This Baked Feta and Cherry Tomato Pasta is a quick and easy dish coated in creamy feta and bursting with juicy tomato flavor! Sprinkled with herbs, this low-key, basically hands-off dish comes together in minutes.
If you haven’t yet, you have got to check out this viral baked feta pasta dish and find out what all the hype is about. Learning a new, incredibly delicious dish that takes so little time and effort is never a bad idea. Jump on this bandwagon with me, you won’t be sorry! Hint – it is worth the rave reviews and then some!
Table of contents
Pasta with Baked Feta and Cherry Tomatoes
It’s pretty hard to avoid a Tik Tok trend these days which made it even harder not to want to see what all the fuss is about. The original recipe was created in Finland thanks to Finnish blogger Liemessa and when her fellow blogger, Tiiu, shared it, you could say it blew up. Apparently, grocery stores in Finland eventually ran out of feta!
Trying this dish seemed inevitable. Besides, I love feta, tomatoes are yum and pasta is a no-brainer, so why wouldn’t I enjoy this? I took this simple concept and ran with it. And oh my goodness, it was amazing and ridiculously easy!
What is baked feta pasta?
This recipe sounds as if it might be a baked pasta dish, but it’s actually not. You do, however, bake the sauce, if you can believe it. You place a block of feta in the middle of a bed of cherry tomatoes that have been tossed in a bit of oil and light seasoning. It then gets baked until the feta turns nice and soft, and the tomatoes are cooked down to their juiciest form. It gets stirred together creating one of the creamiest, deliciously cheesy, sauces. You then toss in your cooked pasta and dinner is served. A crazy simple, yet spectacular, pasta dish. It is SO GOOD!
Why you will love this recipe
- Quick and easy which is perfect on busy nights and lazy nights.
- Kid-friendly so you know they’ll be asking for seconds.
- Simple ingredients including some you already have in your kitchen.
- Can serve a crowd in pinch and it is a showstopper.
- Easy clean up because you bake and serve out of the same dish.
- Tastes amazing especially if you love all things feta!
- Similar to this meatless baked ziti. Another easy, cheesy, pasta dish
Ingredients
- Feta cheese block – A firm cheese that has been brined which gives it a lovely saltiness.
- Cherry tomatoes – Smaller than your average tomatoes and have a concentrated tomato flavor. You could also opt for juicy grape tomatoes.
- Olive oil – Used to coat the tomatoes prior to baking.
- Garlic – Minced. An aromatic that will add immense flavor.
- Dried Italian seasoning – A simple seasoning blend that is a perfect pairing with feta and tomato.
- Salt & Pepper – Salt is used to bring out the flavors of the other ingredients and pepper adds its own.
- Penne pasta – Can definitely use whatever pasta you have on hand.
- Optional – Red pepper flakes, chopped basil leaves, freshly grated parmesan.
How to Make this Recipe
This simple dish comes together in about 30 minutes!
Step 1: Preheat the oven and place cherry tomatoes in a baking dish. Toss in olive oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Red pepper flakes as well, if you desire.
Step 2: Place the feta block in the middle of the tomatoes, pushing the tomatoes to the sides. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the feta cheese.
Step 3: Place in oven to bake. In the meantime, cook your pasta as per package directions.
Step 4: Remove cooked tomatoes and feta from the oven. Using a fork, mash the feta and tomatoes to create the creamy sauce. Then, add the pasta back into the cheese mixture and toss to combine thoroughly.
Garnish with fresh basil and/ or parmesan cheese if desired.
Variations
Variation 1: Make a gluten-free version. Because this dish is customizable you can swap regular pasta for any gluten-free pasta. Brown rice, quinoa, chickpea pastas are all great options.
Variation 2: Make it a dip! Skip the pasta all together and use this incredible sauce as a dip for garlic bread, crusty bread, or even crackers.
Variation 3: Add other vegetables, like spinach, mushrooms, onions, red bell peppers, olives, etc. in when you toss the tomatoes in the olive oil.
Variation 4: Toss is cooked chicken or ground beef for a heartier protein-packed version.
Tips
- Use 2 pints of cherry tomatoes if you’d like a deeper tomato flavored sauce.
- You can use either cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, or a mix of both.
- Substitute 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil and 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano if you don’t have Italian seasoning on hand.
- Roast your garlic ahead of time to give it a whole other layer of delicious garlic flavor.
- This dish is simple with so few ingredients, so try and use the freshest high-quality ingredients that you can.
FAQ’s
If you want a smooth creamy texture, stick with the block. You can use crumbled feta but you may find it doesn’t melt as easily.
Sure! You will get a bit of a different flavor and not have the signature salty brine, but you can definitely use it if you prefer. It will blend nicely just make sure to decrease the cooking time.
You can use any type of pasta you have on hand with this recipe. It’s very flexible! You could also use gluten-free or whole wheat. It’s the sauce that is the star of the show, so it will be a winner no matter which you choose to go with.
Other Easy Pasta Recipes
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Baked Feta Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounce feta cheese block
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
Optional Garnishes
- Fresh chopped basil leaves
- Fresh grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- Place cherry tomatoes in a baking dish
- Add ¼ cup olive oil, garlic Italian seasoning, salt and pepper over tomatoes and toss to coat well. (add red pepper flakes now if desired)
- Place the feta block in middle of the tomatoes, pushing the tomatoes to the sides.
- Drizzle the remaining olive oil over feta cheese.
- Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- While the feta and tomatoes are baking, cook the pasta per the package directions.
- After feta and tomatoes have cooked, remove from dish from oven.
- Using a fork, mash the feta and tomatoes to create the creamy sauce.
- Then, add the pasta back into to the cheese mixture and toss to combine thoroughly.
- Garnish with fresh basil and/ or parmesan cheese if desired.
Linda Piffer
I made this for dinner tonight, baking a spaghetti squash alongside the tomatoes and cheese to serve as the “pasta.” My only complaint was that I needed to add 20 minutes to the cooking time for it to be done. Delicious! Simple! I will DEFINITELY make this again.
Jennine Smith
Delicious! I used a combination of cherry and grape tomatoes. For the noodles I used mafalda shape, mostly because because I had a bunch in hand. Definitely great by itself, but next time I may add some sweet Italian sausage, not too sure how that would impact the overall dish.
Sherri
It’s so amazing! I love the idea of the Italian sausage! I have added simple diced chicken I sautéed and loved it as well. 🙂
Murray Dickson
Fabulous recipe BUT….
Could you PLEASE use METRIC MEASUREMENTS, as used in the majority of the civilised world?
Kay
I hope you found a suitable conversion tool. Those of us in the uncivilized United States appreciate the recipe as is.
ApplePie
Thank the gods Americans love themselves, no one else can stand us.