The new TikTok trending baked feta pasta recipe that everyone is talking about! It has loads of flavors, creamy comfort, lots of veggies, and carbs!
It's creamy, tomato-y, and SO damn delicious. …seriously, you've got to try this one! Cherry tomatoes, garlic, and vegetables are roasted with a block of feta and seasoning to create a cheesy sauce. Add cooked pasta, spinach, and lots of basil and mix-and dinner is on the table in less than 45 minutes!
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About this Viral Dish
If you are on Tik-Tok or Instagram, you've likely come across this now-viral baked feta pasta recipe by Finnish blogger Jenni Häyrinen.
I learned about this recipe from Instagram. I first saw this on Grilled Cheese Social who made it based on a viral recipe called #uunifetapasta, made famous in Finland by Liemessa and originally shared by Tiiu.
It became so popular that the grocery stores ran out of feta cheese in Finland!!
So many are trying this hack(recipe) with different variations.
I couldn't resist giving it a try. I gave my spin with the addition of vegetables, spinach, lots of fresh basil, and some seasonings. And my family loved this Baked Feta Pasta.
Now I know why this dish is taking the TikTok and Instagram world by storm. It's probably the simplest pasta dish you'll make this month and tastes scrumptious. There are some trends worth following! 😊
The original recipe is made with tomatoes only but I added some veggies and seasoning to make it to my liking.
The best thing about this baked feta pasta recipe is that it only requires a few minutes of hands-on prep time, and then your oven and stovetop will do the rest of the work for you.
Why I love this recipe?
- The dish is fuss-free, flavorful, pretty much hands-off, and all the magic happens in the oven.
- Made with just a handful of ingredients
- Dinner gets done in 45 minutes
- Loved by all ages
- Crowd pleaser
- Perfect for any party or gatherings
If you're looking for a simple, indulgent, comforting new pasta recipe to try, grab a block of feta before it disappears from store shelves in your area and give it a go!
Ingredients required to make this recipe
- Feta cheese – Use full-fat feta cheese. The fat adds creaminess and flavor, so go for full fat if possible. You can use crumbled feta too (block has disappeared from the shelves in many places so use crumbled feta). Just pile it up in the middle and you're ready to make the best-baked feta pasta.
- Pasta – I have used mini penne pasta. Use pasta with ridges or groves: since the baked feta sauce is the best part of this recipe you want pasta that will collect the sauce in its crevices and groves. Rigatoni, rotini, and shells work well.
- Cherry tomatoes - the balance between the sweet tomatoes and the salty, creamy feta is what makes this cherry tomato pasta incredible. You can use grape tomatoes but Try to use cherry tomatoes. Grape tomatoes are not as sweet as the cherry variety!
- Olive oil – This recipe calls for a lot of oil (½ a cup). It might look a lot but this is part of what makes this recipe this good! Reducing the olive oil will alter the taste.
- Vegetables - Original recipe doesn’t call for vegetables. But I like to add some vegetables like bell pepper, and onion. You can also add broccoli.
- Red crushed Pepper – the original recipe calls for red chile peppers, but I used red pepper flakes because that's all I had and it worked well.
- Some Greens – feta and cherry tomatoes work well with spinach, parsley, or arugula. Add any of them for a delicious pop of flavor, nutrition, and color. I have added spinach at the end.
- Basil: The original recipe also called for a small sprinkling of fresh basil, but I recommend amping that up big-time and adding in around 1 cup of loosely-packed chopped basil leaves. Its sweet flavor helps to balance out all of those flavors in the feta.
- Parmesan cheese: a generous sprinkling of salty, umami, aged Parmesan on top this dish helped to balance out the fresh, creamy, tangy flavors of the feta, so I highly recommend using this parmesan cheese in this recipe.
- Other ingredients - On top above, I have used garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and olives.
How to make this recipe? Step by step process
Step - 1 Bake the vegetables, tomato and feta cheese
- Preheat the oven @400 degrees F. (200 degrees C.)
