If you are active on social media, you’ve probably heard about the famous Baked Feta Pasta, an easy recipe that went viral on TikTok. And this has become a viral recipe for a good reason: pasta, tomatoes and feta is a perfect match!

But you don’t have to bake your feta in the oven to make a good feta tomato pasta recipe. I have an even easier recipe that you will probably love too!

Ingredient notes

For this recipe, you only need an handful of ingredients that you can find in every grocery stores:

• Pasta: I choose orecchiette pasta but you can choose other pasta shapes (spaghetti, penne, orzo etc.)
• Cherry tomatoes: I use cherry tomatoes in can as you can find them the all year. I always have some in my pantry. When choosing canned tomatoes, make sure to look at the ingredients list. You don’t want any flavor or additives.  
• Onion: The onion is will enhance the flavor to the tomate sauce. If you don’t have some at home, you can leave it.
• Garlic: I use 3 cloves of garlic for this recipe. Garlic goes super well with tomatoes. If you don’t have fresh garlic, you can use a pinch of garlic powder instead.
• Feta: For this recipe you need a whole block of feta cheese. Choose high quality feta cheese as the is the base of your recipe.
• Thyme and rosemary: To season my tomato sauce, I used fresh thyme and rosemary. If you don’t have it at home, you can use other dry herbs like thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil or just your favorite Italian seasoning or the French version called “Herbes de Provence”.
• Red pepper flakes: I like to add a pinch of red pepper flakes to my tomato sauce to add a little bit of spiciness. The quantity is up to you but I don’t recommend making this dish too hot.
• Olive oil: I use a simple olive oil to sauté my onion and garlic. But I also like to add a drizzle of a high quality olive oil extra virgin, just before serving my pasta. It will enhance all the flavors of your sauce.

You will find the detailed recipe in the recipe card.

Prepare the tomato sauce

The first step is to chop the garlic and onion. In a saucepan, brown the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes with a drizzle of olive oil on middle-high heat.

When the onions are golden, pour in the tomatoes. Stir well. Add you seasoning. I choose some fresh thyme and rosemary. Add a generous pinch of salt and some black pepper. And that’s it for the most complicated part!

Then I let simmer my tomato sauce over low heat for at least 20 minutes. The longer you let it cook, the more concentrated the flavors will be.

My tip: Double the quantities and prepare a large pot of tomato sauce. You can then freeze this homemade tomato sauce.

Next time, you want to make this recipe, you can just reheat the tomato sauce with your feta and serve with it with pasta and some crumble feta on top! I told you, this pasta dish is even quicker than the viral Baked Feta Pasta.

Cook your pasta

While you tomato sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. When it starts to boil, add your pasta and cook them al dente as indicated on the package instructions.

Reserve about one cup of pasta water taken at the end of cooking.

The pasta water is very starchy and you will add this water to your sauce later to help the tomato sauce to better stick to your pasta. It also help getting a nice and creamy sauce.

Just before serving…

Just before serving, I crumble the feta cheese. I recommend you to crumble the feta with your hands instead of cutting small cubes with a knife. 

I then add half of the block of feta to the sauce and keep the rest for decoration. The feta will melt in the sauce which will make it creamy.

Finally, I add the cup of pasta water and the cooked pasta to the sauce. Try to add the pasta as quickly as possible to your sauce after draining them, to make sure they don’t stick together. Mix well.

To finish, I serve this pasta with the remaining crumbled feta cheese on top as well as some fresh thyme for decoration.

My tip is also to finish with a last drizzle of olive oil extra virgin.

More Pasta Recipes

• Pasta with Chanterelle Mushrooms and Cream
• Pasta alla Puttanesca
• Zero Waste Broccoli, Feta and Lemon Pasta
• Pasta with Tarragon Pesto

Frequently Asked Questions

Can we prepare this tomato sauce in advance?

Yes, that’s really the advantage of this recipe! This tomato sauce can be kept for 3-4 days in an airtight container placed the refrigerator. 

Can I freeze this tomato sauce?

Absolutely! The feta and tomato sauce freezes well and can be kept in the freezer for several months. Then when you want to use it, let it thaw in a pot or at room temperature for about 6 hours and then in the microwave. 

How to pimp this pasta with tomato and feta?

This is a super simple recipe that you can use as a basis and pimp with what you have in your fridge : you can add some baby spinach or fresh basil leaves to the sauce before serving to add a green touch.

In addition, you can add some roasted pine nuts to add some crunch.

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