Baked Feta Pasta (Oven, Instant Pot)

TikTok’s popular baked feta pasta is perfect for a quick and easy weeknight vegetarian meal! Made with just a handful of ingredients, this baked feta pasta is so creamy and flavorful. Make it once, and you’ll keep making it over and over again!

Oven and Instant Pot instruction included.

For the past couple of weeks, my Tiktok feed has been flooded with videos of baked feta pasta also known as #uunifetapasta that became so popular in Finland after a Finnish blogger @Liemessa shared the recipe. You can see her original post here. As the recipe went viral on Tiktok, grocery stores in Finland were sold out on feta cheese!

This is not the first time a recipe goes so viral on Tiktok and all over social media. Last year, whipped coffee was a big trend that everyone had to try! Followed by the super cute hot chocolate bombs that can be easily made at home. And these delicious baked oats (cake for breakfast anyone?).

After seeing so many versions being shared all over social media, I decided to give this pasta dish a go and share my experience on the blog. It’s one of the easiest pasta dishes that you will ever make, and it’s SO flavorful!

The Ingredients

I kept my baked feta pasta very simple, and didn’t change much of it as I loved everything that Jenni Häyrinen did in the original recipe!

However, I felt like the recipe needed more cherry tomatoes, basil, and garlic. The acidity of the tomatoes was a bit too much for my personal taste so I added a teaspoon of sugar (you can use honey), and I felt like a short shape of pasta works better here.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this feta pasta:

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

• Pasta – I went for orecchiette as I think that for a saucy pasta recipe smaller pasta shapes work best, and the shape of orecchiette holds the sauce very well. Any other shape of pasta can work here though, and in the original recipe, I believe that spaghetti was used.
• Cherry or grape tomatoes – go for a sweeter variety, if the tomatoes are too acidic you can add sugar (more on this below). Cherry tomatoes can be substituted with regular diced tomatoes.
• Feta cheese – find one that is creamy.
• Extra virgin olive oil.
• Fresh basil leaves.
• Garlic cloves – minced, only added after baking the feta.
• Salt, pepper, and chili flakes (optional).
• Sugar – every time I cook a tomato-based dish, I taste it and see if it’s too acidic. To balance the flavor I like to add just a teaspoon of granulated sugar (sometimes honey) which does the trick. Don’t worry you won’t be able to taste the sugar!

How to Make Baked Feta Pasta

1. Preheat the oven to 395°F (200°C).
2. To a baking dish or a cast-iron dish, add the cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Give everything a good stir so that the tomatoes are well coated in oil.
3. Make room for the feta block, and place it in the center of the pan. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with crushed chili flakes, salt, and pepper.
4. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the cherry tomatoes have softened and burst. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water (no oil!) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water.
5. Remove the dish from the oven. The feta will be really soft (see image 2), add the crushed garlic and top with chopped fresh basil leaves.
6. Using a spoon or a fork, mix the feta with everything else in the pan and lightly mash the cherry tomatoes (see image 4). Taste the sauce, if it’s acidic, mix in the sugar.
7. Add in the cooked pasta, and mix everything until the pasta is well coated. If needed, loosen the sauce with a splash of pasta cooking water (you might need it if reheating the pasta later).
8. Garnish with extra chopped fresh basil, and serve warm.

Top Tips for Making Baked Feta Pasta

• Reserve some pasta water – this is very important as the pasta water is starchy and perfect for loosening up pasta sauces. I keep it until I serve the pasta as the sauce thickens when it cools down.
• Roast until the cherry tomatoes burst – A big part of the sauce comes from the cherry tomato juices, so you really want the tomatoes to soften and release their juices into the sauce.
• If the tomatoes are acidic, add sugar – every time I cook a tomato-based sauce, I check if the sauce is too acidic and fix that by adding a teaspoon of granulated sugar or honey to balance the flavors.
• Change it up – if you like onions, thinly slice them and add to the roasting pan with the tomatoes. Not a fan of basil? Substitute with baby spinach leaves, and let them wilt in the pan with the sauce before serving.

Instant Pot Feta Pasta

I tried making this feta pasta in the Instant Pot, and it worked so well! Flavors will be slightly different than the oven version, and it turned out super creamy and saucy.

The recipe remained pretty much the same, but a few changes were made to make it work in the Instant Pot:

• I used less olive oil (just 2 tablespoons), more pasta a total of 12oz (340g), and added 3 cups of water (in total) to submerge the pasta so it cooks evenly.
• The ingredients were added by this order: olive oil, a single layer of cherry tomatoes, pasta, water, seasonings (sugar, salt, pepper, chili flakes, garlic – you can also add oregano), the remaining cherry tomatoes, and feta.
• I pressure cooked for 4 minutes (with quick release) which was enough to cook the pasta, the cherry tomatoes burst, and the feta was soft and creamy.
• After the lid was removed, if you feel that there is too much liquid you can discard a little and then mix everything until the sauce is creamy. It will thicken more as it cools and the pasta will absorb a part of the liquid.
• Change things up! Add pieces of chicken and they will cook perfectly just as I did in my Instant Pot chicken mac and cheese. You can also add sausage, chorizo, onion, mushrooms, or just mix in baby spinach leaves at the end. I also tried it with grilled chicken tenders and it turned out amazing! Rotisserie or shredded chicken can also be added after pressure cooking.
• If you don’t want to use feta, you can use other cheeses such as cream cheese (add after pressure cooking), ricotta, or goat cheese. Check for seasonings though and adjust to your preference.

