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Baked Feta Pasta

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My spin on TikTok’s famous baked feta pasta recipe is super-easy to make in the oven and tossed with the most irresistible, cheesy, garlicky tomato basil sauce. Feel free to add any extra proteins or veggies that you’d like too!

Baked Feta Pasta

After scrolling past TikTok’s famous new viral recipe for baked feta pasta about a million times online this past week, Barclay and I finally caved and brought home a package of feta to give it a try. And we both had to agree…

…this baked feta pasta is legit awesome. ♡

Somewhat similar to how I melt down a ball of burrata to make the sauce for this cheesy pasta recipe, the uunifetapasta trend — started by Finnish blogger Liemessa — simply bakes a block of feta until it is hot and melty to form the irresistibly creamy, cheesy, tangy base for this pasta sauce. Then once combined with a pan full of burst baked cherry tomatoes, chewy al dente pasta, lots of fresh basil and garlic, and a few simple seasonings, well, there’s a reason why the entire world seems to be losing their minds over this feta pasta recipe. It really is comfort food at its best!

That said, after initially trying out the original uunifetapasta recipe, there were a few small tweaks that we ended up making and loving in our home that I thought I’d share today with any of you who might be interested. First of all, both my husband and I agreed that the sauce could use way more tomatoes and fresh basil, so we more than doubled the quantities of both which added lots of extra fresh flavor (and also made the dish more saucy, yum). I also added in a generous splash of white wine which I love in a good tomato basil sauce, but it’s totally optional if you prefer not to cook with wine. I also wilted a bunch of fresh spinach into the pasta, and would love to add in some extra veggies (such as broccoli, asparagus or mushrooms) next time too. And finally, my husband and I both agreed that a generous sprinkling of salty, umami, aged Parmesan atop each serving really helped to balance out the fresh, creamy, tangy flavors of the feta, so I highly recommend using both cheeses here.

As always, feel free to also add in any meat, seafood, or other kinds of protein that you might like with this pasta. And of course, if you would like to make it gluten-free, just cook up your favorite kind of gf pasta and you should be good to go.

Arguably the best thing about this baked feta pasta recipe is that it only requires a few quick minutes of hands-on prep time, and then your oven and stovetop will do the rest of the work for you. So 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!

Step By Step Tutorial of How To Make Feta Pasta

Baked Feta Pasta Ingredients:

Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few important notes about the ingredients you will need to make this baked feta pasta recipe:

  • Feta cheese: The original recipe for this pasta calls for a block of feta cheese which, here in Europe, is around 200 grams (or 7 ounces). That said, if only crumbled feta cheese is available at your local grocery store, feel free to just press it together into a pile in the center of your baking dish and it should still work just fine.
  • Cherry or grape tomatoes: I ended up adding extra tomatoes to this dish, which also ends up adding a bit of extra liquid for the sauce as the tomatoes burst open in the oven — win-win! Fresh cherry or grape tomatoes definitely work best for this dish, so chose whichever ones look the most ripe at your grocery store.
  • Olive oil: Which we will drizzle over the feta and tomatoes as they cook, and will also help to add a bit of richness to the sauce.
  • White wine (optional): I also added a generous splash of white wine to the feta and tomatoes, whose flavor added a delicious note to the sauce. (That said, if you prefer not to cook with wine, you can just leave this out and add in a bit of hot starchy pasta water or a squeeze or lemon juice instead.)
  • Crushed red pepper flakes: The original recipe called for using thinly-sliced fresh red chile peppers, which would also work well here. But since they can be more difficult to find in various countries, I recommend just sprinkling on some crushed red pepper flakes instead.
  • Salt and pepper: This pasta will probably not need much added salt, since the feta itself is naturally so salty. But I do recommend adding in a generous amount of freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste.
  • Pasta: Almost any kind of pasta shape will work for this recipe — noodles (bucatini, linguine, etc), tubes (rigatoni, penne, etc) or other small shapes (such as the orrechiette that I used). So choose whatever sounds fun!
  • Fresh spinach: I added in a very large handful of fresh baby spinach to give the pasta a bit of extra nutrition and color, which I would highly recommend.
  • Fresh 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 flavor really helps to balance out all of those flavors in the feta and also serves as the main seasoning for the sauce.
  • Parmesan cheese: Finally, as much as we loved the fresh and tangy feta in this recipe, we still thought that it needed some of the nutty, aged, unami flavor of Parmesan to round out the flavors in the end. So I recommend sprinkling each serving with a generous amount of shaved or grated Parmesan.

