Baked Feta Pasta

This simple Baked Feta Pasta is the perfect weeknight dinner. Fuss free, bold flavors, easy clean up, and fast, you’re going to love this delicious creamy pasta.

I’m sure by now you’ve seen the viral TikTok recipe! Many of you asked me for the recipe on my Instagram, so I recreated the version I feel tasted best for my taste bud. The recipe was originally made by Finnish blogger Jenni Häyrinen who adapted it from Tiiu Piret. Now dubbed “TikTok Feta Pasta” or as “#uunifetapasta,” it is such a fun and easy way to make pasta. If you’ve got pre-teens or teenagers at home, this is a great recipe to get them excited about learning how to cook. I had a ton of fun adapting this baked feta pasta to our tastes and we wanted to share with you.  

Want more delicious pasta recipes? Try my Creamy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Recipe or my Spicy Shrimp Pasta.

Why You’ll Love This Baked Feta Pasta

• It’s so flavorful. Thanks to some simple spices and the block of feta, this is a super creamy and flavorful pasta. 
• It’s super simple. While I’ve mentioned that it’s easy, I want to empathize just how simple this is. There’s next to no prep time, no difficult cooking technique, and it’s a handsfree recipe that anyone can make. That is, if feta hasn’t sold out in your area! But not to worry if it is, we have some substitutes down below.
• It’s easy to customize. There are so many versions of this baked feta pasta now. You can very easily change up the ingredients to make it suit your tastes.

What You’ll Need to Make This TikTok Pasta

• Trottole pasta — or pasta of your choice. Preferably something with deep grooves and curves.
• Feta cheese
• Cherry tomatoes 
• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Seasoning: onion powder, black pepper, chili flakes, salt, oregano
• Fresh basil

How to Make Baked Feta Pasta

• Preheat: oven to 400F
• Cook the pasta: cook to al dente according to package directions.

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• Prepare the tomatoes: In a medium baking dish, add in the cherry tomatoes, spices, salt, garlic and olive oil. Mix to coat the tomatoes well.
• Add in the feta and bake: Make some space in the middle of the dish and add in the block of feta cheese. Bake on 400 F for 35 to 40 minutes, depending on your oven and size of tomatoes.

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• Mix it all together: Remove the dish from the oven, mash up the tomatoes and mix in with the feta cheese to create a creamy sauce. Add in the cooked pasta and fresh basil, then mix to coat the pasta well with the sauce. Taste to adjust the salt as needed.
• Garnish: Garnish the dish with more fresh basil leaves or cheese topping of your choice, then serve.

Baked Feta Pasta Substitutions

• Make it creamier: If you want to make this baked feta pasta more creamy, you can add ½ cup of heavy cream into the baking dish at around 30 minutes into the cooking process.
• Cherry tomatoes: You can replace cherry tomatoes with plum tomatoes, grape tomatoes, or small vine tomatoes. Just be sure to use fresh tomatoes for best results.
• Spices: I like my dishes with lots of spices to add flavor but you can adjust and use less spices if you want. For example, if you’re family isn’t a fan of chili flakes, feel free to decrease the amount or skip it entirely. 
• Want extra vegetables? Mix in some spinach at the end for some extra greens in this baked feta recipe. You can also add in some broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, etc into the dish before baking.
• Pasta: If you’re on a low carb diet, try zucchini noodles or cooked spaghetti squash. Gluten-free pasta can also be swapped in as well.
• Make it spicier: To make this spicier, feel free to add extra chili flakes or even chile peppers to it.
• Add some protein: Make a side of chicken, shrimp, or tofu to go alongside this feta pasta if you'd like to add some extra protein to it.

Can I Make This Without Feta?

I’ve tried making this baked feta pasta with two other cheeses:

• Boursin cheese with basil and chives. I use two 5 oz. packaged cheese instead of feta and baked for 30 minutes only. Here is a video on my Instagram for this version.
• Mascarpone cheese. You’ll need 10 oz. of mascarpone cheese. Bake the dish covered with foil for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for another 15 minutes before adding in the pasta for the best results. Here is this version on my Instagram.

Still want more options for this baked pasta? Try these cheeses as well, just be sure to keep an eye on it in the oven as cook time might vary. I haven't tried them myself but you can search up more info about them.

• Cream cheese
• Goat cheese
• Ricotta cheese
• Brie cheese

Plant based options:

• Vegan feta cheese
• Vegan cashew ricotta cheese (check @planyou 's page on Instagram on how to make this sauce)
• Vegan tofu cashew cheese

If you try any of these, let me know in the comments down below! This will help out other readers.

Tips

• Do not swap the fresh basil for dried. Fresh basil adds so much flavor to the dish and visual appeal to the dish that I would not recommend dried basil.
• If you are cooking this dish ahead of time and eating it later on, you may want to add ¼ cup of pasta water to the sauce after it comes out of the oven. When the pasta gets cold, the pasta sucks up the moisture and the dish becomes a bit dry so the extra pasta water will help keep the dish more moist. 
• If you want your tomatoes to be blistered and burst so the dish is saucier, feel free to broil the dish for a couple minutes before taking it out of the oven.
• Make sure your baking dish isn’t too large. You want the tomatoes to be nice and cozy with each other so that it gets saucy. 
• It’s best to enjoy this baked feta pasta within two days. Leftovers should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container.

Can I Make Feta Pasta on the Stove?

Want to make this baked feta pasta dish on the stovetop instead? Here’s how to do it:

• Sauté the garlic in some olive oil then add in the tomatoes. 
• Cook the tomatoes until they have blister marks on them and become tender. Mash up the tomatoes a little. 
• Add in the spices, salt, feta cheese (preferably whipped up or a creamy feta version) alongside ½ cup of whipping cream, and simmer on low heat until the feta melts up and you have a smooth sauce.
• Add in the chopped fresh basil and cooked pasta.
• Mix everything together well and cook for 1 to 2 minutes on low heat to allow the pasta to absorb all the moisture from the sauce. 
• Garnish with fresh basil and serve.

More Pasta Recipes You'll Love

• Spicy Arrabbiata Pasta
• Creamy Red Pepper Pasta
• Creamy Chicken and Tomato Pasta
• Creamy Shrimp Penne Pasta
• Creamy Alfredo Chicken Pasta
• Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta

I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this delicious Baked Feta Pasta recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it and share it with your friends and family!

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