The viral TikTok Feta Pasta Bake recipe has been going around for a while now and has been reviewed everywhere from The Washington Post to The Cut to Buzzfeed. The recipe has become so popular, that it actually created a Feta shortage in Finland!
So I had to try it, obviously. I went into it with low expectations that were quickly exceeded. It takes about 5 minutes of prep time, has only a few ingredients, and is quite delicious considering the work that goes into it. Was it the best recipe I’ve ever tried? No. But it was pretty dang good! I’ll definitely be making it again.
Unfortunately, not many people share the amount of each ingredient in their Tik Tok videos, but I laid it all out for you! I added a few dried herbs because I found the flavor to be a bit flat before doing that. And be sure to save a cup of the pasta water in case it comes out too dry.
TikTok Feta & Tomato Baked Pasta
Ingredients:
– 1 box, cherry or grape tomatoes
– 4 garlic cloves, whole
– 1 block, Greek feta cheese (sheep’s milk!)
– Salt
– 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
– Black pepper to taste
– 1/2 tsp, dried oregano
– 1/2 tsp, dried parsley
– 1 box, short pasta (like shells, penne, or rotini)
– Large handful, fresh basil leaves, torn
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Place tomatoes and garlic in a baking pan and toss with 1/4 cup of olive oil and sea salt.
3. Place the block of feta in the middle of the tomatoes and top the whole thing with crushed red pepper flakes, parsley, oregano, and black pepper.
4. Bake for 40 minutes or until the feta is slightly browned and the tomatoes are totally blistered.
5. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to box instructions. Be sure to save 1 cup of the pasta water before you drain it!
6. Mix up the tomatoes, feta, and garlic with a fork (I also broke up the garlic with a garlic press) to form a sauce.
7. Stir the pasta into the sauce and add pasta water, a little at a time, as needed.
8. Top with torn basil and serve.
9. Enjoy!
Who’s going to try it? Let me know if you do!
Loved your insta-story for this! Are skinny jeans and side parts really over? Sadness! Perhaps we can just keep rocking them till they are back in style in another decade! Thanks for writing out the recipe for another grand millennial! Dinner tonight!
Oh I’m not stopping anytime soon 🙂 I tried to do a middle part for months and my hair refuses to cooperate!
I am wearing skinny jeans right now and feeling very cute. Also, if Madewell is still selling skinny jeans then how can they be over? If they are, then I feel like the victim of fashion entrapment. Additionally, I have a cow lick which prevents me from not doing a part down the center of my head without looking ridiculous sooooo can I be excused from non-side parts? #eldermillenialproblems
If i didn’t know better, I would think this post was self-deprecating satire, in which case it would actually be clever and funny. As it stands, however, this post is just sad. First, this pasta was a trend about a month ago. As Ferris Bueller famously said, life moves pretty fast . . . . Likewise, the information about the Finland feta shortage and saving a cup of pasta water has been already been repeated ad infinitum – you’re not contributing anything new. Finally, there is no space in TikTok – it’s one word, not two. You are constantly going on and on about how this blog is a “Business” but this content, in particular, is more suited to a geriatric newsletter.
What can I say? I love my little geriatric newsletter corner of the internet…
I love it too! Please don’t change!
Sign me up for the geriatric newsletter! The haters can unsubscribe! (millennial emoji, as I wear my skinny jeans and rock a side part and refuse to download TikTok)
I thought Tik Tok had a space too!
I love it too! For some of us, you are a bit of a taste maker so I appreciate the endorsement <3
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this! It definitely makes me want to try!
Me too Julia! Love your newsletter! I hadn’t heard of this until your Instagram story. Your recipe looks delicious xox
As a member of Gen Z and longtime follower, I think your posts are plenty cool and stylish 🙂
Best compliment ever, thank you!
I am here for all of the newsletters you’ve got – I absolutely love it all!! I’d be embarrassed to know anything about TikTok trends, as I’m in my 40’s
Bailey,
I enjoy Julia’s geriatric corner too. Some of us are too busy juggling our busy lives to keep up with TikTok. I didn’t know this recipe was a thing until Julia posted about it. I’ll be over here with my side part – watching her stories and liking her posts on my breaks from work in between treating patients during a pandemic. There are bigger things to worry about then keeping up with the trends. Let’s all be supportive ok? Now where are my skinny jeans…?
