Baked Feta Pasta with Tomatoes (Printer-friendly)

Creamy baked feta pasta featuring roasted tomatoes and basil for an easy dinner.

# What You Need:

→ Vegetables

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

→ Dairy

03 - 7 oz block feta cheese

→ 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 (optional)

→ Herbs & Seasonings

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

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat the oven to 400°F.
02 - Combine cherry tomatoes and minced garlic in a large baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes if using. Toss to coat evenly.
03 - Nestle the block of feta cheese in the center of the baking dish among the tomatoes. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil.
04 - Bake for 30 minutes until the tomatoes burst and the feta softens and turns golden.
05 - Simultaneously, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking water and then drain.
06 - Remove the baking dish from the oven and use a spoon to mash the feta and roasted tomatoes together into a creamy sauce.
07 - Add the drained pasta and half of the torn basil leaves to the baking dish. Toss thoroughly, adding reserved pasta water gradually to adjust sauce consistency.
08 - Serve immediately, garnishing with the remaining fresh basil leaves.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The feta melts into the tomato juices and creates this luxurious sauce with almost zero effort on your part.
  • It tastes like you've been cooking all day when you've actually spent less time than a commute.
  • Somehow feels fancy enough for guests but casual enough to eat straight from the baking dish on a Wednesday.
02 -
  • Don't drain your pasta water until the very end—that starchy liquid is what transforms roasted tomatoes and melted cheese into an actual sauce rather than chunky bits.
  • The feta absolutely has to be a block you can nestle into the tomatoes, not crumbled, because crumbled feta will just disappear instead of creating that creamy base.
  • Taste the tomatoes before you buy them if you can—bland tomatoes will stay bland no matter how long they roast, so pick ones that smell sweet.
03 -
  • Use a heavy baking dish that distributes heat evenly so the tomatoes roast instead of steam—ceramic or cast iron works beautifully.
  • Tear the basil by hand only once you're about to use it, because once it's torn it starts oxidizing and loses that bright green color.
  • If your sauce ends up too thick, add pasta water a tablespoon at a time instead of all at once—you can always add more but you can't take it back.

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