This goat's cheese tart is a tasty quick dinner, that's easy to make with minimal effort. It's something I have been making for years and is one of the first recipes I learned to cook. It's now a firm family favourite which I know you will love too.
This really is such a quick and easy dinner, perfect for busy weeknights. This along with my Mushroom Tart are two of my favourite tarts to make. Great for dinner with the family or lunch with the girls, minimum effort is required to make this tart.
For this goat's cheese tart I use balsamic roasted cherry tomatoes, these tomatoes are roasted until they are sweet and just burst. I also use plenty of red onion for this tart which also gives it some lovely sweetness.
Ingredients You Will Need:
- Puff Pastry - I use an all-butter ready-rolled puff pastry sheet for this. It saves so much time!
- Red Pesto - A good store-bought vegetarian red pesto will do the job here.
- Cherry Tomatoes - Cherry tomatoes on the vine are perfect for roasting, look for firm ripe tomatoes. If you're not roasting them then off the vine is fine.
- Red Onions - Just one red onion is enough here, it adds a lovely sweet flavour to the tart. Look out for firm onions free of soft spots, damp or mouldy patches.
- Cheese - A good quality goat's cheese is essential so I recommend not skimping on that. For this tart, I use a mild and creamy goat's cheese, this is the perfect balance against the sweet cherry tomatoes. I also use a vegetarian hard Italian cheese on the base of this tart.
How to Make The Best Goats Cheese Tart:
- Roast the cherry tomatoes in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. They should be cooked until they just burst.
- Prepare the pastry by rolling it out and placing it on a parchment-lined baking tray. With a sharp knife score an edge along the pastry then prick it with a fork - see photo no.2
- Spread the pesto over the pastry then sprinkle the cheese over the pastry.
- Scatter the red onions over the pesto, then add the roasted cherry tomatoes and crumble the goat's cheese over the tart. Finally, scatter some fresh thyme leaves over everything then add a drizzle of olive oil. Bake until the pastry is golden.
Top Tips for Making Goat's Cheese Tart
- Use good quality all-butter puff pastry. Have your pastry at room temperature before you roll it out, this will make it easier to handle.
- Brush the pastry edges with milk or egg wash to get that lovely golden colour.
- Pick cherry tomatoes that are firm but ripe and roughly the same size, this way they will cook at the same time. Cherry tomatoes on the vine are great for roasting.
- Choose good quality ingredients. Whether it's buying good quality goat's cheese or pesto, buy the best you can afford.
Why This Recipe Works:
- This tart is really easy to make, using simple store cupboard ingredients.
- Under 400 calories per serving
- Ready in 40 minutes, really quick to make!
- Crumbly, flaky pastry, tasty toppings, it's almost a pizza!!
- A great family-friendly dinner.
What to Serve with Goat's Cheese Tart
I usually serve this with salad but if you want to go the extra mile or you have a very hungry family to feed, baked potato wedges are great with this. This goat's cheese tart can be eaten warm or cold, I prefer it warm though. Leftovers are good for work lunches, again if you can warm it up all the better.
Making Ahead and Reheating
This tart really is best made fresh and eaten warm. You can eat this cold or you can reheat the tart in the oven although it may not taste as good as when made fresh. If you have any leftovers you can keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days. I don't recommend freezing this tart.
More quick and easy vegetarian dinners:
- Mushroom Stir Fry with Broccoli & Pepper
- Artichoke & Spinach Flatbread Pizza
- Orzo Pasta Salad with Pesto
- Vegetarian Quesadilla
- Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches
Did you make this Goat's Cheese Tart recipe? Rate it and leave a comment below to let me know what you think!
Goat's Cheese Tart with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 345 g plump cherry tomatoes, on the vine (2 +â…“ cups) left whole
- 2 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ tsp of both sea salt and cracked black pepper divided
- 1 320g roll of ready-made puff pastry
- 1 tablespoon finely grated pecorino cheese
- 2 tablespoon vegetarian red pesto
- 1 medium red onion (140g) peeled, cut lengthways then sliced thinly
- 125 g of goat's cheese (1 small log or 5oz)
- A generous pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoon milk
- 4 or 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C / 392 F.Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the cherry tomatoes to a medium oven-safe dish. Add the balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Give everything a shake then place the dish on the top shelf of the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Set aside until you are ready to use them.
- Roll out the pastry and place it on the lined baking sheet.Using a sharp knife, score the pastry all along the edge, about 2.5cm in from the edge.Using a fork, prick the pastry a good few times.
- Spread the red pesto over the pastry avoiding the edges. Evenly place the red onion over the pastry. Scatter the pecorino cheese over the pesto. Using a slotted spoon add the roasted cherry tomatoes to the tart.Crumble the goat's cheese over the tart then add the thyme. You can just add the sprigs or pluck the leaves and scatter them over the tart. I do a mixture of both.Drizzle the remaining olive oil over everything and add about a ¼ teaspoon each of sea salt and cracked black pepper.Using a pastry brush, brush the edges of the tart with the milk.
Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 20 minutes or until the pastry has risen, the tart is golden brown around the edges and the pastry are cooked. - Serve immediately with a green salad.
Notes
- Nutritional Information is approximate and is calculated using an online nutrition tool. Information is based on 6 servings.
- Make it quicker - Skip roasting the tomatoes, cut them in half and add to the tart before you cook it.Â
- Serving - This is best served warm but can be served cold too.