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Common Questions

What to Serve With

Serve the baked feta pasta with toasted sourdough bread, extra virgin olive oil, and a simple salad.

You can also make a baked feta dip (check my recipe!) without any pasta, more veg, and just serve that over toasted bread or with pita chips or crackers.

More Delicious Pasta Recipes

• Gnocchi al pomodoro
• The best EVER Alfredo pasta sauce
• Garlic butter pasta with no cream!
• Penne Arrabbiata
• Olive Garden’s chicken scampi
• Garlic shrimp pasta
• Creamy pesto gnocchi
• Creamy lemon pasta

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

4.97 from 31 votes

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Baked Feta Pasta

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 35 minutes mins

Author: Diana

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Tiktok's popular baked feta pasta is perfect for a quick and easy weeknight vegetarian meal! Made with just a handful of ingredients, this baked feta pasta is so creamy and flavorful.

4 servings

Tiktok's popular baked feta pasta is perfect for a quick and easy weeknight vegetarian meal! Made with just a handful of ingredients, this baked feta pasta is so creamy and flavorful.

Recipe Video

Ingredients 

1/2x1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 pound (450g) cherry tomatoes
• ▢ ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 8-ounce (225g) block feta cheese
• ▢ ½ teaspoon chili flakes
• ▢ 8 ounces (225g) dried pasta of choice
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon granulated sugar optional
• ▢ ¼ cup basil packed, chopped, plus more for serving

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 395°F/200°C. (Instant Pot instructions can be found in the notes below)
• To a baking dish or a cast-iron dish, add the cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Give everything a good stir so that the tomatoes are well coated in oil.
• Make room for the feta block, and place it in the center of the pan. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with crushed chili flakes, salt, and pepper.
• Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the cherry tomatoes have softened and burst. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water (no oil!) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water.
• Remove the dish from the oven. The feta will be really soft. Add crushed garlic and chopped fresh basil leaves.
• Using a spoon or a fork, mix the feta with everything else in the pan and lightly mash the cherry tomatoes. Taste the sauce, if it's acidic, mix in the sugar.
• Add in the cooked pasta, and mix everything until the pasta is well coated. If needed, loosen the sauce with a splash of pasta cooking water (you might need it if reheating the pasta later).
• Garnish with extra chopped fresh basil, and serve warm.

Notes:

• Reserve some pasta water – this is very important as the pasta water is starchy and perfect for loosening up pasta sauces. I keep it until I serve the pasta as the sauce thickens when it cools down.
• Roast until the cherry tomatoes burst – A big part of the sauce comes from the cherry tomato juices, so you really want the tomatoes to soften and release their juices into the sauce.
• If the tomatoes are acidic, add sugar – every time I cook a tomato-based sauce, I check if the sauce is too acidic and fix that by adding a teaspoon of granulated sugar or honey to balance the flavors.
• If you like onions, thinly slice them and add them to the roasting pan with the tomatoes. Not a fan of basil? Substitute with baby spinach leaves, and let them wilt in the pan with the sauce before serving.
• Serve the baked feta pasta with toasted sourdough bread, extra virgin olive oil, and a simple salad.
• Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

 

Instant Pot Instructions and Notes

• I used less olive oil (just 2 tablespoons), more pasta a total of 12oz (340g), and added 3 cups of water (in total) to submerge the pasta so it cooks evenly.
• The ingredients were added by this order: olive oil, a single layer of cherry tomatoes, pasta, water, seasonings (sugar, salt, pepper, chili flakes, garlic), the remaining cherry tomatoes, and feta.
• I pressure cooked for 4 minutes (with quick release) which was enough to cook the pasta, the cherry tomatoes burst, and the feta was soft and creamy.
• After the lid was removed, if you feel that there is too much liquid you can discard a little and then mix everything until the sauce is creamy. It will thicken more as it cools and the pasta will absorb a part of the liquid.
• Change things up! Add pieces of chicken and they will cook perfectly just as I did in my Instant Pot chicken mac and cheese. You can also add sausage, chorizo, onion, mushrooms, or just mix in baby spinach leaves at the end.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 548kcal, Carbohydrates: 51g, Protein: 17g, Fat: 31g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Cholesterol: 50mg, Sodium: 799mg, Potassium: 429mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 948IU, Vitamin C: 27mg, Calcium: 312mg, Iron: 2mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

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