TikTok Feta Pasta Recipe in Baking Dish

How To Make Baked Feta Pasta:

Full instructions are included in the recipe below, but here is a brief overview of how to make my version of TikTok’s feta pasta recipe:

  1. Prep the tomato feta sauce. As shown in the photos above, simply place the block of feta in the center of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, surround it with cherry tomatoes, drizzle on olive oil and wine (and give all of the ingredients a little jostle to coat them in the oil), season with crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Then bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the tomatoes have burst and are nice and juicy.
  2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta. While the tomatoes and feta are baking, heat your pasta water and then cook the pasta until it is just slightly shy of al dente. (The pasta will finish cooking in the tomato feta sauce.)  Be sure to also reserve a cup or so of that hot starchy pasta water before draining the pasta, which you may need to use later.
  3. Put it all together. Then it’s time to combine everything! (You can either do this in the empty pot or, per TikTok, directly in the baking pan itself.)  Immediately add the garlic and basil to the tomato-feta mixture and stir until the feta has melted into a creamy sauce. Add in the cooked pasta and spinach and toss until combined, adding in some of that reserved starchy pasta water if needed to thin the sauce. Give it all a taste and season with extra salt and pepper, if needed.
  4. Serve. Then serve up the pasta while it’s nice and hot, sprinkle on lots of freshly-shaved or grated Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!

Baked Feta Pasta Recipe Closeup

Possible Recipe Variations:

Here are a few more ways that you can customize this baked feta pasta if you would like:

  • Add a protein: Cook up some Italian sausage, chicken, shrimp, salmon or scallops on the side if you would like to add a protein to the pasta once it has been cooked.
  • Add veggies: Likewise, you are also welcome to cook (roast, sauté, or however you prefer) some extra veggies to add to the pasta if you would like, such as broccoli, onions, asparagus, bell peppers, or mushrooms.
  • 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 or fresh chives.
  • Make it gluten-free: Just use your preferred kind of gluten-free pasta, or you could also serve this over spiralized veggie noodles (such as zucchini or sweet potato noodles).
  • Make it spicier: And of course, if you would like to increase the heat, just add more crushed red pepper flakes or sliced fresh chiles.
  • Use roasted garlic: Instead of (or in addition to) adding in the minced garlic at the end of the recipe, feel free to roast a head of garlic in the oven alongside the baking dish with the feta and tomatoes if you would like to add some deliciously sweet roasted garlic to this dish.
  • Use a base other than pasta: In place of pasta, you could also easily serve this tomato-feta sauce with rice (or risotto), quinoa, farro, beans, lentils, or simply with a few big hunks of crusty bread.

TikTok Baked Feta Pasta in Serving Bowls

More Easy Pasta Recipes:

And if you’re looking for more crowd-pleasing, comforting, easy pasta recipes, here are a few of my all-time faves to try:

Baked Feta Pasta Recipe with Serving Spoon

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Baked Feta Pasta

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 55 reviews
  • Author: Ali
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 35 mins
  • Total Time: 45 mins
  • Yield: About 4 servings 1x

Description

My spin on TikTok’s famous baked feta pasta recipe is super-easy to make in the oven and tossed with the most irresistible, cheesy, garlicky tomato basil sauce. Feel free to add any extra proteins or veggies that you’d like too!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 7 or 8-ounce block of feta cheese
  • 1 1/2 pounds cherry or grape tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup white wine (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
  • 8 ounces uncooked pasta of your choice (I used orrecchiette)
  • 3 large cloves garlic, pressed or minced
  • 1 large handful fresh baby spinach
  • 1 cup loosely-packed chopped fresh basil
  • shaved or grated Parmesan cheese, for topping

