?! Brilliant!

  51. Those chipotle in adobos are SO much spicier than you think they’ll be, right? Love the idea of adding creaminess and cutting the spice with goat cheese. This sounds totally awesome!

  52. I don’t know how I missed this in Veg Times .. you already had me at goat cheese but adding in chipotle makes it even more amazing!

  53. Reeni Pisano says:

    I am loving the sound of the goat cheese and chipotle sauce! The more he eats it the more he will love it! I had the same problem with a certain someone and now they embrace the heat.

  54. NINA says:

    I love roasted vegetables and this one is so tempting:). Liked the addition of goat cheese too:)

  55. chipotle goat cheese tomato sauce- best 5 words I have ever heard!

  56. Blond Duck says:

    I know you’re going to kill me, but that sauce would be awesome on meatballs.

  57. Lol!!! It sounds like you’re making progress. I too love heat and have to sneak it in…and still I usually get caught ;_

  58. Hotly Spiced says:

    I love heat too and I’m always so tempted to add a bit more to my cooking but my family just doesn’t appreciate heat in the same way. I hope your boyfriend is acclimatising xx

  59. Katie says:

    That sounds like progress, indeed! You always know they like it when they go back for seconds the next day. I like the idea of a bit of goat cheese to cut the heat!

  60. That Girl says:

    See you also have something else on your side – you make delicious vegetarian meals. It’s easier to convert someone if they don’t know what they’re missing!

  61. Kari says:

    You’re doing well 😉 I am like you with converting people though, I figure if they let me do my thing (not eat animals) I will let them eat theirs. Converting them with dishes like this is more effective anyway!

  62. Lynn says:

    This looks soooo good. I had ravioli with goat cheese for dinner last night. Love goat cheese.

  63. Chipotle goat cheese tomato sauce?! That alone sounds really delicious!

  64. Sammie says:

    Wow Joanne! Good job! Lol indeed one’s spice tolerance can be cultivated to withstand even spicier food! The goat cheese must have been a great help too! 🙂 totally enjoyed reading this post. It was hilarious! Lol

  65. Mary Younkin says:

    I have a 7 year old that would have been gulping water as well. The 9 year old would have just asked why I didn’t make it more spicy. Ha. Good luck with it. You’ll work him up to a 3-4 pepper tolerance eventually, I have confidence in you! Just serve everything with a hefty side of sour cream or cheese. 😉

  66. It’s not even 10 am and I want about 8 bowls of this right now. As for the spice, just wait — TheBoy will get more tolerant as the months/years ago on. I was a total wuss with spice when I met my husband, who lathers everything in Tabasco. And now, I really love things with a little kick to them!

  67. elly says:

    Getting your significant other to like chipotles is way more important than getting them to like a meat-free diet, for sure. I can’t wait to try this one. Chipotle and goat cheese are basically my two favorite ingredients ever.

  68. Katerina says:

    This pasta is packed with flavor Joanne! I am sure he loved it even if it was spiced up with the chipotles!

  69. Yes and yes! I can’t turn down anything involving chipotle. And goat cheese. And pretty much everything else in this dish!

  70. Dining Alone says:

    I have been in ‘salsa training’ for about 10 years now and I can proudly say that I can now handle a bit of habanero! My husband is a huge fan of spicy food so I did it for him. It is a long, but rewarding road 😉

  71. Roz P. says:

    I truly do hope that you can get ‘the boy’ to move beyond a 5-year old’s tolerance for hot and spicy! I’m lucky that my guy likes things so hot that steam comes out of his ears! Love the chipotle in this, such a great pepper and with pasta it’s genius! Sorry for my absence from commenting on your blog, Joanne (and all of my blogging friends). My dad passed away a few weeks ago after 3 weeks of hospitalization in December. It’s tough, but blogging is a great release of happiness for me (as it has been for you too).

    Ciao,
    Roz

  72. haha, you’re winning him over, one bowl at a time 🙂 this sounds fabulous!!

  73. the boy lol
    we should get you a food theme sitcom on tv
    i know you could give the writers a ver busy job

  74. Elizabeth says:

    I have to admit I’m not the hugest fan of goats cheese, but this could win me over. I think I’d eat most things with chipotle involved.

  75. Chris says:

    This dish gives me hope…hope that summer is just around the corner!

  76. Johanna GGG says:

    I am a spice wuss and find the spice divide so much more insidious than the veg/omni divide – what someone else says is mild is not always mild to me – but I do believe that you can change your spice palate as mine has got less tolerant – not sure why – perhaps because I cook most of my food these days rather than sharing! (and one chipotle pepper is my limit)

  77. Anonymous says:

    I don’t have parchment paper…can I just put the veggies directly on a cookie sheet?

  78. Joanne says:

    Anonymous – YES you can! Just make sure to grease the sheet with a bit of olive oil or cooking spray.

  79. Lora says:

    You make the best pastas. This sauce looks divine!

  80. My guy is one of those pickiest of eaters and I’ve got to learn from your story on how to more gently introduce him into eating his peas and trying goat cheese! Geez! Adding heat is one thing my guy would certainly go for, so I’ll prepare this delightfully spicy pasta recipe soon (and just not tell him that there is goat cheese included)!

  81. […] One year ago…Pasta with Roasted Vegetables  and Chipotle-Goat Cheese Tomato Sauce […]

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