Baked Feta Appetizer
This baked feta appetizer comes together in just minutes with only a handful of ingredients – olives, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh garlic, olive oil, and dried herbs. Bake it all together with a block of feta cheese until it’s warm and creamy then serve with crispy crostini!
Mediterranean Baked Feta Recipe
- It’s so quick and easy! The only prep work required for this baked feta is thinly slicing the garlic! Other than that it’s pretty much just throw everything in a baking dish and bake. Which is what makes it one of our family’s favorites.
- It’s feta like you’ve never had it before! We all watched as baked feta pasta took over the internet but this baked feta is a warm, decadent way to enjoy feta cheese in a whole new way! It’s got roasted olives, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes in an olive oil marinade. The flavors are amazing, the texture is indulgent and the way it all comes together will make this your go-to appetizer recipe too! If you love this one be sure to check out my herb and garlic marinated feta recipe too!
Ingredients to Make Baked Feta
Feta
For the best flavor and texture, buy a block of Greek feta (preferably in brine) instead of the pre-crumbled stuff. If you’re looking for a different flavor or don’t like sheep’s milk cheese, try using goat cheese or Brie instead of the feta. Stick with 8 ounces of cheese whichever you choose.
Pitted Olives
A jar of pitted, Mediterranean olives will usually provide a convenient medley of green and Kalamata olives. If you’re not a fan of one or the other, though, just get the kind you prefer.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes
If you can, get sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil rather than dried ones. Dry sun-dried tomatoes will need to be reconstituted for this recipe. If you’re not a fan of sun-dried tomatoes, try halved cherry tomatoes or diced red peppers instead!
Olive Oil
Olive oil is a key player here, so get a good one — preferably cold-pressed, organic, extra virgin olive oil.
Fresh Garlic
Freshly minced garlic always has a better, bolder flavor than the stuff in a jar. I understand that sometimes you just need the convenience of pre-minced garlic, but it’s not worth it for this appetizer.
Dried Oregano, Thyme, and Rosemary
You can use an Italian seasoning blend in place of the dried oregano, dried thyme, and dried rosemary if that’s all you have available. You could also substitute with fresh herbs instead.
How to Make Baked Feta
Add feta to a small baking dish or rimmed sheet pan. Add olives and sun-dried tomatoes to the baking dish around the block of feta.
In a small dish combine olive oil, sliced garlic, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Drizzle over the feta, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes.
Bake for 20 minutes. Broil for 1-2 minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and sliced French bread, crostini, crackers, or pita chips.
Tips for Making Baked Feta
- My favorite feta to use for this recipe is the kind that comes as a block in a brine liquid. Being stored in brine gives the feta cheese a lot of extra moisture which helps to increase the creaminess in this baked feta. Just make sure you drain the brine off before baking!
- If you can’t find a block in brine, just a regular block of feta will work as well. It will give you a very similar taste and texture as the feta that comes in brine. Honestly, crumbled feta would likely work too, the presentation will just be slightly different and you may need to bake it for less time.
- If you’re not into olives, try roasting the feta with grape tomatoes instead! Keep everything the same, just replace the olives with tomatoes! The tomatoes will become tender, roasted, and delicious! You could also just skip the olives altogether and enjoy this baked feta with the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and herbs!
Feta Appetizer Variations
This recipe is super forgiving so feel free to switch up the ingredients to suit the season or your family’s taste. Some of our favorite variations include:
- a squeeze of lemon juice
- lemon zest
- a drizzle of honey
- capers
- sliced red onion
- sliced shallot
- red pepper flakes
- fresh thyme
- fresh basil leaves
Make it Into Pasta!
- If you’re looking to switch things up a bit and take this dish from an appetizer to the main course, add your favorite al dente pasta!
- I like to add rotini, penne, or rigatoni but a longer cut of pasta like spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine would work as well.
- Cook your pasta, reserve 1/2 a cup of pasta water, and add the cooked pasta directly to the baked feta after it’s come out of the oven. Mix the pasta and cheese together and add splashes of pasta water as needed to help the feta fully coat the pasta noodles in the creamy baked sauce.
- Season to taste with Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper and enjoy!
Making Baked Feta Ahead of Time
This baked feta appetizer can be prepped a couple hours in advance which makes it one of my favorite foods to make for a party. Prep the feta according to the recipe instructions, cover it, and pop it in the fridge. About an hour before you want to bake it, remove it from the fridge and let it sit out on the counter to come to room temperature. When your guests arrive pop it in the oven for a warm appetizer that everyone will love!
Storing Leftover Baked Feta
If this tasty appetizer doesn’t get gobbled up immediately, storage is simple and easy. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Reheating Baked Feta
Whether you made this cheesy appetizer ahead of time or are going in for your leftovers, the instructions are the same. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, ensure your feta is in an oven-safe dish, and gently heat until warmed throughout. This usually takes somewhere around 20 minutes.
FAQ
Does feta cheese melt in the oven?
Feta cheese gets soft in the oven, but it does not melt, because of its relatively high acid content. When acidic cheeses like feta are heated, the proteins tighten, expelling moisture. That moisture evaporates and the cheese becomes too dry to liquefy. This baked feta recipe does give you soft, spreadable feta, but it’s not melted feta.
What can I do with a block of feta cheese?
An old marketing slogan promised us that, “everything’s betta with feta” and they weren’t wrong! A block of feta has endless potential and dresses up everything it touches. In this baked feta recipe, it’s transformed into a warm, cozy appetizer with sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and crispy crunchy crostini!
What goes well with feta?
Feta cheese originated in Greece and is associated with Mediterranean and modern Middle Eastern cuisine. That means feta goes well with other flavors and dishes from the same regions, including olives, hummus, pita, nuts, bell peppers, and roasted veggies. In this feta dip, we pair it with olives and sun-dried tomatoes along with garlic and herbs for a classic Mediterranean-inspired flavor!
