Blue Cheese Pasta with Steak

Steak and blue cheese is a flavor match made in heaven, and I’ve turned the combo into a decadent and rich pasta dish. Tender bites of sirloin steak coated in a simple blue cheese pasta sauce and tossed with penne is an easy 30-minute dinner when you want to treat yourself.

There are two types of people in this world: those who love blue cheese and those who do not. I am team blue all the way, so if you’re with me, I’ve got a pasta recipe for you today that’s a love letter to that pleasantly pungent and sharp cheese.

If you’ve ever had steak with blue cheese butter, this dish is like that, except we’re slicing up the steak, tossing it with pasta, and bringing it all together with a blue cheese sauce.

How to Make It

The end result is fancy-ish, but you don’t need a ton of ingredients or a lot of time to make it. I like to garnish it with some chopped toasted walnuts – they add a nice crunchy texture that works well with the creamy sauce. Some parsley, of course, adds a little pop of color and freshness.

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Blue Cheese Pasta with Steak

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This blue cheese pasta with steak is rich and decadent dinner.

• Author: April Anderson
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stove
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 8 ounces penne
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 (8-oz) sirloin steaks seasoned with 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 cup whole milk
• 8 ounces blue cheese finely crumbled (see note)
• Optional garnishes per serving: 2 tablespoons chopped parsley and ¼ cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water. While it boils, cook the steaks.
2. Heat the oil in an 8 to 10” pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, adjust the heat to medium. Place the seasoned steaks in the pan and cook them on one side for about five minutes (for 1-2” thick steaks). Turn them over and cook them on the other side until the internal temperature is 140°F (see note). Take them out of the pan and rest them on a cutting board while you prepare the sauce.
3. Drain the pasta, return the pot to the burner, and adjust the heat to medium-low. Melt the butter in the pot, then add the flour, cornstarch, salt, and white pepper. Stir until the mixture is smooth.
4. Whisk in the milk a little at a time, whisking well between each addition so the sauce is smooth. Adjust the heat to medium, and once the mixture is steaming hot (not boiling), add the blue cheese.
5. Whisk the cheese into the sauce until it is mostly smooth (the blue cheese can be a little stubborn, but a few chunks of blue cheese in the sauce is not a bad thing at all.). Adjust the heat to medium-low or low while you slice the steak.
6. Slice the steaks against the grain into 1” slices. Cut the slices into bite-sized pieces and add the steak to the sauce.
7. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and steak and stir to coat everything evenly. If using, garnish each serving with chopped toasted walnuts and parsley.

Notes

I recommend buying a wedge of blue cheese instead of buying crumbled blue cheese. Precrumbled cheese isn’t as creamy and won’t melt well. I like to grate the cheese wedge so you end up with very fine crumbles. This way, it melts into the sauce faster. You can also use a food processor and pulse the cheese a few times to break it down.

The cooking time for the steaks will vary depending on their thickness. The ones I use are about 1 ½ to 2” thick. I like to cook the steaks to 140°F, which is pink in the middle. Once you slice the steaks and add them to the sauce, they will cook a little more.

The nutrition estimate doesn’t include the optional garnishes.

Nutrition

• Calories: 688
• Sugar: 4.9g
• Sodium: 900.2mg
• Fat: 32.4g
• Saturated Fat: 19.7g
• Unsaturated Fat: 10.1g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 50.1g
• Fiber: 2g
• Protein: 47.1g
• Cholesterol: 131mg

The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.

Recipe Tips

I like sirloin for this blue cheese pasta recipe because it’s tender and cooks fast. You can also use ribeye, New York strip, or even flank steak.

There are all kinds of types of blue cheese to choose from at the store. I’ve made this with a basic wedge of blue cheese and love it, but a high-quality Roquefort (French blue cheese) will elevate the sauce. It’s creamy and rich.

Gorgonzola (Italian blue cheese) is another option, but for the best creamy blue cheese pasta, choose one that is creamy and not too firm. English Stilton blue cheese will also work well.

Whichever blue cheese you choose, taste it before you make the dish. If it’s very salty, you should reduce the amount of added salt in the recipe. You can always add more if you think it needs it.

Penne works great with the sauce. It seeps into the pasta and clings to the ridges, so every bite is wonderfully saucy. That said, other short pasta shapes will work, too, like rotini, cavatappi, orecchiette, or small shells.

Like other creamy pasta dishes, this bleu cheese pasta is best not long after it’s made. Leftovers will keep for a few days in the refrigerator, but you will need to add a few splashes of milk, cream, or half and half to loosen the sauce when you warm it up.

This bleu cheese pasta is so decadent and rich – a little goes a long way! It’s perfect for a special occasion dinner or anytime you want to treat yourself to a cozy pasta dinner. I hope you love it!

Happy cooking,

More Recipes with Blue Cheese

This blue cheese pasta recipe was updated from the archives. It was first published in December 2015.