- As shown in the photo, take tomatoes, bell pepper, and onions in a 9×13 inch baking pan. Add ¼ cup olive oil, salt, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, black pepper powder, ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning, and garlic. Mix them well. Now make some space in the center and place the block of feta in the center. Drizzle remaining ¼ cup olive oi on feta cheese block, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 35 minutes, until the tomatoes have burst and are nice and juicy.
Step - 2 meanwhile, cook the pasta.
While the tomatoes, veggies and feta are baking, heat your pasta water and then cook the pasta according to the package instruction. Once the pasta is done cooking, reserve a cup or so of that hot starchy pasta water which you may need to use later. Drain the remaining water and keep the pasta aside.
Step - 3 put it all together.
It's time to combine everything! (You can either do this in the empty pot or, per TikTok, directly in the baking pan itself.)
Take the baking dish out of the oven. The tomatoes would have burst by now releasing all the beautiful flavor and the cheese will be soft and super melty.
Take a spatula or fork and mash the cheese and mix everything together. Mash the garlic cloves.
Immediately add the spinach and mix. You can serve this as a dip or topping for bread. It taste so so delicious.
Now add pasta, basil, and olives to the tomato-feta mixture and stir until everything is well combined. Add in some of that reserved starchy pasta water if needed to thin the sauce. Give it a taste and season with extra salt and pepper, if needed.
Step - 4 Serve.
Then serve up the pasta while it's nice and hot, sprinkle on some freshly shaved or grated Parmesan cheese, some more basil, and enjoy with fresh crusty bread!
Quick FAQs
If you don't like feta, try using French feta which has a bit of a milder flavor or even a different kind of cheese. This pasta recipe will also work with brie, ricotta, or fresh mozzarella.
Make sure to bake the tomatoes, vegetables and feta in a baking dish small enough where the ingredients are snug together, this ensures that they don't burn but instead cook evenly in oil into a delicious confit.
Please reserve some of the pasta water and you can add that to the dish if pasta appears a little dry after mixing with baked cheese and tomato.
I have not tried but you can use vegan feta and see if it works.
This Pasta is best served straight out of the baking dish. Leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for about 2 to 3 days. When reheating, add some water and reheat either on stove-top or in microwave.
Possible recipe variations
Here are a few more ways that you can customize this baked feta pasta if you would like:
- Add a protein: Cooked chickpeas works well in this
- Add extra herbs: Feel free to also toss in any other fresh or dried herbs that might pair well in this sauce, such as oregano, thyme, rosemary, fresh chives, tarragon, or parsley.
- Make it gluten-free: To make it gf, use gluten-free pasta.
- Make it spicier: And of course, if you would like to increase the heat, just add more crushed red pepper flakes or jalapeno peppers.
- You can substitute other carbs In place of pasta – You could use cooked rice, quinoa, farro, brown rice, or a few big hunks of crusty bread.
Vegetarian Feta cheese
Many of you may know that not all feta cheeses are vegetarian. Feta cheese contains animal rennet. But there are some brands which use vegetarian rennet. A couple of them are 365 Feta cheese (Whole-food brand) and Organic valley brand. I have used 365 brand feta cheese here.
Here is a full list of all the vegetarian cheese brands. It's a list that will tell you about cheeses that do not use animal-derived rennet, along with links to brands that make their cheese vegetarian. Hope you will find this helpful.
More Pasta recipes
Instant Pot Spicy Chipotle Pasta
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta (Vegan+instant pot)
Instant Pot Vegetable Tortellini Soup
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Baked Feta Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 Oz. Pasta
- 8 OZ. Feta cheese
- 20 OZ. Cherry tomatoes around 600 grams (2 pint)
- 1 cup – spinach
- 1 ½ cup – bell pepper I have used yellow and green
- 1 cup – Sliced red onion
- 5 cloves – garlic
- ½ cup – Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon – Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon – Red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon – Black pepper powder
- ¼ teaspoon – salt
- 2 tablespoon – sliced olives
- ½ cup – chopped basil
- Parmesan cheese for garnishing optional
Method
- Preheat the oven @400 degrees F. (200 degrees C.)
