Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Baked Feta Pasta (Tik Tok Pasta)
Tangy feta and sweet roasted tomatoes make a pasta sauce with plenty of personality. Basil adds a fresh aroma as the noodles catch the soft cheese and tomato juices. It's an inviting bowl for anyone who likes a pronounced cheese flavor alongside their pasta.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Original yield
- Serves 4
- Ingredients
- 9 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Dinner · Lunch · Main course
- Cooking method
- Baking · Baked & roasted
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 31–60 minutes
- Dish type
- Pasta
A few quick notes
1. Let the oven do the sauce work
The tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, feta, and seasonings all bake together in the dish. Wait until the tomatoes have burst and the feta has softened before you start mashing, or the sauce won’t come together as smoothly.
2. Save the pasta water before draining
Keep some of the starchy pasta water back, even if the sauce looks fine at first. After tossing, add it a couple tablespoons at a time if the pasta needs loosening.
3. That hotter finish matters
The oven temperature goes up at the end so the feta can turn golden and the tomatoes get that blistered skin. Don’t skip that last stretch unless they’re already where they need to be.
Get to know the ingredients
Use a block of feta
The feta bakes as one block in the center of the dish, then gets mashed into the tomatoes and garlic. Crumbled feta wouldn’t follow the same bake-and-mash setup given here.
Cherry tomatoes, not canned
Use fresh cherry tomatoes around the feta. They burst and their skins blister as they bake.
Fresh basil goes in at the end
Stir fresh basil in after baking, along with the pasta. It stays fresher that way; use fresh basil here rather than dried.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 4. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 5 steps completeMake room for Baked Feta Pasta (Tik Tok Pasta)
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Mash, toss, and serve hot
Once the feta, tomatoes, and garlic are mashed together, add the pasta and basil straight to the casserole dish. Toss until coated, loosen with pasta water if needed, then serve while it’s hot with extra basil and Parmesan if you like.
A little more help as you go
Cook the pasta while the sauce bakes
The pasta cooks separately while the feta and tomatoes are in the oven. Aim for al dente, then drain it well after saving some pasta water for the final toss.
Season after everything is mixed
Feta is salty, so the final taste check matters. Toss the pasta into the sauce first, then adjust with salt and pepper only if it needs it.
A few questions you might have
Do I mash the garlic too?
Yes. The smashed garlic bakes with the tomatoes and feta, then gets mashed in with them before the pasta is added. That spreads the garlic through the sauce instead of leaving it in big bites.
Why does the oven temperature change near the end?
The first bake softens the feta and bursts the tomatoes. The hotter finish helps the feta brown and gives the tomatoes their blistered skin.
What kind of pasta works best here?
Use the pasta called for here, such as penne or rigatoni. Those shapes are easy to toss through the mashed feta and tomato sauce so they get well coated.
How much pasta water should I add?
Only add it if the pasta seems dry after tossing. Start with a couple tablespoons at a time, mix, and stop once the sauce coats the pasta nicely.
Should the basil bake with the tomatoes?
No. The basil is added after the feta and tomatoes are mashed, right when the pasta goes into the dish. More fresh basil can go on top when serving.
Any more cooking tips?
My biggest tip with this recipe is to use the freshest ingredients possible. There are only a handful of ingredients in this recipe, so go for the fresh stuff, don’t use canned tomatoes, or dried basil. Fresh is best! You can use a scoop of pasta water to help with the creaminess of your sauce, this is useful if your pasta gets too dry. In order for the cherry tomatoes to get that blistered skin, you want to increase the oven temperature for the last few minutes of baking. This will bring out the sweetness of the tomatoes. Feel free to add a protein to this dish, such as sausages, chicken, shrimp, salmon, etc. Pack this dish with other veggies such as spinach, asparagus, broccoli, peppers or even mushrooms. Transfer any leftover baked feta pasta to an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, use the microwave, or you can use the stovetop as well. Add the leftovers to a skillet over medium heat with a splash of chicken broth or water. Cook, tossing often, until heated through. To freeze, let the pasta dish cool completely then transfer it to an airtight container or freezer bag. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: jocooks.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
