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This Baked Penne is gaining crazy popularity for a reason – it’s SO GOOD! Feta cheese is baked with ingredients like cherry tomatoes, garlic, and Italian seasonings until it’s gooey and delicious, then it’s mixed with pasta of your choice and baby spinach. I don’t know about you, but I’m already hungry! 

Penne noodles are tossed in baked feta cheese and tomatoes on a plate.

Baked Feta Pasta Recipe

Even if you don’t have a TikTok account, chances are, you’ve seen this baked feta pasta floating around somewhere else on the internet. At this point, I don’t think there’s been a single person I know who hasn’t tagged me in the comments saying “make this!”

The only issue is, in so many of the videos I’ve seen of this baked pasta recipe, there are little to no seasonings. Most people just mix up the baked feta and tomatoes with the noodles and call it a day… but not me! I love tossing in mouthwatering seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper and Italian seasonings for even more flavor. 

This is a super easy dinner for the next time you’re craving an easy pasta dinner that doesn’t have store-bought jarred sauce. Baked feta pasta deserves all the hype it’s getting right now, and I think this will stick around in my kitchen for a VERY long time. It’s easy, delicious, and customizable to your tastes!

The ingredients for the pasta dish are on a white surface.
  • TOMATOES: 3 (10 oz) containers of cherry or grape tomatoes 
  • GARLIC: 3 tsp minced garlic
  • ITALIAN SEASONING: 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • GARLIC POWDER: 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • ONION POWDER: 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • SALT: 1/4 tsp salt
  • PEPPER: 1/4 tsp pepper
  • CRUSHED RED PEPPER FLAKES: 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • OLIVE OIL: 1/2 cup olive oil
  • FETA: 1 (8 0z) block of feta or cream cheese
  • BABY SPINACH: 2 cups baby spinach
  • PENNE PASTA: 1 box penne pasta
A block of feta cheese is placed in the middle of a baking dish with tomatoes and olive oil.

How to Make Baked Penne

PREPARE: Preheat your oven to 400°F. While that’s heating up, drizzle olive oil on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.

PLACE: Place the tomatoes, minced garlic, italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes in a baking dish. Pour about ¼ cup of olive oil on top and toss to combine. Then, place the feta cheese or cream cheese in the middle of the baking dish and drizzle with olive oil.

BAKE: Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until tomatoes are bursting and feta/cream cheese is golden on top.

A pot of pasta is cooked.

BOIL: Meanwhile, in a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve ½ cup pasta water before draining.

Pasta is stirred with baby spinach in a white baking dish.

SMASH: Remove the feta and tomatoes from the oven. Then smash the tomatoes and feta with the back of a spoon.

STIR: Add in the pasta and stir. Add in the reserved pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce to your desired consistency. Add in the baby spinach and stir again. The spinach will wilt as you stir. 

SERVE: Top with freshly shredded parmesan cheese and serve with garlic bread. 

A large serving spoon is lifting a portion of pasta from the casserole dish.

Variations to Try:

  • Replace the feta with a wheel of brie cheese! Just be warned, whatever cheese you use, is what the whole pasta will taste like. If you love brie, try it out, and be sure to leave the rind on!
  • Penne noodles are my favorite, but any other kind of grippy noodles will also do the trick. Bowties are another classic!
  • Make this pasta dinner spicier by doubling down on the crushed red pepper. Just be careful – a little crushed red pepper goes a pretty long way.
A fork is lifting a piece of pasta from a plate.

Winner winner, easy Italian inspired dinner! If you love Italian dinners as much as I do, then you need to make my super satisfying Baked Ravioli and Easy Meatball Sliders!

Pasta is stirred with baby spinach in a white baking dish.
4.95 from 20 ratings
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Servings: 8 servings

Baked Penne

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
This Baked Penne is gaining crazy popularity for a reason – it's SO GOOD! Feta cheese is baked with ingredients like cherry tomatoes, garlic, and Italian seasonings until it's gooey and delicious, then it's mixed with pasta of your choice and baby spinach. I don't know about you, but I'm already hungry! 
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Ingredients
 

  • 3 containers cherry or grape tomatoes, 10 ounces each
  • 3 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 8 ounces block of feta or cream cheese
  • 2 cups baby spinach
  • 1 box penne pasta

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400°. Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. 
  • Place the tomatoes, minced garlic, italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes in a baking dish. Pour about ¼ cup of olive oil on top and toss to combine.
  • Place feta cheese or cream cheese in the middle of the baking dish and drizzle with olive oil.
  • Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until tomatoes are bursting and feta/cream cheese is golden on top.
  • Meanwhile, in a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve ½ cup pasta water before draining.
  • Remove the feta and tomatoes from the oven. Then smash the tomatoes and feta with the back of a spoon.
  • Add in the pasta and stir. Add in the reserved pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce to your desired consistency. Add in the baby spinach and stir again. The spinach will wilt as you stir. 
  • Top with freshly shredded parmesan cheese and serve with garlic bread.

Notes

  • Replace the feta with a wheel of brie cheese! Just be warned, whatever cheese you use, is what the whole pasta will taste like. If you love brie, try it out, and be sure to leave the rind on!
  • Penne noodles are my favorite, but any other kind of grippy noodles will also do the trick. Bowties are another classic!
  • Make this pasta dinner spicier by doubling down on the crushed red pepper. Just be careful – a little crushed red pepper goes a pretty long way.
Calories: 409kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Cholesterol: 25mg, Sodium: 408mg, Potassium: 200mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 867IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 167mg, Iron: 1mg
Cuisine: American
Course: Main Course
Author: Jennifer
Tried this recipe?Mention @deliciouslysprinkled on Instagram or tag #deliciouslysprinkled.
baked feta pasta recipe

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