Baked Feta Pasta

Ingredients

Serves/makes 4

5 Roma tomatoes (diced into 1-inch pieces, 1 lb 5 oz, 4 cups)

3 garlic cloves (minced, 1 Tbsp)

½ yellow onion (diced, 1/2 cup)

1 Tbsp fresh parsley (minced)

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper (ground)

⅛ tsp red pepper flakes

7 oz. block feta

½ cup olive oil

8 oz. rotini pasta (half a box, uncooked)

1 cup fresh spinach (packed)

½ Tbsp honey

½ cup reserved pasta water

0.25 oz. fresh basil (torn)

1.
Gather ingredients and preheat the oven to 400°F.
2.
Prep the fresh ingredients: Wash and dice 5 Roma tomatoes into 1-inch pieces. Mince the 3 cloves garlic and 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, and dice ½ yellow onion.
3.
Add to casserole dish: Place the prepared tomatoes, onion, garlic, and parsley in a 9×13-inch casserole dish, then season with ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper, and ⅛ tsp red pepper flakes. Stir to combine, then make a little space in the center for the feta.
4.
Place the 7 oz. block of feta in the center of the dish. Drizzle ½ cup olive oil over the feta and tomato mixture, then bake uncovered for 40 minutes.
5.
Cook pasta: While the feta bakes, cook 8 oz. rotini pasta (½ box) according to the package directions. Before draining, reserve ½ cup pasta water.
6.
Finish the sauce: Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven after 40 minutes. Add 1 cup packed fresh spinach to the casserole dish. Pour in ½ Tbsp honey and the ½ cup reserved pasta water and stir everything together, breaking up the feta and mixing it with the tomatoes while the spinach wilts from the heat.
7.
Combine with the pasta: Add the cooked rotini to the baking dish and stir until the pasta is fully coated.
8.
Finish and serve: Top your feta cheese pasta with 0.25 oz. torn fresh basil, and enjoy!

Use any pasta shape you love. Rotini is the author's go-to because the spirals have a nice chewy bite and grab onto the creamy sauce, but penne, rigatoni, bowtie, shells, cavatappi, or even spaghetti all work great.
Add a little honey for contrast. A small drizzle of honey softens the sharp tang of the salty feta.
Add in your favorite protein. Leftover roasted chicken breast (diced), baked tofu, cooked chickpeas, white beans, shredded rotisserie chicken, or cooked lentils are all great add-ins.
Swapping Roma tomatoes for cherry or grape tomatoes saves about $7+ per recipe. If you want to use cherry or grape, you will need 4 cups for this recipe.
Frozen spinach will also work in this recipe; use ¼ cup if using frozen.