Instructions

  1. Prep oven. Heat oven to 400°F (205°C).
  2. Prep the tomato feta sauce. Place the block of feta in the center of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.  Arrange the tomatoes around the feta, then drizzle everything evenly with the olive oil and white wine.  (I recommend giving the ingredients a brief toss so that they are evenly coated in the oil.)  Sprinkle the crushed red pepper flakes evenly over the feta, and season the tomatoes with a pinch of salt and black pepper.
  3. Bake. Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the tomatoes have burst and are nice and juicy.
  4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta. While the tomatoes and feta are baking, heat a large stockpot of generously-salted water until boiling.  About 10 minutes or so before the tomatoes and feta are set to finish, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until it is just 1 minute or so shy of al dente.  Reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water and set it aside for later, then drain the pasta.
  5. Put it all together. Remove the baking dish from the oven.  Immediately add the garlic and basil and stir the mixture together until the feta has melted into a creamy sauce.  Add in the cooked pasta and spinach and gently toss until the pasta is evenly coated and the spinach has begun to wilt.  If the sauce seems too dry, add in some of the reserved starchy pasta water 1/4 cup at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
  6. Season. Taste and season with extra salt and pepper, if needed.
  7. Serve. Serve warm, garnished with lots of Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!


Notes

Source: Recipe slightly adapted from Liemessa’s famous uunifetapasta.

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96 comments on “Baked Feta Pasta”

  1. When I went looking for a recipe for the “TikTok” pasta, I saw Give Me Some Oven pop-up and instantly was excited. I’ve pinned and tried many of your recipes now and am never disappointed! Even though I knew this was a simple dish, I was curious as to quantities of the ingredients and appreciate your extra tips. This dish is small on steps, BIG on taste! I didn’t have fresh bail and used dried, threw a handful of garlic cloves in with the tomatoes so they works get roasted, added cut up chicken and spinach at the end. My hub was drooling from his office as it was baking and oooed and ahhed over his dinner as he ate it. I too was pleasantly surprised by how really great it was. I also love the fact that I used tomatoes that were starting to wrinkle up and you’d never know it. This is a great way to use them or other veggies that are on their way out. Thanks again for another winner ?!!






  2. So SO good and very easy to put together! My kind of pasta dish for date night at home with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and my handsome man beside me. Definitely over-indulged but this is well worth it. Will make again and next time try adding different herbs and veggies for a change. Thanks for this one!






  3. This recipe is amazing. Simple ingredients, easy to put together, and so delicious. I never knew feta could melt like that. The creamy sauce is rich, but not over the top. I did have two helpings! A salad and crusty bread and your set.






  4. Wow! This was so good! Love your blog- Wishing you and your husband well for your soon to arrive baby! ??❤️






  5. Next time will increase tomatoes and decrease feta, salty. Will definitely make again.






  6. This sounds delicious! Can you use lentil or chickpea pasta for this recipe?

  7. This was FANTASTIC! I made a couple modifications. First, seasoned some chicken breasts with Montreal steak seasoning and cooked them in the air fryer. Second, and far less intentionally, I used three HEADS of garlic instead of three cloves. I am soooo happy there was a suggestion to roast the garlic, which I took, which saved us. Really could’ve been a disaster but turned out great! If you decide to roast, definitely up the garlic. I’d probably still put in a head or two next time. Loved it.

  8. I tweaked it the same as yours but subbed 2tbsp Italian seasoning for the chili flakes

  9. Make this for the first time and like other comments – WOW! Such epic taste for so little effort! I followed the specifics, except probably had more tomatoes than called for (I LOVE roasted tomatoes). The only thing I’ll do next time is add some Greek olives when I stir in the fresh basil.






  10. Delicious!! When I saw the amount of basil, I thought—no way, that seems like a ton. But it was perfect! I used arugula in place of spinach, and roasted the garlic as you suggested. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly (without wine) and it was amazing and SO easy! Will definitely make again!






  11. Can I halve this, what proportions?

  12. This was fun, quick, & delicious! The only thing I did differently was place a whole bulb of garlic in the baking dish with the tomatoes and roasted that too. Yum! Thank you for this recipe!