- Leftovers - If you have leftovers keep them in the fridge for a day or two, then warm up in the oven or microwave.
- Freezing - This tart is not suitable for freezing.
Nutrition
*This recipe was first published on November 20th 2018, it has now been updated with a step by step guide, top tips, and more nutritional information.
Meredith
Huge hit, absolutely delicious
Michelle Alston
That's great to hear Meredith, I'm so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Diana
Everyone loved the tart even those who have never had goat cheese
Michelle Alston
Hi Diana, I'm so happy to hear that 🙂
Annette Chambers
So tasty and delicious
Qing
Really delicious. We couldn't find a vegetarian-friendly red pesto so we used a "vegan nduja paste" from M&S instead, which gave it a nice spicy kick. We garnished it with rocket over the top at the end.
The vinegary roasting juice from the tomatoes was full of flavour, and delicious incorporated into a salad dressing for the side salad
Michelle Alston
Hi Qing, thanks so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
margo banks
Everyone LOVED it!
Michelle Alston
Thanks so much Margo, I'm so glad you all loved it 🙂
Cuisto
Dear Michelle
Thank you for sharing this recipe, which I am very keen to prepare. Would you be prepared to reveal the type and size of baking tin you used?
Michelle Alston
Hi Cuisto, the baking tray is a standard (UK) baking tray, it measures in at 14 x 11 inches (36 x 28 cm). I hope this helps.
Eileen
Excellent
Michelle Alston
Thanks so much, Eileen. I'm so glad you liked it 🙂
L
Hello, this recipe looks amazing...would love to make it but would need to be able to prepare ahead and reheat on the day of serving due to time constraints! Just wondering why it is unsuitable for freezing, as I really could do with being able to freeze this fully cooked and just reheat it on the day?
Michelle Alston
Hi L, the reason I don't recommend freezing this is because of the puff pastry. Puff pastry is a laminated pastry, laminated pastry tends not to turn out great if you freeze it after it has been baked. The layers in the pastry don't hold up well to being frozen and then cooked again. Now, you could freeze it if you wanted to but I can't guarantee it will turn out as well as it would if it was cooked fresh. I don't know how much of a time restraint you are on but you could make this the day before and then just reheat or serve cold, I have done this many times and it worked out fine. M x
Marie
Hello, I have made this tomato dish several times and it always tastes great. The red pesto makes a big difference as does Boursin cheese.
It looks so impressive as you take it to the table I love cooking it for guests.
Thanks so much for posting.
Marie
Michelle Alston
Thanks so much Marie. I'm so glad you like it 🙂
Gail Godfrey
I made this tart yesterday and it was delicious. I’m staying in Cadiz Spain for a long holiday and used their famous payoyo goat’s cheese.
Next week I want to try your mushroom tart. Can you please recommend an Italian hard cheese. Can I use Brie as the children are not so keen on cheese ?
Michelle Alston
Hi Gail, I'm so glad you enjoyed this and how amazing that you got to use Payoyo cheese to make it! For the mushroom tart recipe you could use Pecorino and if you're not vegetarian Parmesasan will work perfectly too. I haven't tested this recipe with brie, so I can't say 100% it would work. Brie tends to be quite gooey and liquid when it melts so I'm not sure it would work. The hard cheese I use in this recipe goes on the base of the pastry before you add everything else on top so there isn't an overwhelming taste of cheese, the mushrooms are the star here. I hope this helps and I hope you enjoy the rest of your holidays, M x
Louise
Great way to use cherry tomatoes. I made it exactly to the recipe, absolutely delicious!!!
Michelle Alston
Thanks so much Louise, I'm so glad you liked it 🙂
David poulson
Best ever goat’s cheese tart goes down a treat!!
Michelle Alston
Hi David, thank you so much! I'm so happy you like it.
Marita
I made this today and it was so delicious! I didn’t have pecorino cheese so I substituted parmigiano-reggiano and also added pancetta. Thanks for a great recipe!
Michelle Alston
Thanks so much Marita, I'm so glad you liked it 🙂
barbara manolache
Really very nice-happy to find a use for cherry tomatoes. Used store piecrust and brushed with butter in absence of puff pastry--came out fine. Thank you for a great recipe!
Michelle Alston
Hi Barbara, I'm so glad you liked it 🙂
Karen Elizabeth
I made this last night exactly to the recipe. it was so tasty and very easy to make .
Michelle Alston
Hi Karen, thanks so much I'm so glad you liked it x
Glen
Made some changes - green vs. red pesto, fresh mozz vs. goat cheese, freshly shredded asiago/parm and feta vs. peccorino. A bit of a soggy bottom, but pesto may have been a little more oily than I expected. Still great. Salad on the side. Yum.
Michelle Alston
Hi Glen, I'm so sorry about the soggy bottom, but agree it was probably the pesto. Glad you liked it though.
Sporeimmtoral65
how many people should this serve, I can't to find it written anywhere
Michelle Alston
The amount this serves is in red in the recipe card, it serves 6 people.
Bobby
Is the temperature 200 fan or 200 regular electric?
Michelle Alston
Hi Bobby, it's 200C for a regular electric oven and 180C for fan assisted.
Nems
This sounds amazing. Would it be just as good with green pesto?
Michelle Alston
Hi Nems, I haven't tried this using green pesto but I'm sure it would be fine. I have made this using passata or tomato and basil pasta sauce and they both worked really well.