Baked Feta Pasta
Equipment
- 9x13-inch baking dish or any 3-quart ovenproof dish
- Large pot for the pasta
- Colander
- Wooden spoon for smashing the sauce
Ingredients
For the Roasted Feta Base
- 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes about 20 oz / 565 g
- 8 ounces block feta cheese full-fat, packed in brine — not crumbled
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
To Finish
- 8 ounces short dry pasta rigatoni, cavatappi, or penne
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves packed, torn
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water more as needed
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese for serving, optional
Instructions
Roast the Feta and Tomatoes
- Heat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Pour the cherry tomatoes into a 9x13-inch or 3-quart baking dish. Add the olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, then toss until every tomato is glossy.
- Push the tomatoes aside and nest the feta block in the centre. Turn it over once or twice so both sides pick up oil, then spoon a little extra over the top. The tomatoes should crowd right up against the cheese — a snug dish gives you sauce, a roomy one gives you dry tomatoes.
- Bake for 30 minutes. The tomatoes will soften and start to split, and the feta will slump but stay pale.
- Raise the heat to 450°F (230°C) and move the dish to the upper third of the oven. Bake another 8 to 10 minutes, until the tomato skins blister and the feta picks up golden-brown patches on top. This is where the flavour is — do not skip it.
Cook the Pasta and Bring It Together
- While the dish is at 450°F, boil the pasta. Salt the water well and cook the pasta one minute short of the package time for al dente. Before draining, scoop out 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water and set it aside.
- Pull the dish from the oven and add the minced garlic and torn basil straight away. The residual heat is enough to take the raw edge off the garlic without browning it. Now mash everything together with the back of a wooden spoon — break the feta down, burst the tomatoes, and keep stirring for 60 to 90 seconds until it turns into a loose, streaky pink-orange sauce.
- Tip in the drained pasta and fold it through. Add the reserved pasta water 2 tablespoons at a time, tossing between additions, until the sauce turns glossy and clings to every piece. You may not need all of it.
- Taste and adjust. Feta brings a lot of salt on its own, so season carefully. Serve straight from the dish with grated Parmesan and a little more basil on top.
Notes
Use block feta in brine. Pre-crumbled feta is coated in anti-caking starch and dried out on purpose so the pieces stay separate — it will soften but never melt into a sauce. Low-fat feta behaves the same way.
Do not scale the pasta up to a full 1-pound box. This amount of feta and tomato sauces 8 ounces of dry pasta properly. A full box is the single most common reason this dish comes out dry.
Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a skillet over low heat with a splash of water or milk, stirring until the sauce loosens again. The microwave works but tends to split the sauce — stir halfway through and add a spoonful of water.
Freezing is not recommended. The feta sauce turns grainy once thawed.