- As shown in the photo, take tomatoes, bell pepper, and onions in a 9×13 inch baking pan. Add ¼ cup olive oil, salt, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, black pepper powder, ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning, and garlic. Mix them well. Now make some space in the center and place the block of feta in the center. Drizzle remaining ¼ cup olive oi on feta cheese block, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 35 minutes, until the tomatoes have burst and are nice and juicy.
- While the tomatoes, veggies and feta are baking, heat your pasta water and then cook the pasta according to the package instruction. Once the pasta is done cooking, reserve a cup or so of that hot starchy pasta water which you may need to use later. Drain the remaining water and keep the pasta aside.
- It's time to combine everything! (You can either do this in the empty pot or, per TikTok, directly in the baking pan itself.)
- Take the baking dish out of the oven. The tomatoes would have burst by now releasing all the beautiful flavor and the cheese will be soft and super melty.
- Take a spatula or fork and mash the cheese and mix everything together. Mash the garlic cloves.
- Immediately add the spinach and mix. You can serve this as a dip or topping for bread. It taste so so delicious.
- Now add pasta, basil, and olives to the tomato-feta mixture and stir until everything is well combined. Add in some of that reserved starchy pasta water if needed to thin the sauce. Give it a taste and season with extra salt and pepper, if needed.
- Then serve up the pasta while it's nice and hot, sprinkle on some of freshly-shaved or grated Parmesan cheese, some more basil and enjoy with hot crusty bread!
Nutrition
Notes
Possible Ingredient substitutions are given Here.
What if I don't like feta?
If you don't like feta, try using French feta which has a bit of a milder flavor or even a different kind of cheese. This pasta recipe will also work with brie, ricotta, or fresh mozzarella.What kind of baking dish should I use?
Make sure to bake the tomatoes and feta in a baking dish small enough where the ingredients are snug together, this ensures that they don’t burn but instead cook evenly in oil into a delicious confit.My baked feta pasta looks dry. What should I do?
Please reserve some of the pasta water and you can add that to the dish if pasta appears a little dry after mixing with baked cheese and tomato.Can you make this vegan?
I have not tried but you can use vegan feta and see how it works.Possible recipe variations
Here are a few more ways that you can customize this baked feta pasta if you would like:- Add a protein: Cooked chickpeas works well in this
- Add extra herbs: Feel free to also toss in any other fresh or dried herbs that might pair well in this sauce, such as oregano, thyme, rosemary, fresh chives, tarragon, or parsley.
- Make it gluten-free: To make it gf, use gluten-free pasta.
- Make it spicier: And of course, if you would like to increase the heat, just add more crushed red pepper flakes or jalapeno peppers.
- You can substitute other carbs In place of pasta - You could use cooked rice, quinoa, farro, brown rice, or a few big hunks of crusty bread.
Vegetarian Feta cheese
Many of you may know that not all feta cheeses are vegetarian. Feta cheese contains animal rennet. But there are some brands which use vegetarian rennet. A couple of them are 365 Feta cheese (Whole-food brand) and Organic valley brand. I have used 365 brand feta cheese here. Here is a full list of all the vegetarian cheese brands. It’s a list that will tell you about cheeses that do not use animal-derived rennet, along with links to brands that make their cheese vegetarian. Hope you will find this helpful.Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know We would love to hear your thoughts! Please leave your comments, ratings, and any ideas or changes you think could help us make our recipes even better. Thank you for your feedback!Warm Regards,
Dhwani.
Where do you get fresh basil?
In which store
I got it from Trader’s Joe. Its easily available in most of the grocery stores.
I discovered this recipe couple of years ago & it’s enjoyed by all everytime I make it!!
Thank you so much for such an easy & yummy recipe!
So glad to know. Thank you so much!