Millennial here . This content is great …I’m 27 and hardly know what tik tok is so I’m certainly not able to keep up with it . (I had never seen this trend for example) I feel Julia caters to everyone in different ways . I’m not pregnant but don’t dislike the pregnancy stuff . I can’t cook but don’t dislike the cooking stuff . I just feel there’s something for everyone here . Keep in mind some of us use this blog to see things for the first time haha
This older mom of young kids hadn’t seen the recipe and hadn’t heard a word about the Finland feta situation until I read your blog (while wearing my reading glasses.) I also don’t feel like I am suffering due to my unfamiliarity with Tikkety Tock. Anyway, I am always grateful for your posts and hope you continue to trust your inner voice. Bailey, I don’t know what kind of “business” you are in but I sincerely hope you find a supportive mentor to help guide you in your endeavors.
I love a good geriatric newsletter!
I’m so glad Julia posted this today! I was just making up my grocery list (you can call me old, I’ll keep calling myself smart for planning my meals so I don’t waste food or money) and I had completely forgotten about this! I made it a couple of weeks ago and it totally slipped my mind.
Maybe it’s my geriatric (mid-20’s) brain, or maybe it’s the fact that I’m busy with work and family and can’t be on TikTok very often. Whatever the reason, I’m glad to have this reminder of a simple, delicious recipe! Thank you, Julia 🙂
Loved this! I tried it last weekend too… while wearing skinny jeans. Welcome to old age, according to the young folks (who are just five years younger?!). You make me laugh. Keep the good reads and recipes coming even if they’re one month late! Lol.
Melissa Clark, the NYT’s best food writer, also posted about this today! So your “geriatric newsletter” is in good company… FWIW I had never heard of this before your post 🙂
Thank you for writing this down! I’ve been seeing this around but didn’t make it because I didn’t have actual ingredient measurements! Definitely going to try making it now – it feels like it would be a hit for my toddler too.
Same! I had saved a post about this but it had no measurements so I was thrilled to see yours. Despite being an elder millennial, my cooking skills are sadly not very advanced but I’m looking forward to trying this. Keep the geriatric content coming, I’m a fan 😉
Oh my goodness, thank you for writing it down because I do not have a TikTok lol..I definitely want to make it but I kind of want to try using double the amount of tomatoes?! I will report back!
Welp, I think this a very fine geriatric newsletter. Ripe old 36 year old here who hadn’t heard of the feta pasta and genuinely thought tik tok was the Kesha song until fairly recently.
Thanks for sharing for us geriatrics who love a good written out pasta recipe! How is one supposed to figure out how to cook something from a video without measurements anyway? Keep ’em coming 🙂
As someone who tries to limit her social media diet and is not in TikTok, I enjoyed this post. I actually think life moves better when it’s not so fast and I’m off screens. Thank you Julia for this post- there are those of us who don’t know about saving pasta water etc or even this trend. But I’ve also given up trying to be cool – that’s something I’ve learned in my forties.
We made this and served it over spaghetti squash with sautéed spinach. My family loved it, but it had a cloyingly sweet and saccharine taste and smell for me.
I always appreciate recipes with measurements- thank you for posting.
Yum! I need to try this! I’m always looking for recipes that don’t take an hour during the week. Ps. I also don’t have TikTok and frankly Bailey, if you’ve got time to correct someone’s spelling of a social media app, you should prob start crafting or volunteering or something. I hear Perler beads are fun.
Thank you Julia for the post! In my corner of the world (Westport, CT too actually!) it seems that everyone is still talking about this trend, I think it’s still pretty current.
Just giving you a big virtual hug for being a lovely contributor to social media and someone whose content I enjoy. If however I ever don’t relate to or am not interested in some of your or someone else’s FREE content that you create just to entertain people like me, I can scroll on by! I’m sorry that not everyone does that. Don’t listen to the naysayers, I think they are having a bad day and have no one to talk to.
Keep up the fantastic work!
I have to laugh I saw this and I was like THANK YOU I cannot cook from a viral video need a good old fashioned geriatric recipe! Thanks for catering to all audiences even us geriatrics!
Let that kindness shine✨✨ Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day. Chin up Julia! You make the world a brighter place.
Thanks for posting this! I saw this before and didn’t know how to make it. I love your site too! Maybe tic tok should be 2 words not one!! Anyways, keep doing what your doing from someone who is on the so called “geriatric side”(55) yikes!
This 60 year old loves your content + I know many “older” followers enjoy too…something for everyone!
I’m just going to say it–the middle part looks good on VERY FEW people besides, I don’t know, Farrah Fawcett, Susan Dey and Julie from Mod Squad. Don’t fall for it! Most of us look more like gawky awkward age teenage wannabes when we do it. And many of the Gen Z TikTok kids look like those actual gawky awkward age teenage when they do it just to follow a trend. So just don’t do it–unless your hairdresser approves. #ilovemysidepart #butyoucankeeptheskinnyjeans