Feta Pasta - my take on the viral TikTok pasta recipe doing the rounds at the moment. A super easy one-pan dish of baked feta and tomatoes, then mix through garlic, herbs and pasta then eat!
OK, so I gave in and tried out the latest viral trending TikTok pasta recipe that everyone's raving about - baked Feta Pasta. You know the one, a block of feta surrounded with mini/baby tomatoes in a baking dish with olive oil and then into the oven. Take it out, then add garlic and you're Done. That's it.
Well.
It's gone viral for a reason... so simple and soooooo good! Full disclosure, for my version I did add some fresh herbs once it came out of the oven (which you will see in the recipe) but it even tasted good before the herbs went in. I love a good pasta bake, and this is like a feta pasta bake just with the pasta added last.
This is also a great recipe base to then build on if you like - see the section below with my ideas for different additions. Yum!
Table of Contents
What you will need to make this recipe
- feta (I use danish feta)
- mini tomatoes (I used mini roma tomatoes)
- olive oil
- black pepper
- fresh garlic
- fresh herbs (I used basil, parsley and oregano)
- pasta
- salt to taste
How to make this recipe
- Place the feta in the middle of a baking dish. Add in the tomatoes, olive oil and pepper.
- Bake. Meanwhile cook the pasta.
- Break up the feta and tomatoes (I use a potato masher - but you could use a fork).
- Mix in garlic, herbs and cooked pasta.
My top tips for making this recipe
- I used mini roma tomatoes for this feta tomato pasta - any kind of mini/baby tomato should be fine though as long as they are all relatively even-sized.
- Good fresh produce is always best, but I'm going out a limb here and saying that if your little tomatoes aren't the freshest it's all good. In fact, I find if the tomatoes are slightly beyond their prime and wrinkly or soft (not rotten!) then you will actually get a bit richer tasting sauce because they break down quicker in the oven and get a little stickier.
- The mix (or amount) of fresh herbs can be easily changed to suit your taste or what you have on hand.
- I have used orecchiette pasta, but you could another type of pasta.
- Feta can taste salty, so I wouldn't suggest adding any salt at the start. Give it a taste once your baked feta and tomatoes are all mixed up and see if it needs more salt then.
Serving suggestions and ideas for add-ins
- You could stir through some basil pesto after it comes out of the oven, this would be amazing!
- Some chopped baby spinach added in when you add the garlic and pasta. The residual heat will wilt the spinach.
- I can see myself frying up some bacon and pine nuts to add in at the end next time.
- A great recipe for putting in the middle of the table for everyone to serve themselves, along with a salad and some crusty bread.
- Any leftover cooked vegetables in the fridge would be a great addition.
- This would also be great with filled pasta like ravioli too.
Other recipes you may enjoy
Orzo with Feta, Asparagus and Lemon - a quick, light pasta with creamy feta, asparagus & prosciutto.
Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes and Pasta - a pasta dish packed with burst cherry tomatoes, topped with buttery, herb and garlic oven-roasted chicken breast.
Creamy Chicken and Pasta Bake - this easy bake uses leftover rotisserie chicken, smoky bacon and pasta all coated in a simple 2 ingredient cheese sauce.
Feta Pasta with Herbs
Ingredients
- 200 g block of feta I use danish feta
- 750 g mini tomatoes I used mini roma tomatoes
- ¼ cup olive oil
- black pepper
- 2 fresh garlic cloves cores removed and crushed (see my notes)
- 1½ cups fresh herbs (firmly packed, then roughly chopped) I used a mixture of mainly basil, with parsley and oregano
- salt to taste
- 250 g dried pasta I used orecchiette
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200c/395f.
- Place the whole block of feta (200g) in the middle of a baking dish (mine is 27cm x 34cm or 10½" x 13").
- Add in the mini roma tomatoes (750g) into the baking dish around the feta.
- Drizzle everything with the olive oil (¼ cup) and give it a shake around to coat the tomatoes with the oil, then give everything a few grinds of fresh black pepper.
- Bake uncovered for 30-35 mins, or until the feta is browned and tomatoes are blistered and starting to break down.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta (250g) according to packet instructions, reserving a few tablespoons of the leftover pasta water.
- Remove from the oven and break up the feta and tomatoes (I use a potato masher but you could use a fork) and mix together.
- Add roughly chopped fresh herbs (1½ cups firmly packed - a mixture of mainly basil with some parsley and oregano), garlic (2 cloves, crushed) and salt to taste (if you would like it a little saucier add some of the leftover pasta water) and serve.
Notes
- I used mini roma tomatoes for this feta tomato pasta - any kind of mini/baby tomato should be fine though as long as they are all relatively even-sized.
- Good fresh produce is always best, but I'm going out a limb here and saying that if your little tomatoes aren't the freshest it's all good. In fact, I find if the tomatoes are slightly beyond their prime and wrinkly or soft (not rotten!) then you will actually get a bit richer tasting sauce because they break down quicker in the oven and get a little stickier.
- The mix (or amount) of fresh herbs can be easily changed to suit your taste or what you have on hand.
- I have used orecchiette pasta, but you could another type of pasta.
- Feta can taste salty, so I wouldn't suggest adding any salt at the start. Give it a taste once your baked feta and tomatoes are all mixed up and see if it needs more salt then.
- This is one of the times that you should remove the "core" or germ in the middle of the garlic cloves. This will help give you a softer, less sharp/raw garlic flavour. An Italian chef once described this is to me as the garlic being "hotter" if you leave the core in. See this post for more info on how and when to core your garlic.
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