Recipes

[Chi-town girl]

Baked Queso Fresco Pasta

This recipe works for: Main Dish, Side

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients

10 ounce block of queso fresco

8 ounces of grape tomatoes, halved

1 14.5 ounce can fire roasted tomato salsa

1 pound shell pasta noodles

¼ cup chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta. Cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
3. In a 9×13 baking dish, add block of queso fresco to the center.
4. Sprinkle halved grape tomatoes around the cheese.
5. Pour salsa on top of entire dish.
6. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven.
7. Pour cooked pasta into baking dish. Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine, mashing and breaking up cheese.
8. Sprinkle with cilantro.

[Love my grandkids]

@Chi-town girl I'm wiping drool off of my keyboard! Except I'd have to omit cilantro as I can't stand it but the rest is just yummy.

[Chi-town girl]

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@Love my grandkids wrote:

@Chi-town girl I'm wiping drool off of my keyboard! Except I'd have to omit cilantro as I can't stand it but the rest is just yummy.

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@Love my grandkids - looks good, doesn't it!?! Easy recipe and we have an abundance of cherry tomatoes. Omitting the cilantro won't change the outcome. Just need a salad and maybe some garlic bread to make it a complete meal

[joviolin]

Made this for dinner last night and it was every bit as delicious as it sounds!  However, when I added the pasta and stirred everything together, the melted queso fresco clumped up.  I'm thinking it was the brand I used.  Can anyone recommend a smooth, "melty" queso fresco?  TIA!!! 

Even with the clumps of cheese, the flavors of this dish were to die for!!!

[Chi-town girl]

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@joviolin wrote:

Made this for dinner last night and it was every bit as delicious as it sounds!  However, when I added the pasta and stirred everything together, the melted queso fresco clumped up.  I'm thinking it was the brand I used.  Can anyone recommend a smooth, "melty" queso fresco?  TIA!!! 

Even with the clumps of cheese, the flavors of this dish were to die for!!!

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@joviolin - I'm glad you love it. I am curious to know if there are more "melt" queso frescos. Hoping someone can answer the question 

[vabreeze]

@joviolin 

Queso fresco is not an easy cheese to melt.  You can melt it like you would make a bechamel sauce w/out the butter and flour.  I made this same Tik Tok viral dish with a block of cream cheese.  I incorporated feta crumbles into my dish at the end when tossing in the cooked pasta-- you could do the same with the queso fresco.