Baked Feta Pasta Cranberries (Printable Version)

Creamy pasta with oven-roasted feta, cranberries, honey, and fresh basil for a sweet-tart Mediterranean twist.

# What You'll Need:

→ Dairy & Cheese

01 - 7 oz block feta cheese

→ Vegetables & Fruits

02 - 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
03 - 1 cup fresh cranberries
04 - 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

→ Pasta

05 - 10 oz short pasta (penne, fusilli, or rigatoni)

→ Oils & Seasonings

06 - 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
07 - 1 tsp dried oregano
08 - ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
09 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Sweetener

10 - 2 tbsp honey

→ Herbs

11 - ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped (plus extra for garnish)

# Directions:

01 - Set the oven to 400°F and allow it to preheat fully.
02 - Place the block of feta cheese in the center of your baking dish. Surround it evenly with halved cherry tomatoes, fresh cranberries, and smashed garlic cloves.
03 - Drizzle olive oil over the cheese and produce. Sprinkle with dried oregano, crushed red pepper flakes if using, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
04 - Bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes, or until the feta develops a golden top and the cranberries begin to burst.
05 - While baking, cook the pasta in boiling salted water following package instructions until al dente. Reserve half a cup of pasta cooking water before draining.
06 - Remove the baking dish from the oven and use a fork to gently mash the feta, tomatoes, and cranberries together to form a creamy sauce.
07 - Add the cooked pasta, reserved pasta water, honey, and chopped basil to the baking dish. Toss all together until the sauce evenly coats the pasta and reaches a creamy consistency.
08 - Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Serve warm, garnished with additional fresh basil leaves.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It looks stunning enough for company but comes together with almost no effort or skill required.
  • The cranberries burst in the oven and mingle with melted feta to create a sauce that clings to every piece of pasta without any cream or butter.
  • You can prep the whole dish in one baking pan, which means fewer dishes and more time to actually enjoy dinner.
02 -
  • Dont skip the pasta water because its starchy magic is what binds the sauce to the noodles and keeps everything creamy instead of dry.
  • If your cranberries are very tart, taste the sauce before serving and add an extra drizzle of honey to balance the flavors.
03 -
  • Let the baked feta sit for a minute or two after it comes out of the oven because it will continue softening and become easier to mash into a silky sauce.
  • For a deeper flavor, roast the garlic cloves unpeeled, then squeeze out the sweet roasted flesh before mashing everything together.
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