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This recipe went viral so long ago, but it’s so good it never left my dinner rotation. The ingredients are simple, the prep takes less than 5 minutes and the flavors are absolutely incredible.
The feta creates a creamy, salty sauce and the tomatoes add the perfect bright, fresh flavor and acidity. I also add spinach for extra fiber and volume, because the bigger my plate of pasta, the better.
To increase the protein content of this recipe, I use protein pasta. With this simple substitution, one serving of this recipe has 33g of protein without any meat. My favorite kinds are the Garofolo and Barilla brands. They’re great both hot and cold, and have a flavor and texture similar to classic pasta. You can use any protein pasta of your choice, or you can just use regular pasta.
In order for the feta to become soft enough to mash and mix, the feta and tomatoes need to bake for around 45 minutes. During that time, you can boil your pasta and set it aside until you’re ready to mix everything together. Aside from boiling and draining pasta, and throwing everything into a baking dish, this recipe is very hands off.
The original version of this recipe uses feta cheese, but because I’ve made this SO many times, I’ve also tried it with goat cheese and Boursin cheese. All 3 versions are delicious, so if you love this with feta cheese, make sure you give those a try too.
Baked Feta Pasta (High Protein Version of a Viral Favorite)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry protein pasta of choice (see Note 1)
- 100 g block of feta cheese
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes
- 6-8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ tsp chili flakes, optional
- Salt, to taste (I use about ½ tsp; see Note 2)
- 1 tbsp olive oil (if you're using extra virgin, make sure the smoke point is above 400℉)
- ¾ cup spinach
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉
- Add the feta block, cherry tomatoes, garlic, freshly cracked black pepper, chili flakes and salt to a broiler-safe baking dish
- Drizzle with olive oil then mix until the tomatoes and feta are coated
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the feta is soft and the tomatoes have burst, then broil for 30 seconds
- Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil and season generously with salt
- Cook the protein pasta then drain and set aside
- Mash the feta and garlic then mix with the tomatoes
- Stir in the spinach and return to the oven for 10 minutes or until the spinach is wilted
- Remove from the oven and stir in the cooked pasta then serve or divide into heatproof containers for meal prep (see Note 3)
Notes
Nutrition
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