Few-Ingredient Baked Feta Pasta in Under 20 Minutes
Cherry tomatoes + a block of feta = dinner. Your oven does the work.
If you've seen baked feta pasta everywhere and assumed it takes too long, good news: a broiler-first shortcut gets you there in under 20 minutes. This is the move when you're staring into the fridge, exhausted, and need something that feels like an actual meal. The feta goes soft and tangy, the tomatoes burst into a jammy sauce, and you toss it all with pasta. It's creamy without any cream, satisfying without much effort, and the kind of dinner that makes you feel like you pulled it off. Fair warning: it's rich, so a small bowl goes a long way.
Ingredients
- 8 oz short pasta — rigatoni, penne, or rotini all work
- 8 oz block feta cheese — one standard block; do not use crumbled
- 2 cup cherry tomatoes
- 3 tbsp olive oil — divided
- 3 unit garlic cloves — thinly sliced
- 0.5 tsp red pepper flakes — optional, adjust to taste
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 0.25 cup pasta cooking water — reserved before draining
- 0.5 cup fresh basil leaves — torn; or 1 tsp dried oregano in a pinch
Method
- 1 Set your oven to broil on high (around 500°F) and position a rack in the upper third. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- 2 Place the block of feta in the center of an oven-safe skillet or small baking dish. Scatter the cherry tomatoes and sliced garlic around it. Drizzle everything with all 3 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with red pepper flakes and black pepper.
- 3 Broil for 10–12 minutes, until the tomatoes are blistered and bursting and the feta is golden on top and soft in the center. Keep an eye on it — broilers vary.
- 4 While the feta broils, cook the pasta in the boiling salted water according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water before draining.
- 5 Remove the skillet from the oven. Use a fork or spoon to smash the feta and burst tomatoes together, stirring until a rough, creamy sauce forms. Add a splash of pasta water to loosen it if needed.
- 6 Add the drained pasta directly to the skillet and toss to coat everything in the sauce. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
- 7 Scatter torn basil over the top and serve immediately from the pan.
Variations
- Add a protein — Toss in a drained can of chickpeas with the tomatoes before broiling for extra staying power — they'll crisp slightly at the edges and soak up the sauce.
- Make it even faster — Use fresh gnocchi instead of dried pasta — it cooks in 2–3 minutes and means you can have dinner on the table in about 15 minutes total.
- No fresh tomatoes — Drain a 14 oz can of whole or diced tomatoes well, spread in the pan around the feta, and broil as directed. The sauce will be saucier and less jammy, but still works.
Notes
The broiler method replaces the traditional 30–40 minute bake, so watch it closely — a minute too long under a hot broiler can scorch the tomatoes. If your skillet isn't broiler-safe, use a small ceramic baking dish and transfer the sauce to a bowl for mixing. Block feta is non-negotiable here; crumbled feta won't melt the same way and the texture will be grainy instead of creamy.
Equipment that helps
- Oven-safe skillet or small baking dish — Going straight from broiler to stovetop-style tossing in one vessel means fewer dishes and a hotter, more cohesive sauce.
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