Baked Feta Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes
A block of feta roasts alongside a pan of cherry tomatoes until both slump into a sauce — mash them together and there's nothing else to cook.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Written
Method
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Preheat the oven to 400°F.
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Scatter the cherry tomatoes in a 9x13-inch baking dish, nestle the feta block in the center, tuck in the garlic cloves, and drizzle everything with the olive oil. Season with the red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
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Bake until the tomatoes have burst and collapsed and the feta is soft and lightly golden on top, 35 to 40 minutes.
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Meanwhile, cook the pasta in well-salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain.
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Mash the garlic cloves into the feta and tomatoes right in the baking dish with a fork until it comes together into a chunky sauce.
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Add the drained pasta to the dish and toss, loosening with splashes of the reserved pasta water until the sauce coats every piece.
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Stir in the basil, adjust the salt and pepper, and serve right away.
Notes
The whole trick is letting the oven build the sauce — no sautéing, no simmering, just a block of cheese and a pile of tomatoes that break down into something creamy and jammy on their own. Buy feta in a solid block rather than pre-crumbled; it needs the mass to stay intact through the bake.
Stir in a handful of baby spinach with the pasta if you want it to wilt into the sauce, or finish with lemon zest for something sharper.