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4.97 from 31 votes

Baked Feta Pasta

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.
Author Diana
Servings 4 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound (450g) cherry tomatoes
  • 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.

Video

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

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