  13. I made this as and it was delicious. I used multicolored small sized tomatoes and added lots of garlic & basil. Those were the only changes I made. It was easy and a nice summer dish.






  14. I have but one question Can you freeze the sauce in portions as I am but one person.






  15. This is great! Just wanted to let people know that I doubled the recipe but still baked it in a 9 x 13 pan. Worked fine but took about 50 minutes.






  16. Made this last night and it is so easy!!!! Will definitely be making again.






  17. The recipe will be my go to pasta recipe this summer. I posted on my blog with photos at www.aboutmybeaches.com. Thanks for sharing.






  18. So good! Whole family loved it. I didn’t use the wine or fresh basil (had none) but used the rest. Used a bit of dried basil instead. Also used 2 1/2 cups dry fusilli. Yumm.






  19. I was considering bringing this to a potluck- type get together. Do you think it would still be good served at room temp?

  20. Hi Ali- Any thoughts on cooking this on a stove top or instant pot? Wolud love to try this but I live in Phoenix, AZ where it will be upwards of 100 degrees F, (38C) for several more months and don’t want to heat up the kitchen using the oven. Thanks!

  21. This is absolutely delicious. Added mushrooms to the tomatoes and it was so good and so so so easy. Will add this to my dinner rotation and will play around with adding a protein or different vegetables.






  22. Made this tonight, so easy and delicious. Good tip saving some of the pasta water as I did need to add some. Love the addition of spinach. Will definitely use this recipe again.






  23. My grocery store didn’t have a chunk of feta. Could I use crumbled?






  24. So I made this for my uncle, who is recovering from a traumatic brain injury. He doesn’t eat much more than soup and salad, but are TWO servings of this. I substituted mint for basil because I couldn’t find fresh basil and used garlic powder because he finds fresh garlic too strong. It was sooooo good!! Thank you for sharing this recipe! ❤️






  25. If you follow the recipe fairly close, approximately how many calories are in this dish?

  26. I tweaked this a bit further-I started with an oblong baking dish and drizzled several tablespoons of EVOO on the bottom. Rather than cherry or grape tomatoes, which would create a lot of skins in the sauce, I opted for a can of peeled San Marzano pomodoro tomatoes. As I’m lactose intolerant, I used a block of lactose free feta. After baking the feta and tomatoes, I added the garlic, some herbs, and 10 oz of uncooked penne. Back in it went for 20 mins. When it came out, I mixed in the spinach, turned off the oven, coated the top with grated Parmesan cheese, and stuck it back in the still- warm oven for 6 mins to melt the cheese on top. It came out delicious. Thanks for the idea!

  27. This recipe is so fantastic! I’ve made it twice now, exactly as it’s written, and it’s perfect. It’s easy, delicious, fast to put together – it’s going in my regular rotation. Thank you!

  28. My oh my that was good!
    Thanks for the great recipe.






  29. Excellent recipe! I love this and so does my family. I will definitely be adding it to the dinner rotation!






  30. Hi, thanks for the recipe! Is it ok for me to add mushrooms, or do I need to cook them separately? Thanks for your help!

  31. Oh. My. Gosh!
    The flavor in this simple dish is just extraordinary! My whole family inhaled it! Perfect recipe as is…didn’t change a thing.
    Thank you for a keeper!






  32. Loved this! I doubled the garlic, left it in large pieces, and put it in to roast with the tomatoes. The rest, I simply followed the recipe. The white wine and chili flakes help this recipe stand out. My tomatoes needed 45 minutes in the oven, and I ended up using nearly all of the pasta water. Thought it was delicious and will make it again.






  33. I wish your notes were appended all your recipes.






  34. Call me crazy but I added half a a package of pepperoni. I was afraid with the feta it might be too salty but hubby and company loved it! I’ve made this a few times and it is always a hit!






  35. Delicious! I didn’t have any white wine, so used red instead, and also was out of spinach — surprise! — so I sliced frozen broccoli into small pieces. Otherwise followed the recipe as written and everyone really liked it.