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tomato and feta pasta mixed in glass baking dish

One pan baked tomato and feta pasta


  • Author: Mansee
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 4-6 1x

Description

My take on baked tomato and feta pasta, with a spin! If you love pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes, you'll really like this one. Dried pasta, cherry tomatoes and a block of feta all cook and roast in the oven together with herbs and spices for an easy one-pan meal everyone will love!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 lb small pasta (mini penne, mini bowtie or orzo work great!)
  • 2 pints cherry tomatoes
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/3 cup olive oil, divided
  • 8 oz feta (the block works best for this, but crumbled is fine too)
  • 6 thyme sprigs
  • 2 oz basil
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 cup milk or half and half
  • 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
  • Zest from 1 lemon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. In a 9x13 pan, add 1 lb pasta, 2 pints of cherry tomatoes, 6 minced garlic cloves and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and toss to combine, making sure the pasta is coated in oil.
  3. Make a little room in the middle and add a 8oz block of feta (or make a mound of the crumbled stuff if that's all you have!). Scatter 6 thyme sprigs, 2oz whole basil leaves, 2 teaspoons black pepper and 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes.
  4. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons honey and remaining olive oil. Pour 3 cups water and 1 cup milk or half and half over the pasta (don't pour over feta). Gently move things around to make sure all the pasta is submerged.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes. Increase heat to 400 and bake for another 20-25 minutes until the pasta is cooked through and the feta is brown around the edges.
  6. Remove pan from oven and immediately add 2 cups chopped baby spinach and the zest of 1 lemon. Mix everything together, smashing feta and tomatoes to create the sauce. It will take a few minutes, but everything will eventually come together! Taste and season with salt as needed.
  7. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over if desired, as well as additional basil.

Notes

  • This recipe makes A LOT of pasta, but I wanted to share the recipe using a full block of feta. With that said, you can easily halve the recipe and make it in an 8x8 or even 9x9 pan. If you do this, do the initial bake at 350 for 20 minutes and then increase the heat and bake for another 15 minutes before checking.
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes