Description
Yes I know I'm probably 4 years late, but this viral feta pasta was making rounds all throughout the Internet. It features baked feta cheese and cherry tomatoes, mashed together with cooked pasta to make a creamy Mediterranean pasta dish. This is my take on the recipe, making it a bit healthier than the original. You could make this a more complete meal by mixing in some shredded chicken or roasted broccoli, but today I'm going to keep those on the side and have this dish as is
Time
Prep Time:
15 minutes
Cook Time:
45 minutes
Total Time:
1 hour
Cost
Total Cost:
Cost per Serving:
$1.78
Ingredients
Serving(s)
Oven
- 2 pints, 20oz Cherry tomatoes
- 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp Basil, dried
- 1 tbsp Oregano, dried
- 1 tsp Black pepper, ground
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes
- 8 oz block Feta cheese
Pasta
- 8 oz Whole wheat pasta
At the end
- 2 tbsp Minced garlic
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
Instructions
Cook Mode Off: Prevents screen dimming
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Wash your tomatoes, and add to a 9x13" baking dish. Toss with oil, basil, oregano, black pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes. Place the block of feta in the center, with the tomatoes on the outside
- Roast at 350F for about 45 minutes. The tomatoes should burst and the cheese should melt
- Meanwhile, cook your pasta in salted water according to the instructions. When you drain the pasta, reserve a little bit of the starchy water for emulsifying the sauce. I'm using whole wheat rotini today, but any pasta shape or variant will work, like red lentil, chickpea, or even spaghetti squash or zoodles
- When the tomatoes and feta are done, add in the garlic and lemon juice. Mash the cheese and tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Add in the pasta with a splash of the water, and combine everything together
Notes
- You can prepare this ahead of time and heat it up when it's time for dinner. Just mix everything together, cover, and refrigerate. To reheat, bake straight from the fridge at 350F (covered with foil) for about 30 mintes, or until steamy
- Feel free to customize this recipe. Below is a variation I made with spaghetti squash instead of pasta. I diced some full sized tomatoes instead of using cherry tomatoes, as large tomatoes are 1/3 of the price. Because of the squash, this looks more like slop, but I honestly preferred this to the original
Nutrition Facts
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Total Fat: 14.9g (19 %)
Saturated Fat: 5.9g (30 %)
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.2g
Monounsaturated Fat: 5.5g
Cholesterol: 34mg (11 %)
Sodium: 533mg (23 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 36.7g (13 %)
Fiber: 6.0g (22 %)
Net Carbs: 30.7g
Total Sugar: 1.2g
Protein: 11.8g (24 %)
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Vitamin B12: 0.64mcg (27 %)
Vitamin D: 0.15mcg (1 %)
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Calcium: 234mg (18 %)
Iron: 2.65mg (15 %)
Magnesium: 73mg (17 %)
Potassium: 476mg (10 %)
Sources of Inspiration
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