Don’t like Tomatoes? You can still enjoy the popular TikTok baked feta pasta!
My teenaged daughters told me we had to make this pasta dish they had seen on TikTok Baked Feta and Tomato Pasta – apparently it has became so popular abroad that blocks of feta cheese have become scarce at the markets. From what I can find – looks like the trend may have started here.
I put a twist on the dish – A Red Bell Pepper Version!
A certain someone in the family doesn’t like any detectable tomato chunks, bits or pieces in any of her dishes – so I tried a version with red bell pepper chunks – turned out to be my favorite!
Easy to Make! If your dish is large enough, you can stir it all together in the baking dish!
This dish is easily customizable!
Next time, I may try some olives added in, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, maybe even stir in some spinach leaves after baking…lots of possibilities!
The Red Pepper Version was My Personal Favorite – but both were yummy!
I made them both at the same time so we could taste them together. I preferred the red pepper version myself – with rotini pasta – the ridges held the yummy sauce perfectly.
Don’t throw out the pasta water!
You’ll need some pasta water to bind the sauce together! Make sure to reserve a cup before draining your pasta. Start by adding a 1/4 cup and add more as needed.
The red peppers aren’t as juicy as the tomatoes and this version will need a little more of the pasta water than the tomato version. The sauce will thicken up even more as you stir and before serving – so don’t panic if it looks watery at first.
Baked Feta Pasta {Red Pepper or Tomato}
Ingredients
- 1 8-ounce block feta cheese
- 2 pints (4 cups) red bell pepper pieces or cherry/grape tomatoes
- 2-3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt less if using table salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 10 ounces pasta I loved with rotini!
- 1 cup reserved pasta cooking water may not use all
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In 2-quart or larger baking dish*, place feta block in the center, then arrange peppers or tomatoes (or combo) around the feta.
- Sprinkle garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning over the peppers/tomatoes. Drizzle all with olive oil.
- Bake for about 40-45 minutes at 400 degrees or until the vegetables are roasted (starting to char a little in places) and the feta is soft and browning on top.
- During the bake time, bring pot of salted water to boil (I use 4-6 qt water and 2 generous teaspoons salt.) Cook the pasta when the bake time has about 8-10 minutes left.
- Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and drain pasta.
- Stir together baked feta and peppers/tomatoes. I like to smush the tomatoes to release their juices. Add pasta and 1/4 cup pasta water and stir together. The starchy pasta water will help bind it all together. Add more pasta water as needed – a little at a time. It will thicknen up as you stir and as it sits. (FYI – the peppers aren't as juicy as the tomatoes – so you may need a little more of the pasta water.)
- Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve!
This has become a family favorite!