Baked Feta Mac and Cheese
A super simple baked feta mac and cheese recipe, made by baking a block of feta in one dish with uncooked pasta – so easy and hassle-free!
I don’t spend much time on TikTok (I think I’m a good decade older than most people who use that app), but there are some TikTok trends that you just can’t escape from – and baked feta pasta is one of them!
This baked feta mac and cheese is a fun twist on the recipe, and since the pasta and sauce are all cooked together in the oven, it truly couldn’t be easier to make.
What is TikTok baked feta pasta?
The original baked feta pasta recipe involves baking a whole block of feta with tomatoes and garlic in the oven, then mixing it through cooked pasta.
My baked feta mac and cheese is actually even easier, as the pasta is cooked right in the oven, along with the feta. So this truly is a one pot recipe – you don’t need to cook anything separately at all.
Just pop it in the oven, and go and relax while your dinner cooks itself.
How to make baked feta mac and cheese
Step 1: Add the pasta and feta to a baking dish
Add some pasta to a baking dish, and pour over some milk. It’s best not to use low fat milk, as it is more likely to split as it cooks – either full fat or semi-skimmed should be fine. Add some grated cheddar cheese, garlic, and plenty of black pepper.
Then pop a block of feta on top (this recipe is not for the faint-hearted, nor the lactose intolerant…).
Sprinkle it with some more black pepper and some dried herbs, and it’s ready to go in the oven. It literally takes about 5 minutes to prepare!
Step 2: Bake until the pasta is soft
After about half an hour in the oven, the pasta will be fairly soft, and the cheese will all be crisped up nicely.
These golden bits will add so much flavour to your mac and cheese once it’s all stirred together – is there anything better than the flavour of crispy cheese?!
Step 3: Mix well
Now it’s time to break up the feta and mix it through the cooked pasta.
Feta cheese doesn’t melt in the oven – that’s why it’s so great for baking. But, it does still go beautifully gooey in the middle, and gets lovely crispy bits around the edges.
Just keep mixing until everything’s nice and smooth.
Step 4: Add some veg (if you want to)
You could eat your baked pasta right away, if you want to keep it plain. It will already be creamy and salty and cheesy and utterly delicious.
But I like to try to get some veg into my meals wherever I can, and sometimes it’s nice have something to break through the creaminess a bit. So I added some halved cherry tomatoes and some fresh spinach, and returned the pan to the oven for another ten minutes or so.
The end result is just incredible. It’s insanely creamy, and since it’s made with feta, it has that wonderful salty, cheesy flavour. The slight tang makes it feel a little less heavy than some other macaroni cheeses.
How to serve baked feta mac and cheese
As with all cheesy pasta recipes, this baked feta macaroni cheese is pretty rich – so a small portion goes a long way!
I served mine with a good handful of greenery – watercress is my favourite, as you can eat it raw or wilted, and it has a lovely peppery flavour that holds up really well against the tangy feta.
Baked Feta Mac and Cheese
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 300 g (~ 2 cups) uncooked macaroni
- 650 ml (~ 2 1/2 cups) milk (full fat or semi-skimmed – not low fat)
- 100 g grated cheddar cheese (~ 1 cup when grated)
- 1 tsp minced garlic or garlic puree
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 200 g (~ 7 oz) block of feta cheese
- 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 1 large handful fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- ~ 8 good quality cherry tomatoes, halved
- 75 ml (~ 1/4 cup) water (if needed)
Instructions
- Add the uncooked macaroni, milk, grated cheddar cheese, minced garlic, and black pepper to a baking dish (mine measured approximately 8 x 8 inches), and mix thoroughly. Place the block of feta cheese in the middle of the dish, on top of the pasta, and sprinkle with some dried herbs and a little extra black pepper.
- Bake, uncovered, at 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F) for about 30 minutes. Break up the feta with a spoon or spatula, and stir thoroughly.
- Add the chopped spinach and cherry tomatoes to the dish, and stir again. If the mixture seems too thick, or the pasta needs a bit more cooking, you can add an extra splash of water at this stage. Then return the dish to the oven for a further 10 minutes, until the spinach has wilted and the cherry tomatoes are hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Love a one pot meal? There’s plenty more inspiration here:
Could you use a nondairy cream in place of milk? And a vegan cheddar?
Hi Traci, I’m afraid I haven’t tested this recipe using vegan ingredients, and I’m not particularly familiar with vegan alternatives, so I wouldn’t like to advise. If you’re well practised with vegan milk and cheese, it might be worth experimenting – but to be honest, this recipe is so dairy-heavy that you might have more luck finding a vegan mac and cheese recipe.
I have some vegan feta in my fridge. Have you tried this recipe with vegan feta?
I haven’t, sorry – I’m not sure if it would go soft and melty in the same way as regular feta?
I have tried it with vegan feta and it was amazing.
Good to know, thanks May!
Wow! This was a major hit today with EVERYONE. I used penne just because it was on hand and substituted 1/2 cup of the liquid, for half and half instead of milk (to use up what was in the fridge.) I will definitely be making this again!! Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks Michelle, that’s so lovely to hear! :)
I just made this in my cute little le creuset pan, its only 2,4 litres so it took about 50minutes and a bit of extra milk, but it was sooo good :)
Thanks Mali, glad you liked it! :)
If you love feta cheese you will love this recipe. Super easy to put together too!
I make the basic version of this a lot, but this looks like an interesting variation, I’ll have to give it a go!
The original oven-baked feta pasta recipe came from a Finnish food blogger btw: https://liemessa.fi/2020/09/baked-feta-pasta-original-recipe/
Ahh thank you for the link! I’ll update the post :)
Mac & Cheese is one of my all time favorites! I have a recipe that I am known for that uses the crockpot that I thought was really easy but this is even more simplistic and I can’t wait to try it. I don’t think I have ever had it made with Feta but I do love it. Thanks for this recipe!
Thanks Megan, glad you like the look of it! :)