This creamy Gorgonzola pasta combines a silky blue cheese sauce with crispy pancetta, golden mushrooms and soft leeks for one seriously delicious dinner.
The sauce here is gorgeously silky and clings to every piece of pasta, while the pancetta, mushrooms and leeks bring so much extra flavour to the party. It’s rich, perfectly balanced and every bite is ridiculously delicious. Follow me…
Ingredients Notes
There aren’t too many ingredients here, but they all come together to make a truly special final dish. The full quantities are down in the recipe card, but I just want to quickly touch on each one:
- Dolce melts the best – I highly recommend using Gorgonzola Dolce. It’s softer and creamier than Piccante, with a milder flavour that melts beautifully into the sauce.
- Penne catches all that sauce – The sauce snuggles inside the penne and clings to the ridges so beautifully.
- Recycle the pancetta fat – Don’t drain it away once the pancetta is crisp. It forms part of the base of the sauce and adds loads of flavour.
- Get some colour on the mushrooms – I use chestnut mushrooms for their slightly deeper flavour. Let them properly brown rather than just soften.
- Leek brings the sweetness – Its mellow sweetness works really nicely against the salty pancetta and tangy Gorgonzola.
- Cream keeps it rich – Double/heavy cream gives the sauce its gorgeous richness without needing to use loads of it.
- Salted vs unsalted butter – I use unsalted since the pancetta and Gorgonzola already bring plenty of salt.
Building the flavour
A lot of the flavour in this pasta is built before the sauce even comes together. Start by frying the pancetta until crisp and the fat has rendered out, then use that fat to cook the mushrooms until nicely golden. The leek goes in last so it softens and picks up all that flavour without turning mushy.
Process: fry pancetta (photos 1&2), fry mushrooms (photos 3&4), fry leek (photos 5&6)
Creamy Gorgonzola Sauce
Now we’ve built the flavour; it’s time for the silky sauce.
Starchy Pasta Water
Starchy pasta water is key to so many pasta sauces and this is no exception. It combines with the butter and rendered pancetta fat to help create that gorgeously silky consistency, while also loosening the cream and Gorgonzola so the sauce properly clings to the pasta instead of becoming thick and heavy.
Ensure you season the water well with salt so it doesn’t dilute the flavour, and make sure you don’t fill the pot up with too much water or it won’t be as starchy as you need it to be.
Adding the Gorgonzola
Once the cream goes in, keep the heat fairly gentle and let the Gorgonzola slowly melt into the sauce. You don’t want to aggressively boil it at this point; just give everything enough time to come together into a smooth, creamy sauce.
Recipe Tip
Go easy with how much salt you season the sauce with. The pancetta, cheese and starchy water will already be salty, so don’t go overboard. On the other hand, a good pinch of black pepper is encouraged!
- Storage – this is best served fresh, but you can store leftovers tightly covered in the fridge for 2–3 days. Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave, adding a small splash of water or cream to loosen the sauce as it warms through.
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this gorgonzola pasta shall we?!
How to make Gorgonzola Pasta (Full Recipe & Video)
Creamy Gorgonzola Pasta
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Deep Frying Pan & Wooden Spoon
- Large Pot & Colander
Ingredients
- 5.3oz / 150g diced Pancetta
- 5.3oz / 150g Mushrooms, sliced (I use Chestnut Mushrooms)
- 1 Leek, trimmed and diced (see notes)
- 12.3oz / 350g Penne (or short-cut pasta of choice)
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 3/4 cup / 180ml Heavy/Double Cream, leave at room temp
- 3.5oz / 100g Gorgonzola, sliced into large chunks
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add the pancetta to a large pan, then turn the heat to medium. Fry until it starts crisping up with the fat rendering out.
- At this point, you can add the pasta to a pot of salted water and cook until al dente. Just before draining, scoop a cup of the starchy pasta water.
- Add the mushrooms to the pancetta and fry until they soften and start to brown, then add the leek and continue frying until it fully softens and starts taking on colour.
- Melt the butter, then pour in 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water. Swiftly stir to emulsify the starchy water, pancetta fat and butter until it turns cloudy. Stir in the cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in the gorgonzola until it melts into the sauce. Bring back to a gentle bubble then cut the heat.
- Stir through the cooked pasta until the sauce thickens, clings to the pasta and is no longer watery. If the sauce thickens too much, use the leftover pasta water to thin it out as needed (discard if not).
- Check for seasoning and adjust if needed. I typically add a tiny amount of salt and a good pinch of pepper. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
If you like the sound of the blue cheese recipe then definitely check out my Homemade Blue Cheese Dip!
Looking for more creamy pasta dishes? Give these beauties a ganders:
- Creamy Salmon Pasta
- Penne Alfredo with Bacon and Sun Dried Tomato
- Creamy Mushroom Pasta
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Four Cheese Pasta
oh, dear god – how have I only just found you? This is spectacular!! Your recipes are amazing, thank you, thank you!
This was amazing, and a testament to why you are my favorite foodie on Instagram!
That’s very kind, Jeff! Thanks so much for following along 🙂
I’ve made a few pasta dishes with gorgonzola sauce so I know how yummy this is! My kind of comfort food!
Total comfort food! 🙂
Looks delicious and the type of recipe that you can throw some additional vegetables like cauliflower or broccoli into as well.
Yes! Broccoli works so well with this recipe 🙂
Oh wow. Such a decadent and creamy pasta. A delicious treat, comforting, and so easy to make. Thank you for the recipe!
You’re so welcome 🙂
This was heavenly – all my favorites are in this pasta – pancetta, gorgonzola, leeks, mushrooms!
Woo hoo! 🙂
You had me at creamy Gorgonzola sauce! What a comforting and indulgent meal…this looks fantastic!
You can’t beat creamy gorgonzola sauce can you!?