Baked goat cheese and this fire roasted sauce are such a good combination. Both parts of the recipe are easy to make, too! And both can be made ahead of time, which is always a plus.
These are coming at you just in time for the holidays because they’re an awesome appetizer to share. This recipe makes eight goat cheese bites and plenty of sauce, but you can make as much as you want! I like having ample sauce in case some people just devour it. It’s always better to be safe than sorry. 🙂
how do I bake goat cheese
Baking goat cheese is super easy! Since we want these goat cheese bites to be crunchy, there’s a couple of steps to take. First, set up a bowl for egg and seasoning. Then, set up a separate bowl for the pistachio mixture.
Portion out half ounce servings of goat cheese, and roll each portion into a bite-size ball. Working one at a time, totally coat each ball in the egg mixture first. Then gently press it into the pistachio mixture, rolling it around until it’s fully coated. Lay the coated ball out on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper, and repeat for remaining goat cheese balls. Freeze them for about 30 minutes so they set completely before baking.
what about sauce for goat cheese
Fire roasted peppers, fire roasted tomatoes, a little garlic, and some seasoning and olive oil make this perfect sauce. I also add a little bit of the pistachio mixture to thicken it up! And I blend this sauce in the same container I blended the pistachios in, so there’s a little less cleanup involved. 🙂
Heating the sauce before serving it is the key! Warming this sauce lets the flavors blend really well together, and makes it so good for dipping.
I like to serve the sauce in a bowl next to the goat cheese balls. I put them all on a platter, and poke a toothpick (or cute serving stick) in the goat cheese bites so people can pick them up easily. This way, people can grab a couple of them, spoon as much or as little sauce as they like onto their plate, and enjoy them. Definitely serve slices of grilled baguette alongside of them, too! Grilled bread is a perfect vessel for eating these little gems.
This recipe can be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled depending on your party needs. I made eight bites to start, because I can’t eat many more than that on my own. 🙂 (And Mark hates goat cheese. It makes me sad.)
what type of goat cheese to use
I recommend using a simple, pre-packaged log of goat cheese from any grocery store. The plain goat cheese is what I used, but you could probably use a flavored goat cheese, too! There’s honey or herbed goat cheese that would work really well with this recipe! Just use what you like, and it will work.
If you make this recipe – be sure to tag me on Instagram! And don’t forget to hashtag it :: #aflavorjournal
Happy goat cheese baking!
<3 Sara
baked goat cheese bites + fire roasted sauce
Ingredients
for goat cheese bites ::
- 1/4 cup pistachios
- 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder divided
- 1/2 tsp. oregano divided
- salt + pepper
- 4 ounces plain goat cheese
- 1 egg
- baking spray
for fire roasted sauce ::
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fire roasted red peppers I use the jar from Trader Joe's
- 1/4 cup fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon pistachio / panko mix
- 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- salt + pepper
Instructions
for goat cheese bites ::
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Pulse the pistachios in a small food processor until finely ground. Transfer the ground pistachios to a large bowl, then add the panko bread crumbs, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, 1/4 tsp. oregano, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Use a fork to mix everything together, and set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk the egg with the remaining 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, 1/4 tsp. oregano, and another pinch of salt and pepper. Set near the pistachio mixture.
- Cut the goat cheese into 1/2 ounce pieces. Roll each portion into a ball. Working one at a time, coat each ball in the egg mixture, then the pistachio mixture. Gently press the pistachio mixture into the goat cheese, so each ball is completely and evenly coated.
- Place the pistachio-encrusted goat cheese balls onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and freeze for 30 minutes.
for fire roasted sauce ::
- While the goat cheese balls are freezing, make the sauce. Using the same small food processor, blend the fire roasted red peppers, fire roasted tomatoes, garlic, pistachio mixture, olive oil, and another pinch of salt and pepper until smooth and creamy.
- Heat a small sauce pan over medium, and add the sauce to it. Stir, bring to a light simmer, then turn the heat down to low. Keep the sauce warm as the goat cheese balls freeze and bake, about 15 total minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Spray the frozen goat cheese balls with baking spray. Bake for about 6-8 minutes
- Serve goat cheese balls on a platter, with optional toothpicks or decorative sticks for easy handling. Spoon the warm sauce into a bowl, and serve alongside the goat cheese balls and grilled slices of baguette (optional).
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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Comments & Reviews
What a delicious looking appetizer, and the sauce looks so good! My favourite part is the pistachios in the coating. Can’t wait to make these!
Thank you so much, Colleen! I love the extra flavor the pistachios give to these guys. They’re so fun to make, and even better to inhale!
Those look fantastic. I love the flavor and texture of goat cheese. It’s really smooth.
Thank you, Ben! I’m a HUGE goat cheese fan, too. The flavored holiday ones are always fun – but I like to make up my own way to eat them!
What a great appetizer! I love goat cheese and pistachios so these are right up my alley. I’m looking forward to making them.
Thank you, Michelle! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
So the goat cheese bites look amazing but that sauce is just STUNNING!!! I have to try this!
Thank you, Leslie! I hope you try it soon!!
Goat cheese is delicious, and I love this sauce – there are a million things I want to eat it with!
Yes! Me too, Jacqui! It would be so good with so many things!
I recently had something like these in a restaurant on a salad, and have been thinking about them ever since – thanks for sharing now I can make them myself!
Awesome! They’re something that would be such a fun, shareable appetizer at a restaurant. I can’t wait for you to try them!
Wow what a great appetizer! I love goat cheese and this sauce sounds delicious! Making this for my next party!
Thank you, Heather! I hope you love them as much as I do!
I adore goat cheese, but have never tried baking it before. This recipe looked so delicious that I just had to try it. It was just as delicious as it looked in the pictures. I added a touch of hot sauce to the dipping sauce just for a little bit of a kick. Thanks for a great recipe!
A touch of hot sauce to the dipping sauce would be SO good! I’m a hot sauce addict! Thank you so much for such a kind comment, Rebecca!
What a lovely appetizer !! I made this for a small gathering and they were amazing. The coating with the pistachio makes this super special . The fire roasted sauce was a great compliment to these. After a few glasses of wine my friends swore I had to have ordered out for this dish .
Thank you SO much, Debbie! I’m so glad you and your friends enjoyed them so much! A few glasses of wine will always help everything, in my book! lol
These Goat Cheese Bites are such a great appetizer or snack! I’m loving that crust and the fire red sauce—-so genius!
Thank you so much, Shanika!! They’re all such fun flavors together!
This looks like such a delicious appetizer! I love that you’ve used pistachios in the crust and that sauce sounds full of flavour!
Thank you, Sasha! The pistachios are such a fun twist on these little bites. The sauce is SO flavorful – it’s hard to not just eat it by the spoonful!