Made into a one-pot meal, this simple baked feta pasta is a leveled-up version of the creamy, delicious, trendy TikTok dish that’s taking over the internet!
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This recipe is…
Though baked feta pasta is taking the internet world by storm right now, we actually feel like our version of it is totally leveled up — here’s why:
Most baked feta recipes call for baking the feta along with the cherry tomatoes, olive oil, and spices, and boiling the noodles separately (while everything else is in the oven). Once the noodles and the feta + cherry tomato bake are done, these recipes call for mixing the two together. OUR recipe, though, calls for baking EVERYTHING (noodles, feta, cherry tomatoes, everything!) together so that you don’t have to worry about the extra step of boiling noodles separately. This makes the entire process completely fuss-free and basically hands-off!
Where did Baked Feta Pasta start?
Good question! We first saw baked feta pasta when our friend, Yumna Jawad of Feel Good Foodie, posted it on her website (you can find her recipe HERE). Yumna said that she learned about this recipe from Grilled Cheese Social who heard about it from a viral recipe called #uunifetapasta that was made famous in Finland by Liemessa but originally shared by Tiiu.
Ingredients Needed
To bring this creamy feta pasta bake together, you’ll need…
- 12 ounces of dry pasta (penne, bowtie, rotini, or elbow are all great choices!)
- 3 cups of broth or water
- 1 (8-ounce) block of feta cheese
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- ½ teaspoon of sea salt (plus more to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 2 minced cloves of garlic
- ¾ ounce of fresh roughly chopped basil (approx. a ¼ cup)
How To Make Baked Feta Pasta
The process is simple, and that’s what we think makes this recipe so great! Here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Add the block of feta to the baking dish – place the block of feta cheese in the middle of the dish.
- Add pasta + broth – add the dry pasta to the baking dish (around the block of feta), pour the broth over top the uncooked pasta, and carefully stir the pasta and broth together (being careful not to bump any noodles under or on top of the feta) to make sure that all of the pasta is submerged in the liquid.
- Add the cherry tomatoes, EVOO, salt, and pepper – sprinkle the cherry tomatoes over top of the noodles and drizzle everything with the EVOO, salt, and pepper.
- Cover tightly + bake – cover the baking dish with foil as tight as possible, and bake at 400°F for 40 minutes.
- Add the garlic and basil + stir – once finished baking, remove the foil, add the minced garlic and fresh basil, and stir everything together until well combined. Serve and enjoy!
Serving and Storage Tips
This pasta is best served right out of the baking dish, but reheated leftovers are also really tasty! Store any leftover baked feta pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
The bursting cherry tomatoes in this recipe pair beautifully with the feta cheese, as does the garlic and basil! If you want to round out your meal with a protein + side salad, you’ve got a couple of options! You can…
Press the easy button – keep things super and hands-on cooking time minimal simple and purchase a rotisserie chicken and bagged side salad.
Make your own – while your feta pasta bakes, throw in some chicken thighs to bake alongside it (then slice and serve them over top the finished pasta)! While everything is baking, make a quick arugula salad.
The recipe will work with crumbled feta, but it’ll definitely yield a less creamy, melty texture. For best results, we definitely recommend using a block of feta if possible!
This totally depends on what healthy means to you! If your body tolerates dairy well, then feta cheese is a really delicious option that’s loaded with protein and calcium. As with any cheese, though, it does come with a higher fat content (though lower than many other cheeses) than many other protein-rich foods.
Whether it’s the healthiest cheese or not, we’re not totally sure (that’s truly variable from person to person), but it does tend to be lower in calories than other cheeses. While it may be lower in calories, though, it’s actually higher in sodium than many other cheeses. Feta cheese also contains significant amounts of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), a super nutritious fatty acid.
More Favorite Pasta Recipes
Baked Feta Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounces penne pasta rotini, bowtie, or elbow pasta will also work
- 3 cups chicken broth or water
- 1, 8- ounce block of feta cheese
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 0.75 ounces about 1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Place the block of feta in the center of a 9×13 inch baking dish, then pour the dry pasta around the feta.
- Pour the broth over the uncooked pasta, then carefully stir the pasta with the broth (making sure not to stir the feta in with it), to make sure that the pasta is fully submerged in liquid.
- Sprinkle the cherry tomatoes over top of the noodles, then drizzle over the olive oil and salt and pepper.
- Cover the baking dish with foil as tight as possible, and bake at 400 F for 40 minutes.
- Once finished baking, remove the foil, add the minced garlic and fresh basil, and stir everything together until fully combined. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Make sure you use a block of feta cheese, not crumbled feta.
- For gluten-free, we recommend Barilla or Jovial pasta
Nutrition
I made this tonight and added som chicken feta sausage for extra protein… yummy!
Ooooh good idea! Yum!
I tried this with chickpea pasta and let set while the oven headed and the pasta dissolved in the pan.
Oh no! We’re so sorry that happened, Bethany. We’ve had a couple of other folks comment saying that chickpea pasta didn’t work in this recipe. The recipe calls for regular pasta or gluten-free pasta (we use Barilla). There have been people who have had good luck with Jovial pasta also.
I made this dish tonight for no meat Fridays. It was very easy to put together. I used. A bit more feta than the recipe called for because i bought it at Costco and the bricks are bigger than 8oz. There was so much liquid left over after the 40 minutes almost like none of it evaporated or absorbed, but i did use regular pasta and not gf. I had to put it in for an additional 20 minutes.
Thank you for the feedback, Katy!
Making now. We have a milk cow, so I was able to use our homemade feta, use whole plum tomatoes as I had them canned, happened to have chicken broth on the cookstove. I added some picked oyster mushrooms a neighbor grew, some leftover roasted chicken and some homemade, homegrown onion powder! Yummy. And eyeballed all ingredients. Fingers crossed 🙂
Wow, Raene! That’s amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing this with us!
What can I substitute the garlic with (allergy to garlic and onion)
Hi Karen! My son has a sensitivity to garlic, and we just omit the garlic when we make this dish. The feta and fresh herbs give great flavor on their own, so I don’t find myself missing it. -Team FF
Can I use whole wheat pasta?
We wouldn’t see why not, Rita! -Team FF
A year later and it’s still a favorite! I love the recipe as-is, but I usually use a big head of broccoli chopped into florets in place of the tomatoes. (My kids don’t like cooked tomatoes). It’s such an easy, comforting meal that the kids can easily make too!
I made with Barilla gluten free pasta and it came out sooooo good! I’ll definitely make it again.
We love Barilla GF pasta! So glad that you enjoyed, Jessica! Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us. -Team FF
Wondering if you can add raw chicken and bake to make a one pot meal. I don’t have a rotisserie, but would love to add the protein!
Do you think I could sub cream cheese? My husband doesn’t like feta.
Totally! I think that would be delicious!
Soooo good yet so easy! I would probably use low sodium chicken broth next time. Definitely will add this recipe to my regular rotation!
Wahoo! So glad you enjoyed it, Elisabeth!
Wow! Didnt look much when came out of oven but the taste, yum!!!
Used sundried toms as no fresh. Very good.
So glad you enjoyed it, Lisa!
Made this and loved it! Wondering if sundries tomatoes would add an additional nice flavor??
Ooh, we haven’t tried it, but I bet that would be delicious, Becky!