Save I stumbled onto this dish completely by accident during a lazy Tuesday night when my fridge held nothing but cherry tomatoes, a block of feta, and a vague memory of a trending video. What emerged from that chaotic oven was something so silky and profound that I've made it at least twice a month since. The way the feta softens into the tomato juices, creating this unexpected creamy sauce without a drop of cream, still catches me off guard.
My friend Sarah came over unannounced one evening, and instead of ordering in, I pulled together this pasta in under an hour. The way her face lit up when she tasted it was one of those moments where you realize a recipe has genuinely moved someone. She's asked me to make it every time she visits now, which is maybe the highest compliment a dish can receive.
Ingredients
- Feta cheese (200g block): Use the creamiest, highest-quality feta you can find because it's basically the entire sauce. Cheaper feta tends to stay grainy instead of dissolving into something silken.
- Cherry tomatoes (500g, whole): Keep them whole so they burst naturally in the heat and release their juice slowly, creating an actual sauce rather than a watery mess.
- Sun-dried tomatoes (100g in oil, drained and chopped): These deliver the umami punch that makes people ask what your secret ingredient is. Don't skip them or the dish loses its soul.
- Garlic (3 cloves, thinly sliced): Slicing them thin means they cook into the oil gently and mellow rather than turning harsh and burnt.
- Red onion (1 small, thinly sliced, optional): If you add this, it caramelizes slightly in the oven and adds a subtle sweetness that balances the tanginess beautifully.
- Short pasta (350g): Penne, fusilli, or rigatoni all work equally well because they catch sauce in every crevice instead of sliding off like spaghetti would.
- Extra-virgin olive oil (4 tbsp): This is where the flavor lives, so buy something you actually enjoy tasting on its own.
- Dried oregano and basil (1 tsp each): These herbs bloom when heated in oil, releasing flavors that fresh herbs wouldn't offer at this stage.
- Crushed red pepper flakes (½ tsp, optional): Just a whisper of heat makes every other flavor pop more sharply.
- Fresh basil (½ cup torn leaves): This gets stirred in at the very end so it stays bright and fresh against all the oven-mellowed flavors.
- Salt, pepper, and optional garnishes: Parmesan adds a salty edge and lemon zest brings everything into focus with a quiet brightness.
Instructions
- Heat your oven and build the base:
- Get your oven to 200°C (400°F) so it's ready the moment you need it. In your baking dish, toss the whole cherry tomatoes, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, sliced garlic, and red onion together with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, then scatter the oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes over everything.
- Place the feta center stage:
- Nestle your feta block right in the middle of the tomato mixture like it's the main character, then drizzle the last tablespoon of oil over top. This little moment is important because the feta needs its own oil to soften evenly.
- Let the oven do the work:
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the tomatoes are bursting open and the feta has turned golden and impossibly soft. You'll know it's ready when you can see the juices bubbling around the cheese.
- Cook your pasta in parallel:
- While the feta and tomatoes are baking, get a big pot of salted water boiling and cook your pasta until just shy of tender. Before draining, scoop out about ½ cup of that starchy water because it's the invisible ingredient that transforms everything.
- Mash everything into sauce:
- Pull the dish from the oven and use a fork to break down the feta into the tomato juices, swirling everything together until you have a creamy sauce that looks almost too good to be real.
- Bring it all together:
- Add your drained pasta directly to the baking dish along with the reserved pasta water, then toss until every noodle gets coated. The starch from the water helps bind everything into something silken and cling-able.
- Finish with fresh basil and a taste check:
- Tear in the fresh basil, taste, and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Sometimes you need just a pinch more salt to wake everything up.
Save There's something almost magical about watching guests realize there's no cream in a dish this luxurious. My neighbor tasted it and immediately assumed I'd used heavy cream or mascarpone, which somehow felt like the ultimate validation that the feta had done something special.
The Secret Behind the Silkiness
The magic happens because you're combining three things that seem unrelated: soft melted feta, concentrated tomato juice, and starchy pasta water. The feta dissolves into the tomato acidity while the starch helps emulsify everything into something that clings to the pasta like a proper sauce. It's surprisingly simple chemistry that produces something that tastes restaurant-worthy.
Why Sun-Dried Tomatoes Matter Here
Fresh tomatoes alone would give you sweetness and brightness, but sun-dried tomatoes add a jammy depth and umami intensity that makes people wonder what you've done to make it taste so complex. They've been concentrated by drying, so their flavor is basically tomatoness distilled and intensified. Even people who claim they don't like sun-dried tomatoes shift their opinion when they taste them in this context.
Make It Your Own
This recipe is a beautiful foundation that welcomes improvisation without falling apart. I've added toasted pine nuts for crunch, scattered Kalamata olives for briny pops, and even thrown in spinach when I had it lingering in the crisper drawer. You could also prepare this fully in the baking dish and reheat it later, making it a genuinely practical dinner for busy nights.
- Vegan versions work perfectly if you swap in quality vegan feta or even crumbled firm tofu mixed with tahini and lemon juice.
- Gluten-free pasta absorbs sauce the same way regular pasta does, so no adjustments needed beyond swapping that single ingredient.
- Leftovers keep for three days and taste even better the next day when the flavors have melded, so this is secretly meal-prep friendly.
Save This dish somehow tastes like comfort and sophistication at the same time, which is why I keep returning to it. It's become my answer to the question I ask myself most Tuesday nights: what can I make that feels special without being complicated?
Common recipe questions
- → What pasta types work best for this dish?
Short pasta shapes like penne, fusilli, or rigatoni hold the creamy sauce well and provide a satisfying texture.
- → Can I prepare this dish vegan-friendly?
Yes, substitute the feta cheese with a plant-based alternative to maintain the creamy texture and flavor.
- → How do sun-dried tomatoes affect the flavor?
They add a tangy, concentrated sweetness that balances the creaminess of the baked feta and freshness of cherry tomatoes.
- → Is it necessary to use fresh basil?
Fresh basil adds aromatic brightness and balances richness, but dried herbs can be used in a pinch.
- → What is the best way to achieve a creamy sauce?
Roasting the feta with tomatoes until soft allows you to mash them into a rich, velvety sauce that coats the pasta beautifully.