A quick and easy baked feta appetizer that’s bursting with bright and bold Mediterranean flavors!
Briny and creamy feta is baked with sweet cherry tomatoes, richly bitter olives, tangy lemon and fresh herbs.
Learn how to use this recipe as a template to swap in all sorts of seasonal fruits and veggies.
Why this Recipe Works
- Intensify the tomato flavor. Roasting tomatoes brings out their natural sweetness and concentrates their flavor.
- Balance of flavor. Briny creamy feta pairs with sweet cherry tomatoes, richly bitter olives, and fresh herbs. And the tangy lemon makes the dish really pop.
- Versatile! Swap baked feta toppings seasonally throughout the year, with different fruits, veggies, herbs and spices. See suggestions below.
- Low maintenance and highly impressive! Perfect for entertaining or a weeknight dish.
The dish both doubles and halves beautifully! Make as much or as little as you want.
How to Make this Recipe
Place a big chunk or two of feta on a baking dish, top with: cherry tomatoes, olives, fresh herbs, lemon, and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil. Pop in oven and your done.
No fancy cooking skills required and lots of fancy flavors to be enjoyed. Done and done!
I left the measurements slightly loose, as it’s an add-as-many-olives-and-cherry-tomatoes-as you-want type of situation.
Note: If you’re vegan/dairy-free: simply omit the feta skip the feta
Enjoy these in process step-by-step shots for easy cooking.
Motto all summer long: all the colorful tomatoes all the time!
Note: Left the stems are on the cherry tomatoes purely for presentation purposes. To de-stem or not is up to YOU!
Baked Feta Topping Variations
Feta: can swap for Haloumi
Tomatoes: No cherry tomatoes? No problem! Dice up larger tomatoes or swap them all together for: sun-dried tomatoes, roasted peppers, onions, blood orange, grapes, figs, and/or get creative and add something else!
Herbs: swap in thyme, parsley, and/or other fresh herbs.
Spices: include other spices such as cumin, cayenne, and/or paprika.
Baked Feta – Winter Version
Cooks Tips
- Baked feta and oil will keep in an airtight container the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Serving suggestion: toasted bread.
- Flavor the oil with herbs and spices you love! Get playful and experiment.
More tomato recipes:
Check out Tomato Confit, Tomato, Gazpacho, Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes & Burrata, Tomato Galette, and Tomato Puff Pastry Tart.
Have ya tried this recipe? I’d love to hear about it and see it too! Please leave a comment below and take a pic and tag it on Instagram with @DanielaGerson. You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to see more colorfully delicious food and awesome adventures!
Let’s make waves in the kitchen!
Baked Feta
Ingredients
- 10.5 oz Greek feta
- 2-3 cups cherry tomatoes stemmed or de-stemmed
- 1 cup olives
- 1 zest & juice lemon
- 2-3 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 2-3 sprigs basil
- 2-3 sprigs oregano
- 1/2-1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chili flakes
- kosher salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
- Place feta blocks in a baking dish.
- Pile the olives and cherry tomatoes on top of feta bocks. If it doesn’t all fit you can place some tomatoes on top of olives or other tomatoes or vie versa. Don’t be afraid to double layer.
- Place lemon peel, garlic slices, and herbs (basil & oregano) on top of feta and olive & tomato mixture.
- Whisk olive oil and lemon juice together and poor all over baking dish.
- Sprinkle chili flakes, salt and pepper all over baking dish mixture.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the cheese has softened and the tomatoes are roasted.
- Serve with bread that can soak up the olive oil mixture, as it will come out bursting with flavor you’ll want to eat it with a spoon. Enjoy!
Notes
- Baked feta and oil will keep in an airtight container the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Serving suggestion: toasted bread.
- Flavor the oil with herbs and spices you love! Get playful and experiment.
Jacqueline Gerson says
Total winner????
Daniela says
Remember when you ate this :)??? Xxx.
Erin | white plate blank slate says
This looks sooooooo good. Definitely trying it soon.
Daniela says
So stoked to hear that! Please let me know how it comes out! And take a pic if ya get a chance...I'd absolutely love to see :).
Orlee Rabin says
This is the best thing to bring to a dinner party. It is simple to make and delicious and everyone will be impressed. Its all the right flavors and soooo good.
Daniela says
YAYA!!!! Thats exactly the idea! So super stoked to hear that and thanks so much for the feedback :).
Elaine Benoit says
This looks so delicious. I have never baked a brick of feta before but I can't wait to try it! I bet the tomatoes make this dish taste so lovely and bring it to the next level!
Daniela says
Yes Elaine they do!!! It's one of the easiest party pleasing appetizers I make! The tomatoes are sooooo good they for non dairy guests I just make them a little portion with all the same ingredients minus the feta. Thanks for the super sweet feedback and Would love to hear your thoughts after ya make it :)!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy says
Ok..so first I am a CHEESE LOVER...so this is right up my alley. What a great dish to entertain with. Baked feta is so delicious...I could make a meal out of this. Just give me some nice crusty bread and some wine. Heaven right here.
Daniela says
Hehehe Gloria mine thoughts exactly! I call this dish an appetizer but with bread and wine it's a prefect warm weather dinner for me :). And it's a fabulous entertaining dish... super easy to make and looks highly impressive :)!
Dan from Platter Talk says
I'm in love with this baked dish of Mediterranean goodness! Baked feta is always so dreamy-delicious and the rest of the ingredients will make it even more addictive; thanks for the tasty inspiration!
Daniela says
Absolute pleasure Dan! And thank you for the super sweet feedback! So stoked to hear you're in love with my dish :).
Veronika's Kitchen says
Wow! That looks beautiful! Never tried to bake feta cheese like that but definitely should! Love the recipe!
Daniela says
Awesome! Thank ya so much Veronika! So super stoked to hear that! And I def rec that you try bake feta soon :).
Nicoletta says
I was just wondering how much bread would I eat with this deliciousness! 🙂 The flavors must be so rich and well balanced together. Can't wait to try it!
Daniela Gerson says
Hehehe... possibly a lot! I love a good, hearty bread to really soak up all that deliciously infused oil! Or change things up and drizzle it on pasta or veggies too! Can't wait for ya to try it either :).
Lorie says
Oh wow, this is everything I love in one place—gonna have this goodness on repeat and enjoy on the patio for sure!!! Thanks for a good one!
Daniela Gerson says
Absolute pleasure Lorie! Stoked for ya to enjoy it on your patio... sounds like a good time + happy cooking :)!
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness says
Everything about this dish is beautiful! I never used to like feta cheese, but now I can't get enough! 🙂
Daniela Gerson says
Hehehe so super stoked to hear that Cathleen! Yep feta becomes a whole new ballgame when roasted. Love that this recipe turned ya into a feta lover! Thanks so much for sharing :).
Analida Braeger says
Very beautiful photos I can almost feel the POP! of the savory tomato. I love roasting the local cherry tomatoes i get , I'll make sure to try this out soon 🙂
Daniela says
Awesome Analida!! So super stoked to hear that! And thanks so much for the sweet feedback. Please let me know how it goes after ya make it... I'd absolutely love to hear :).
Mary King says
No mention of olives in ingredient list...can you help me out here please?
Daniela says
UPDATED! Oil not sure that happened thanks so much for looking out Mary :)!
Lauretta says
I would be comfortable in making this for my husband & myself. When times become normal & I saw this at a party, I wouldn't know how to tackle a hunk of cheese as well as the tomato - definately would need a plate and a utensil...
Daniela Gerson says
Yes of course I serve this dish with plate and utensils! So stoked to hear you're making this Laura! Please let me know if you have any other questions :).