Greek-Style Baked Feta Recipe

Warm, creamy, and luscious baked feta recipe with bell peppers, tomatoes, herbs, and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. One of the simplest and most satisfying mezze you'll make! All you need is some crusty bread or homemade pita chips to serve.

When it comes to baked cheese, most people imagine something gooey like baked brie (which I love with a spread of jam and some nuts), or the top layer of melty mozzarella on your baked ziti.

But today, we get to explore a new baked cheese goodness: baked feta!

This Mediterranean feta recipe is a simple appetizer that takes inspiration from my earlier trip to Greece, where tangy, rich feta is as imperative as olive oil and is used in cooking; or served with seasonal veggies (especially on top of village Greek Salad); or as a simple appetizer maybe next to other small plates like sokrdalia (garlic and potato dip) or melitzanosalata (eggplant dip).

Why this recipe works

In this recipe, a block of quality feta cheese is baked to tender perfection with bell peppers, red onions, and cherry tomatoes. A good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (I used Private Reserve Greek EVOO), plus a few pinches of oregano and fresh thyme, bring it together.

While a blast of heat from your oven will not fully melt your feta cheese, it will transform it into a warm and luscious, creamy spread. Absolutely addictive! To serve it, all you need is some crusty bread, or better yet, some homemade pita chips!

Is it ok to cook feta cheese?

One of the most frequently asked questions is whether you can actually heat feta cheese. And the answer is YES! Quality feta can be fried and drizzled with warmed honey, or baked in a high-heated oven until tender and perfectly creamy, like in today's appetizer. Or you can use it in other ways. Here are a few recipes:

• Spinach Frittata
• Savory pies such as spanakopita
• In saucy dishes like Greek shrimp with tomatoes
• Greek red lentil soup

A few tips for the best baked feta

• Use a high-heated oven. I set mine on 400 degrees F. If the cheese needs some more color after it's been baked for about 25 to 30 minutes, you can put it under the broiler briefly.
• Make sure you have an oven-safe little dish for this recipe (a small cast iron skillet will work as well). Place the dish or skillet on a small baking sheet for ease of use.
• Use quality feta cheese. Find creamy Greek feta. French or Bulgarian white cheese will work great too (which are like feta but can not be given the term because Greece has the PDO for the term "feta"). Do not use crumbled feta, which is too dry and will not work as well in this recipe.
• Use a good tasting olive oil. You don't need a ton of extra virgin olive oil here, just a few drizzles. It will make a difference to use a good tasting olive oil, which can add flavor and richness to this dish. (here are the olive oils I always use).
• Serve right away. The idea of this dish is to serve it while the feta is still warm and extra creamy and easily spreadable (obviously, make sure it is not too hot to eat).
• Serve with pita chips or toasted Italian bread like I do in the video. To toast the bread slices, just give them a brush and arrange them on a sheet pan, bake briefly until lightly golden brown in the same oven while the feta is cooking.

Tools used in this recipe

• Small oven-safe dish such as terra cotta cazuela, a ramekin, or a small well-seasoned cast iron skillet
• A small baking sheet to put the dish on for ease of use (like I did in the video below)

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