Feta, tomato and basil pasta recipe

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Dinner doesn't get much quicker, healthier or tastier than this! Boil any short pasta shape, make the quick and easy sauce while the pasta boils... and that's about it!

Recipe by:
Greater London, England, UK

5 people made this

IngredientsServes: 2

• 180g short pasta shape, such as penne or fusilli
• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 300g plum tomatoes, halved
• salt and pepper to taste
• 125g feta cheese, crumbled
• 15g basil leaves, torn

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MethodPrep:5min ›Cook:10min ›Ready in:15min

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add pasta and boil for about 9 minutes, or according to the time specified on the packet.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a small frying pan. Add the tomatoes and salt to taste. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, till the tomatoes are soft and have released their juices.
3. Drain the pasta and immediately add to the pan of tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and toss to coat. Add the feta, basil and seasoning, and stir through. Serve immediately.

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Reviews & ratingsAverage global rating:(2)

Reviews in English (1)

This was good and I will make it again. Next time I'll crumble the cheese more carefully to avoid big chunks in the dish-27 Aug 2015

How to Make Your TikTok Baked Feta Pasta Just Right, According to a Recipe Developer

Hit this trend out of the park with a few simple tips.

Description: Food Network Kitchen's Baked Feta Pasta. Keywords: Cherry Tomatoes, Feta Cheese, Mezze Rigatoni, Garlic, Basil, Red Pepper

Whether you’re an avid TikTok user or just a casual Instagram consumer, by now you’ve probably seen the baked feta pasta taking the social media world by storm. Finnish food blogger Jenni Hayrinen first created the dish back in 2019 (creating the hashtag #uunifetapasta), but it’s easy to see why this recipe has achieved viral fame: Cherry tomatoes and a whole block of feta are baked until bursting and softened, then tossed with garlic, basil and tender pasta for a beautifully cheesy dish. With so many variations and rave reviews popping up around the web, we decided to give this recipe a try. Here’s what we found to be some key tips and tricks to make this dish an overwhelming success.

Don’t Over Do It On the Pasta

A lot of TikTok videos show users making this dish with a whole pound of pasta. Resist the urge to use the whole box and just use 8 to 10 ounces. You want the baked tomato and feta sauce to coat the pasta nicely. Any more pasta will make for a dry dish.

Short Pasta Is Preferred

Use a short pasta for this recipe, such as a rigatoni, penne or fusilli instead of long noodle like spaghetti or linguine. Short pasta will easily stir into the hearty sauce and be more enjoyable to eat. We particularly love how the sauce gets stuck inside the nooks and crannies of mezze rigatoni!

Save Your Pasta Water

Once the pasta is finished boiling and just al dente, reserve some of your pasta water, then drain. A splash of this warm, starchy water will help loosen the sauce if it becomes too thick.

Get Good-Quality Feta

Make sure to buy a good-quality feta for this recipe, particularly because it’s the main ingredient and flavor of this dish! We suggest using a medium or firm Greek feta made only from sheep’s milk. Feta made from cow’s milk tends to be crumblier and more sour in flavor compared to other varieties.

Don’t be Afraid of the Amount of Oil

Not only does the olive oil prevent the tomatoes from burning, but it also helps to cook (or confit) the tomatoes, providing a smooth and rich mouthfeel. I promise, you want to use the full 1/2 cup!

Get Creative with Seasoning

We kept it simple with the seasoning, including salt, pepper, garlic and basil. However, feel free to add dried oregano or an Italian seasoning blend before baking for added flavor. However, avoid lemon juice, vinegar or parmesan, as this dish already has intense flavor and acidity.

Don’t Forget to Season with Salt

The balance of salt is very important in this recipe you can go from perfect to overly salted with just a couple extra granules. We suggest adding just a small amount of salt to the cherry tomatoes, then finishing the dish with a pinch of flaky sea salt. This will make your tomatoes and feta shine without over doing it.

Baked Feta Pasta with Tomatoes

• Author: Bake to the roots
• Prep Time: 00:10
• Cook Time: 00:45
• Total Time: 01:00
• Yield: 3 1 x
• Category: Lunch
• Cuisine: International
• Diet: Vegetarian

Description

The super easy and delicious TikTok Trend: Baked Feta Pasta.

Ingredients

7 oz . ( 200g ) feta (one block)
1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
18 oz . ( 500g ) cherry tomatoes
1 red onion, chopped
5 – 6 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp . dried oregano
1/4 tsp . red chili flakes
salt, pepper

14 oz . ( 400g ) pasta (rigatoni, penne, etc.)
some fresh herbs or basil leaves (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Wash and dry the tomatoes. Peel and chop the onion, peel the garlic and cut in half if big. Add the tomatoes, chopped onion, garlic, oregano, and chili flakes to an ovenproof skillet or casserole dish. Drizzle about half of the oil over everything and mix to combine. Make space in the center and place the feta block between the tomatoes. Drizzle the feta with the remaining oil and season with salt, pepper, and more oregano and chili flakes to your liking. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the tomatoes are very soft and the feta has a golden brown color on top.

2. While the feta is baking, cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining.

3. Take the feta and tomatoes out of the oven and mix everything with a spoon, then add the drained pasta and mix to combine. Gradually add some of the pasta water to thin out the sauce a bit – mix well. Serve with some fresh herbs or basil leaves on top (optional).

Recipe Summary

• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 6 leaves fresh basil, torn
• 10 ounces fusilli pasta
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste
• 1 ½ cups crumbled feta cheese
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Stir tomatoes, onion, olive oil, garlic, and basil together in a bowl.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook fusilli in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but firm to the bite, 12 minutes. Drain.

