Baked Feta Pasta with Tomatoes (Printable Version)

Creamy pasta with roasted tomatoes, feta, and fresh basil for an easy Mediterranean dinner.

# What You Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 1 lb cherry tomatoes, whole
02 - 3 cloves garlic, minced

→ Dairy

03 - 7 oz feta cheese block

→ Pasta

04 - 10 oz dried pasta (penne, fusilli, or spaghetti)

→ Oils & Condiments

05 - 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
06 - ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

→ Herbs & Seasonings

07 - ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
08 - ¼ tsp sea salt, plus more for pasta water
09 - 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

# How-To Steps:

01 - Preheat your oven to 400°F.
02 - In a large baking dish, combine cherry tomatoes and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Toss to coat evenly.
03 - Place the feta block in the center of the dish, nestling it among the tomatoes. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil.
04 - Bake for 30 minutes, until the tomatoes burst and the feta is golden and softened.
05 - Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve ½ cup pasta water, then drain.
06 - Remove the baking dish from the oven. Use a spoon to mash the feta and tomatoes together, creating a creamy sauce.
07 - Add the cooked pasta and half the basil leaves to the baking dish. Toss everything together, adding reserved pasta water as needed to reach desired sauce consistency. Serve immediately, garnished with remaining fresh basil.

# Helpful Tips:

01 -
  • The feta melts into a luxurious, creamy sauce without a single drop of cream involved.
  • Thirty minutes in the oven means you're not standing over a stove, just letting the heat do the work.
  • It tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen when really you spent ten minutes prepping.
02 -
  • Don't skip reserving the pasta water—that starch is what helps the creamy feta sauce cling to every strand instead of pooling at the bottom.
  • The feta will look like it's not softening enough around the 20-minute mark, but give it the full 30 minutes. Patience is when the magic actually happens.
03 -
  • If your feta is especially salty, you can rinse it quickly under cold water and pat it dry before placing it in the baking dish. This gives you more control over the final seasoning.
  • The pasta water is your secret ingredient—that starch thickens the tomato and feta mixture into a proper sauce instead of just a jumble of ingredients tossed together.

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