Description
Baked Feta Pasta is a delightful dish bursting with flavors from roasted tomatoes and creamy feta. Perfect for a quick and tasty dinner, this recipe highlights simple ingredients like pasta, spinach, and fresh herbs for a comforting meal everyone will love.
Ingredients
Scale
- 20 oz grape tomatoes
- 5 medium garlic cloves, peeled and halved
- 8 oz spinach, roughly chopped about 8 packed cups
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
- 7 – 8 oz block feta cheese (sheep's milk variety) drained
- 10 oz dry pasta such as campanelle, rigatoni, rotini, penne, bow tie, or cavatappi
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp salt for pasta water
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes or more to taste
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a 3 quart baking dish, combine grape tomatoes and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, season with a few pinches of salt and pepper, and place the feta in the center, turning it to coat with oil.
- Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, raise the oven rack to the upper third and increase the temperature to 450 degrees. Bake until the tomatoes and cheese begin to brown slightly, which should take about 10 minutes.
- While the feta and tomatoes bake, cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to the package instructions until al dente.
- Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, then add the spinach to the pasta during the last minute of cooking to wilt. Drain the pasta and spinach together.
- Using the back of a wooden spoon, smash the roasted tomatoes, garlic, oil, and feta together.
- Combine the pasta with the smashed mixture, adding in basil, parsley, and red pepper flakes. Mix well.
- If needed, use the reserved pasta water a tablespoon at a time to reach your desired sauce consistency. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, then serve warm.
Notes
For added flavor, use sheep’s milk feta if available.
Feel free to adjust the amount of red pepper flakes to suit your spice preference.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 4g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 23g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: N/A
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 55g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 12g
- Cholesterol: 25mg