Toss warm pasta with feta cheese and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Stir tomato mixture into pasta and season with salt and pepper.

Instructions for how to make baked feta pasta

Recipe for pasta with feta cheese and tomatoes with step by step images. Written instructions below the steps with images and in the recipe card later in the post.

Gather your ingredients and preheat the oven to 400 F. degrees.

Steps 1-4 how to make baked feta pasta Steps 5-8 how to make baked feta pasta Steps 8-12 how to make baked feta pasta

Fresh Basil and Feta Cheese Take this Bowtie Pasta to a New Level!

The fresh basil, and feta really make this pasta salad a winner in my book!

The sweet, and bold basil flavor paired with the saltiness of the feta cheese and garlicky oil are perfect for those who love flavors that pop!

Flavor Tip:

Allow the flavors to meld in the fridge for 1-24 hours. It allows the bowtie pasta and veggies to absorb all the garlicky goodness the oil and vinegar produce.

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!

Easy Weeknight Dinner–Tomato Feta Pasta

Today is our monthly easy and budget friendly recipe day. I feel like coming up with easy but delicious dinners night after night is a challenge so I love this series. I have gotten some really good dinner ideas over the last several months, I’ll link all the posts as a resource for you at the bottom of the post.

When I was deciding what to share this month, one recipe kept popping into my head. It is super easy and has just a few ingredients, and it has been really popular on TikTok and Instagram for just that very reason. So much so, in some cases I have heard it called “Tik Tok Pasta”, so that is the recipe I am sharing (with my modifications of course) for you all today.

I have been making a recipe that is very much like this for years, but my recipe called for the addition of shrimp which takes it to a whole new level. With that definitely elevates this to a “company” recipe, it is really good, even on its own during the week. This was a hit all around in my house, even those who prefer meat dishes to vegetarian ones agreed it was good.

This recipe calls for just a few basic ingredients–a carton of cherry tomatoes (buy the largest one you can find especially if you have big eaters), a block of feta cheese (though you can also make it with goat cheese I hear, I am going to try that next), pasta of your choice and then basic ingredients like fresh garlic, fresh basil, olive oil and freshly ground pepper. The key is (really I think this is true with most cooking) to use best of class ingredients like ripe tomatoes, good quality feta, fresh basil leaves (not dried) and freshly minced garlic (again, not dried).

To make this you just pour some olive oil in a baking dish, then cover with the cherry tomatoes on the bottom. Place the block of feta in the center (it’s ok if you have the crumbled kind, a block just melts better) and then pour a little olive oil and grind some fresh pepper over it. Bake this in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

While it is baking, prepare your pasta. Chop several cloves of garlic and mince some basil. You can also make this with zucchini noodles if you don’t want carbs. If you are adding the shrimp, boil it now so it is ready to be tossed in the final dish.

To finish the dish, crank the heat in your oven up to 450, add the garlic to the feta mixture and toss everything around. Let it all cook for about 10 more minutes and then remove, add some hot cooked pasta to the pot and mix well. Then top it with fresh basil. Serve while still warm! I added with a green salad and some garlic bread, it was a hit all around.

Penne With Heirloom Tomatoes, Basil, Green Beans and Feta

Sweet, juicy heirloom tomatoes lend themselves well to uncooked tomato sauces. In summer, I make quick meals out of chopped ripe tomatoes, pasta and green vegetables.

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 ounces fresh green beans, trimmed, strings removed if necessary, and broken in half if very long
• 2 cups chopped fresh ripe tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 plump garlic clove, minced (more to taste)
• Salt (I like to use a very good coarse sea salt or fleur de sel for this)
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (optional)
• 2 tablespoons slivered basil
• 2 ounces crumbled feta (about 1/2 cup)
• ¾ pound pasta (penne or fusilli are good choices)

Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

Preparation

1. Combine the olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt and pepper in a large bowl, and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes (or longer).
2. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. Add the green beans to the boiling water, and boil four to five minutes, depending on how crunchy you like them. Remove with a strainer or skimmer, and transfer to the ice water. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then drain and set aside.
3. Bring the water back to a boil, and add the pasta. Cook until al dente, about eight minutes. When the pasta is ready, drop the green beans back into the water to heat, then drain the pasta and beans and toss at once with the tomato mixture and the feta. Serve hot or room temperature.

Advance preparation: The sauce can be assembled several hours ahead. If you want the basil to maintain its vivid color, leave it out until just before serving.

Baked Feta Pasta

This is the story about another viral TikTok trend that I kinda sorted wanted to hate. but didn't. It's not that I didn't think the idea sounded delicious. It's just that the whole thing seemed too simple. Obviously roasting a block of feta with bursting tomatoes is going to be amazing. But is it good enough to break the internet?

My answer, begrudgingly, is yes. It's genius. But dare I say, not perfect? Below are my thoughts.

1. You don't need to change the oven temperature. The OG recipe calls for baking the feta with the tomatoes at 400° for 30 minutes then kicking up for the last 10 minutes. After 30 minutes in the oven, I found my feta well on its way to a pretty shade of golden on top. To avoid burning additions like garlic and herbs (see my next note), I think it's best to keep the temperature steady.
2. You can play add more than just tomatoes and feta. Quartered shallots will get nice and jammy, and smashed garlic will infuse the olive oil. Like spice? Throw in a ton of crushed red pepper flakes. Got thyme? Add a couple sprigs for an earthy touch.
3. Adding pasta water helps. A scoop of pasta water will help stretch your sauce to coat your pasta more smoothly and generously.

Have you made this recipe? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Editor's Note: We increased the amount of tomatoes in this recipe on February 9, 2021. One pint is all you need, but two is recommended for a fuller, more flavorful sauce.