“The” TikTok Feta Pasta
You’ve probably heard of the TikTok feta pasta by now… I mean, haven’t we all?
But if you haven’t? You’re in for a treat!
The #fetapasta was trending on TikTok about a month ago, but I am perpetually late to trends! … I’ll get to dalgona coffee in a year or so.
Part of the draw is the simplicity of it
It’s just cherry tomatoes…
Wait, what’s the difference between cherry tomatoes and grape tomatoes?
Cherry tomatoes are round like cherries, and grape tomatoes are oblong like grapes – who woulda guessed – cherry tomatoes are sweeter and juicier, and grape tomatoes are a bit heartier and more tomatoey, but they generally can be used interchangeably.
The more you know!
Ok, back to the recipe
It’s just cherry tomatoes, olive oil, feta cheese, and pasta.
I was feeling a little fancy, so I threw in some quartered shallots and garlic cloves, because you honestly can never go wrong with shallots and garlic, and I sprinkled just a bit of red pepper flakes on top. You could also add a little pancetta, top it with some thyme… whatever your heart desires.
But seriously, that’s all there is to it.
Bake it at 400F for 45 minutes, then mix it all together to get a niiice good emulsification between that gooey cheese and the olive oil
And then you just toss it with some cooked pasta.
I said that’s it, but that’s not quite it
What you’re really gonna want to do to take it from yum to oooohhhhhh my goodness… is zest a little bit of lemon and tear a little bit of basil (we went with thai basil because look at these beautiful plants, why use normal basil when you’ve got these? … and also this is the only basil I have in the house, so.) aaaand sprinkle it all over the top
Ok I’m gonna be honest, I never intended to make this pasta
I don’t mind feta cheese, but it’s not one of those things that my brain looks at and thinks, “oooh I should make that.”
But I was talking to Son about TikTok trends and showed him how this was trending, and he was like, “oooh, you should make that!”
At its base, the combination of pasta, feta cheese, tomatoes, and olive oil is savory and salty, with just a slight pop of tartness from the tomatoes.
And even if you don’t add anything else? It’s good.
But the shallots and garlic get oooey gooey soft and just a little caramelized in the oven, and that lemon zest and basil at the end? Add the perfect bit of bright freshness to put this pasta over the top.
And now that I’ve tried it, I can confidently say… “oooh, you should make this.”
I always want to give credit where credit is due, so as far as I can tell the “TikTok” feta pasta actually originated here, on Instagram:
Feta Pasta
adapted from Delish
Ingredients
- 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1 shallot, quartered
- 1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (or more – I accidentally poured in too much oil the first time I made this, but I actually ended up liking it better that way!)
- crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 (8oz) block feta cheese
- 1 lb pasta
- lemon zest
- basil or thai basil
Cooking Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large ovenproof skillet or medium baking dish, combine tomatoes, shallot, garlic, and olive oil. Season with red pepper flakes.
- Nestle feta in the center of the dish and flip to coat in oil. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until tomatoes are bursting and feta is golden on top.
- Remove from oven and stir, mashing tomatoes and garlic into the cheesey sauce.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to package instructions.
- To skillet with mashed tomatoes and feta (or a separate bowl if needed), add cooked pasta and lemon zest. Stir until completely combined. Garnish with torn basil leaves before serving.
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