Description
This Baked Feta Pasta features a delightful combination of juicy tomatoes, creamy feta, and fresh spinach, making it a favorite for quick dinners. It’s easy to prepare and absolutely bursting with flavor!
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.
- In a 3 quart baking dish, combine the grape tomatoes and garlic. Toss with olive oil, adding a few pinches of salt and pepper. Position the feta in the middle of the tomatoes, ensuring it's coated in oil.
- Bake for 30 minutes in the center of the preheated oven.
- After 30 minutes, take out the dish, elevate the oven rack to the upper third, and raise the temperature to 450 degrees. Bake for an additional 10 minutes until the tomatoes and cheese start to brown slightly.
- During this time, cook your pasta to al dente in salted water, using 1 tablespoon of salt and 3-4 quarts of water, based on the recommended cooking time on your pasta package.
- Before draining, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, and add the spinach to the boiling pasta to wilt it.
- Drain the pasta and spinach mix.
- Using the back of a wooden spoon, mash the tomatoes, garlic, oil, and feta together. Mix in the pasta along with basil, parsley, and red pepper flakes.
- Adjust the consistency of the mixture with a few tablespoons of reserved pasta water, seasoning with salt and pepper as desired. Serve warm.
Notes
Make sure to use sheep’s milk feta for a richer flavor.
You can customize the pasta shape to your preference.
For extra spice, add more crushed red pepper flakes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 475
- Sugar: 4g
- Sodium: 700mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 56g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 14g
- Cholesterol: 30mg