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One-Pan Feta Pasta With Cherry Tomatoes

Recipe from Jenni Hayrinen

Adapted by Melissa Clark

Published April 9, 2021

One-Pan Feta Pasta With Cherry Tomatoes
Beatriz Da Costa for The New York Times. Food Styling: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
4(2,926)
Comments
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In 2018, the Finnish blogger Jenni Hayrinen posted a recipe for baked feta pasta. The dish became a full-on TikTok sensation, popular to the point that supermarkets were selling out of feta. This version streamlines her recipe. Instead of cooking the pasta separately, it’s added to the casserole dish with the baked feta and tomatoes, turning it into a cozy one-pan meal. (Also note that you’ll need an electric kettle to boil the water. So maybe it’s more like a one-and-a-half-pan meal.) Don’t think of this as a pasta dish in an Italian, al-dente sense. It’s more like a creamy casserole along the lines of mac and cheese. In any case, it’s comforting and supremely easy. —Melissa Clark

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 2pints cherry tomatoes
  • 5garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
  • 5thyme sprigs
  • 2rosemary sprigs
  • 1½teaspoons kosher salt
  • ½cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
  • 8ounces feta
  • ½teaspoon black pepper, plus more for serving
  • Pinch of red-pepper flakes
  • 12ounces short pasta, such as farfalle, campanelle, rotini or cavatappi
  • 3cups boiling water
  • 1cup torn basil leaves
  • Flaky sea salt, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

751 calories; 41 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 23 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 76 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 1250 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a shallow 2-quart casserole or gratin dish, or an 11-by-7-inch baking dish, combine tomatoes, garlic, thyme, rosemary and ¾ teaspoon salt. Toss with ¼ cup of the olive oil to coat. Place the feta in the middle of the dish, and top with the remaining ¼ cup olive oil. Sprinkle the black pepper and red-pepper flakes over everything. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the garlic has softened and the tomatoes have burst their skins.

  2. Step 2

    Add the pasta to the pan in an even layer and sprinkle with remaining ¾ teaspoon salt. Pour the boiling water on top. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, carefully submerge pasta. Cover tightly with foil and bake until pasta is al dente, 17 to 19 minutes. Remove from oven and let the pasta stand, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes to absorb the excess liquid.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in basil until everything is well incorporated, and the tomatoes and cheese create a creamy sauce. When serving, top with more black pepper, oil and flaky sea salt.

Ratings

4 out of 5
2,926 user ratings
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Comments

Steve

I've tried the TikTok version a couple times. I much preferred it with Boursin, which melts much better than feta and already has some herby flavor, if anyone wants to give that a go.

Till

Respect to MC but too many vowels in my name to add 3 c boiling water to that beautiful sugo so made pasta separately, minus thyme, more rosemary, 1/2 chopped red onion and balanced tomatoes (2 lbs grape tomatoes), sheep feta (10.5 oz) for 1 lb tortiglioni (Cinque Terre from Sardegna, molto buono), 45 min. Easy, delicious, now in rotation.

Barbara McCarthy

I would delete the rosemary and thyme-- let the basil sing solo! I use 3-4 pints of tomatoes. Try to use goats milk or sheep feta, I believe it makes a creamier sauce. Adding a tablespoon or two of heavy cream, at the end makes the sauce decadent.

Nandini

Loved this easy recipe. I didn’t have enough cherry tomatoes so I put in half a can of San Marzanos and it was great!

Lisa

Its all about subtle herb flavor the pasta soaks so, while I haven't tried it, I'm not sure I'd like it as much with separately-cooked pasta. It was pretty watery at first but amazingly, the pasta really did soak it up after about 15-20 minutes. A well-meaning partner purchased fat-free crumbled feta instead of the real thing. I used it anyway but won't do that again - it doesn't melt or have a nice flavor. Leftovers are good cold with artichoke hearts.

Barbara

A cautionary tale: Thought I could riff with what I had on hand. Big mistake. Used good quality canned cherry tomatoes and crumbled feta. Oven broken so used Breville toaster oven. The crumbled feta never melted, probably because of anti-caking additive. Clearly, I should have lowered the temperature of toaster oven and cooked on middle rack instead of lower. The edges came of black burnt. I think the canned cherry tomatoes would have been ok, but fresh ones — especially summer ones — would be better. Nex5 time…

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