Half-Block Feta
Baked Tomatoes

Half a block of feta, some tomatoes, olive oil, and a hot oven. Thirty minutes later you have a bubbling, savory dish that's good on bread, pasta, rice, or eaten directly from the baking dish with a spoon. This is one of the most hands-off good dinners you can make.

This is adjacent to the viral feta pasta recipe, but stripped back to its most useful form. You don't need cherry tomatoes — any tomatoes work, cut into large pieces. You don't need the full block of feta — half works fine, which is exactly why this recipe exists. You don't need any particular pasta shape or cooking method. The core of it is just feta and tomatoes in a hot oven, and that core is excellent.

What happens in the oven: the tomatoes collapse and release their juice, the garlic softens and sweetens, and the feta softens on the inside while developing a golden, slightly firm exterior. Crushing it all together creates something closer to a sauce than a salad — jammy, salty, and rich.

What you need

• 150 g (about half a block) feta cheese
• 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, or 2–3 larger tomatoes quartered
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, thyme, or Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Black pepper to taste
• Optional: fresh basil to finish
• To serve: crusty bread, cooked pasta, or rice

How to make it

Step 1: Preheat the oven. Set it to 200°C / 400°F. Use convection if you have it — the feta browns better.

Step 2: Prep the dish. Use a small baking dish or an ovenproof skillet — something that fits everything snugly. Snug means the tomatoes and feta are in contact and the juices pool around everything rather than evaporating on a wide surface. Scatter the tomatoes and smashed garlic in the dish, drizzle generously with olive oil, and toss to coat. Add the dried herbs and red pepper flakes. Season with black pepper but not salt — feta is salty enough.

Step 3: Add the feta. Place the feta block in the center of the tomatoes. Drizzle a little more olive oil directly over the top of the feta. This helps it develop a better golden surface and prevents it from drying out.

Step 4: Bake. 25 to 30 minutes. You'll know it's done when the tomatoes have burst and are bubbling in their juice, the garlic looks soft and golden, and the top of the feta has developed visible color. It shouldn't look pale or unchanged — that means the oven was too gentle.

Step 5: Smash and serve. Take it out of the oven. Use a fork to break up the feta and crush some of the tomatoes into it, stirring everything into a rough, jammy sauce. A few torn basil leaves if you have them. Serve immediately while it's still hot and bubbling.

What to serve it with

The simplest option: crusty bread to mop up the sauce. Toast works equally well. For a fuller dinner, cook some pasta, drain it, and toss it with the baked feta and tomatoes directly from the dish — add a splash of pasta water to help everything come together. It also works over rice, spooned onto polenta, or with roasted vegetables for a fully vegetarian plate.

Variations

Olives and capers: Add a handful of Kalamata olives and a tablespoon of capers with the tomatoes before baking. The briny additions make it taste more complex and need no extra seasoning.

Eggs: After baking, make small wells in the tomato mixture and crack in two eggs. Return to the oven for 8–10 minutes until the whites are just set. You now have a shakshuka-adjacent dish with very little additional work.

Chickpeas: Add a drained can of chickpeas with the tomatoes. They absorb the juices and become very tender and savory.

See also: Tomato Feta Pasta · Lemony Feta-Stuffed Kale Fritters · Shakshuka for One · White Bean and Tomato Shakshuka