“Finnish” Baked Feta Pasta
February 1, 2021 | By Jeremy Scheck | 31 Comments
This is my take from the viral trend started by https://liemessa.fi/
This Baked Feta Pasta is said to have “sold out” all the feta in Finland last year! Here’s my twist — which includes actually baking it!
Some tweaks I made to the original:
- Less olive oil to start – I like to drizzle some fresh olive oil on at the end, but I didn’t think it needed to be swimming in it.
- More garlic – I like to roast the entire head of garlic with the tomatoes
- Balance of flavor – I used honey, less salt, and lots of red pepper flakes to create a balance of flavors with the salty feta
- Baking the pasta – after cooking “al dente”, I like to cook the whole dish again with some cheese and breadcrumbs on top to golden-brown perfection.
"Finnish" Baked Feta Pasta
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil (plus a drizzle more for serving)
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes
- 8oz block feta cheese
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Red chili pepper flakes, to taste
- Dried oregano to taste,
- 1 head garlic, with the top sliced off to reveal all the cloves
- A drizzle of honey
- 1 pound short pasta such as orecchiette, shells, or radiatore
- Small bunch of fresh basil leaves
- The zest of 1 lemon
- Parmigiano reggiano or shredded mozzarella (to sprinkle on top, to taste)
- 2 large handfuls panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
- In a 9x13" casserole dish (or something of a similar size), pour in 2-3 tbsps olive oil. Add the tomatoes and arrange the feta block in the center. Season with black pepper, red chili flakes, dried oregano. Add in the garlic head and drizzle with honey. Place in oven and set a time for 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, get a pot of boiling water going for the pasta. Start cooking it when there are about 7-8 minutes left on the tomatoes. Right before the pasta is almost "al dente", use a mug to reserve pasta water and drain.
- Take out the tomatoes and feta when the tomatoes are nicely blistered and burst and the feta is lightly browned on top. Use tongs to squish out the garlic (and fork to smash the individual cloves), and mix the feta together with the tomatoes. Add torn basil, lemon zest, and cooked pasta.
- Mix everything together with a few dashes of reserved pasta water just to moisten everything and meld the flavors. Sprinkle with parmigiano reggiano (or mozz) and panko. Return to the oven until lightly golden (broil if desired).
Video Tutorial
Jeremy Scheck spent high school perfecting his signature cupcakes, making quiches and coffee cake by the dozen at a local bakery, and teaching cooking demonstrations at Williams-Sonoma. As a 10th grader in 2016, he began documenting his favorite recipes on a blog called The After School Bakery. In college, Jeremy learned to make 50 gallons of ice cream in the food science lab, how to prune grape vines in the teaching vineyard, the best way to milk a cow in Northern Italy, and why film photography is an art worth saving. As a sophomore in 2020, he traded blog photos for video and became a TikTok culinary sensation. Jeremy has been featured on the Today show, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, BBC Radio, People, and Access Hollywood, among others. Jeremy is a graduate of Cornell University with a double major in Spanish and Italian, and significant coursework in food science. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more about Jeremy.
Delicious !! I really like your take on this recipe, it has a nicer blend of flavours. Adding some parmigiano reggiano before serving really completes the dish.
I just want to know how can I safely pry the garlic out from the garlic-head without burning my fingers, it’s not a skill that I have yet!
use tongs to squish out the garlic
How many servings does this make?
it’s 1 box of pasta, so however much that normally feeds for your fam — 4-6 servings?
My husband = family if 4😜
Made this with my college housemates tonight and just about died – sooo good. it’s filling so your dish will go a long way & broiling the breadcrumbs + cheese added the most delicious crunch. best ever, thanks jeremy!
i made this tonight and it was a big hit!
Have made this twice now and will keep it in my go-to rotation!! Love this variation. Thanks, Jeremy 🙂
I don’t get why you had to import the feta from Finland ???? why is this recipe from Finland? I tried it btw it was good! Greetings from Helsinki.
I made two versions of this tonight because my husband dislikes feta. I found a cheddar-gruyer block at TJ’s which tasted good but didn’t melt like I had hoped. Very gloppy. Would you please recommend another cheese I could use which melts better?
Thank you!