How do you use feta in brine?
You can usually buy feta in a few different ways: in brine, vacuum packed, or crumbled. It’s technically all feta, but the feta in brine is going to be creamier and more flavorful. Once you’ve used the block of feta for this easy feta appetizer recipe, you can use the leftover brine as a base for dressing or to marinate veggies before roasting.
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Baked Feta
This Baked Feta Appetizer comes together in just minutes with only a handful of ingredients – olives, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh garlic, olive oil, and herbs. Bake it all together with a block of feta cheese until it’s warm and creamy then serve with crispy crostini!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Greek/American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 8-ounce block feta
- 1 cup pitted olives, drained
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
For serving:
- fresh chopped parsley
- sliced French bread or crostini
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add an 8-ounce block of feta to a small baking dish.
- Add 1 cup olives and 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes to the baking dish around the feta.
- In a small dish combine 1/3 cup olive oil, 3 cloves sliced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper.
- Pour over the block of feta, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Broil for 1-2 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and crispy crostini.
- If you loved this recipe, leave a 5-star rating and review!
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
- My favorite feta to use for this recipe is the kind that comes as a block in a brine liquid. Being stored in brine gives the feta cheese a lot of extra moisture which helps to increase the creaminess in this baked feta. Just make sure you drain the brine off before baking!
- If you can’t find a block in brine, just a regular block of feta will work as well. It will give you a very similar taste and texture as the feta that comes in brine. Honestly, crumbled feta would likely work too, the presentation will just be slightly different and you may need to bake it for less time.
- If you’re not into olives, try roasting the feta with grape tomatoes instead! Keep everything the same, just replace the olives with tomatoes! The tomatoes will become tender, roasted, and delicious! You could also just skip the olives altogether and enjoy this baked feta with the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and herbs!
When I read that block feta was not easy to find anywhere because of the baked feta craze, I had to find a recipe. This was the bomb—I found my Basque friend in the kitchen scooping up the last of the crumbs and oil with crackers! He is 72, very discriminating and I was so pleased he liked it. Thank you!
Looks great. I have hint to find brined feta. First off the crumbled stuff tastes like freezer burn since it is exposed to so much oxygen. A vacuum packed 8oz package is $10 at Ralph’s grocery store here. I go to an Italian deli and get 4 LB of feta in a bucket of brine for $25. They normally don’t have it on sale but the manager said I can buy it. I get one every 2 or 3 weeks. Ask your local deli.
That is SUCH a great tip!!! I’d never thought of that! My mouth is watering just thinking of all the things I could make with 4 pounds of feta 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Nia!!
OMG…this was so good my husband and I ate it all ourselves. I left out the olive oil, as the tomatoes had a lot of oil. Added some chopped dried figs.
Better than a response appetizer, thank you!!
I am so glad to hear that you both enjoyed this appetizer! It’s one of our family’s favorites too! Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
Can any leftovers, or if not eating right away, be heated/reheated in the microwave?
I think that could work! You might want to try heating in intervals of 10-20 seconds in the microwave though!
I made this and everyone literally freaked out. They couldn’t stop eating it. I don’t even like feta and I thought this was wonderful. I did not use sun-dried tomatoes because I do not like them but I used a combination of multi colored cherry tomatoes and it turned out awesome!
Haha this is the best review ever!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Kathleen! Cherry tomatoes are a great substitution for sun-dried; good idea! Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!
So easy to make, yet so delicious! Me and my husband shared it as a main course with some crostini, it is very filling. Will be making again on Valentine’s night.
What a great idea, Carol! This would be a delicious main dish 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for leaving a review!
I usually just enjoy recipes I find online without commenting, but I must say this is the most amazing appetizer ever. I followed the instructions as directed and it came out perfectly. Never imagined you could use feta like this. Thank you for sharing!
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed this feta appetizer, Dio! This is one of our family’s favorites too. I love the way it showcases the feta uniquely as well. Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
My favorite was to eat feta! I love how rustic this appetizer is and yet, it feels very elegant at the same time. Amazing that something that takes just a few minutes to prepare can be so delicious. I bake mine a few minutes longer to get the feta really soft and also broil it longer because I love the char on the cheese. I’ve made this exactly as written but have also added artichokes, cherry tomatoes, or roasted red peppers depending on what my mood was. All I can say is YUM!
YUM indeed – artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and roasted red peppers sounds AMAZING!! Add some toasty bread and that’s basically a meal in itself; I love it! thank you so much for leaving a review, Judy. I really appreciate it 🙂
This has become my spur of the moment go to appetizer. The ingredients can be bought and kept on hand for a long time, so you can throw together this fabulous app at a moments notice. Not to mention the endless comments on the great taste.
So easy to make and so creamy when warm to dip crackers in. I added red chillies for an extra kick. I needed slightly less oil because of the oil in my sun dried tomatoes aswell but will be making again because it was a gorgeous supper to share or lunch. I also plan to make the pizza dough pretzel bites and slow cooker queso dip soon. I’m enjoying the whole blog. Thank you ☺️
I could go for some crispy crackers and warm feta RIGHT NOW! I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Rebecca. Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the pretzel bites and queso dip!!
I didn’t have the tomatoes but made it anyway and it is quite possibly the best thing I’ve made in a very long time!
YESSSSS!!! I am so glad that you enjoyed this baked feta, even without the tomatoes! Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
I’d give it more than 5 stars, it’s so easy and so good. I added about two cups of cherry tomatoes to this recipe and it was so good!
I wish I could let you give it more than 5 stars 😉 Cherry tomatoes would be DELICIOUS in this recipe. