Baked Feta Pasta Cherry (Printer-friendly)

Creamy feta and bursting cherry tomatoes tossed with pasta and fresh basil in a flavorful Mediterranean style.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Cheese & Dairy

01 - 7 oz block feta cheese

→ Vegetables

02 - 1 lb cherry tomatoes
03 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
04 - 2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped
05 - 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

→ Pasta

06 - 10 oz short pasta (penne, fusilli or similar)

→ Spices & Seasonings

07 - ½ tsp dried oregano
08 - ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
09 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F.
02 - In a large oven-safe baking dish, combine cherry tomatoes and minced garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, season with oregano, red pepper flakes if using, salt, and pepper; toss to coat evenly.
03 - Place the block of feta cheese in the center of the baking dish amidst the tomatoes. Drizzle additional olive oil over the feta.
04 - Bake for 30 minutes until tomatoes are bursting and feta is lightly golden on top.
05 - While baking, cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water and drain pasta.
06 - Remove baking dish from oven and use a fork to mash feta and tomatoes until creamy and fully combined.
07 - Add cooked pasta and chopped basil leaves to the baking dish; toss thoroughly, adding reserved pasta water to reach desired creaminess.
08 - Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve immediately garnished with additional basil.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The oven does the heavy lifting while you get other things done, no constant stirring or watching required.
  • It tastes like you spent an hour on it but really just needs a baking dish and some patience.
  • Leftovers somehow taste even better the next day after the flavors settle in overnight.
02 -
  • Don't use pre-crumbled feta because it dries out in the oven instead of getting soft and creamy like a block does.
  • Reserve that pasta water before draining because it's the secret to making the sauce silky instead of clumpy.
  • Let the dish sit for a minute after mixing so the pasta can soak up some of the sauce and flavors.
03 -
  • Use the ripest cherry tomatoes you can find because their sweetness is what makes the sauce sing.
  • Don't skip the step of mashing the feta and tomatoes together before adding the pasta, it's what turns them into a real sauce instead of just chunks.
  • If you want extra richness, add a pat of butter when you toss the pasta in at the end.

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