Goat cheese, good ricotta, mozzarella ball or burrata
I made this and it was DELISH!!!! However, I will say that since it isn’t super saucy, it is best enjoyed right after you make it!! Otherwise, the noodles seem to soak up the oils and it becomes a little dry. I’m sure you could jazz it up again but I’m lazy and still eat it regardless LOL.
A well-received success at my house. Three clean plates and seconds served. As a non-cook who panics a bit at the phrase “to taste,” I used the original recipe as a guide for, in particular, the crushed red pepper, and I’m glad I did. A half teaspoon brought just the right amount of heat.
Even as a non-cook, I did get a little creative. Rather than using the full head of garlic, I mashed in four cloves, as per the original recipe, and used the rest of the roasted garlic on a crusty loaf of bread. So good!
So good! I added more red pepper flakes because I love the heat and it made it even better
This feta pasta had such a good balance of flavors! All of the tips & tricks really helped to give it a more creamy sauce. Loved it (but second what someone else said about leftovers — it tasted best right out of the oven)!
Made this a few nights ago. My husband who doesn’t like pasta really enjoyed it! The broiled breadcrumbs really made a difference!
I saw this go viral online, but I thought some of the recipes were bland. Sure enough, using Jeremy’s recipe full of additives from the original brought this to the next level! a hit with my family and so delicious.
delicious !!! i feel like the honey perfectly balanced out the acidity of the tomatos. the slight crunch from the breadcrumbs just tied it all together. so good <3
Honestly, I was truly obnoxious when eating this! I think I said, “This is so f*cking good” about 20 times before I finished my meal! My husband isn’t a big fan of tomato chunks, so I smooshed the tomatoes, feta, and garlic all together with a potato masher and it turned out so damn good! It’s a really versatile recipe and would be great with some chicken, pancetta, sauteed mushrooms, or spinach added to it also. I will make this again, for sure!
I just made it and I LOVED IT!!! Your take on it was awesome!!
What temperature did u bake it for after u put the panko and cheese on top?
This was so so good. I don’t usually like pasta because it’s too bland and this was much better. So yummy
Loved this, although I did skip the honey. I thought the pasta to sauce ratio was a little off, maybe would try again with 12 oz pasta vs the whole 16 oz. Great recipe!
This was wonderful!!! I used a 7 oz block of feta made from sheep and goat milk, so it had a really great goat cheese flavor thing going on, and I made up for the missing ounce of feta by mixing in an ounce of parm. I also skipped the second bake with the parm/panko. Instead I pan-toasted some panko in olive oil and mixed parm into that to make lil parm-panko clusters, and then garnished my plate with it. Dirties another pan, but you can do it while the feta’s baking so you don’t have to wait longer than needed! Also, don’t be afraid to add a healthy splash of pasta water (or several in my case, maybe because of the missing ounce of feta) to really sauce up the dish.
I made the “Tik tok” pasta first and I thought it was okay, but not great. Then I found Jeremy’s upgraded version and made it and it was delicious! It is in my dinner rotation now.
Omg so easy to make and yet it is so so tasty. It is also really light and works great for when you want pasta but dont really want to cook or ingest really heavy sauces
Also I recommend using lemon based on how sour your cherry tomatoes are because the first time I made it my tomatoes where very sour and while I didnt mind the sourness, my family sure did.
So flavorful! This is the TikTok feta pasta with multiple college degrees! I’ve made this multiple times and I love this variation! After making the original version from TikTok, I tried Jeremy’s version from this recipe and LOVE it so much more. I will say I just throw the peeled garlic cloves in, instead of the whole head of garlic. Tasty and delicious!
It is super simple but turned out super delicious. Thank you for the recipe!!
Making this tonight I’m adding chicken
Okay normally I never really write reviews but Holy s*** this is the best version of this pasta recipe I’ve had. I recently went vegetarian and am just trying old viral foods and I tried the original and I wasn’t impressed but this recipe is absolutely amazing. All of the seasonings and added things such as the mozzarella and honey adds so much to the recipe its crazy. This will definitely be a recipe cooked many times in my household.
Sooo yummy and makes the best leftovers. As per usual, Jeremy’s tweaks and recommendations completely elevate the recipe!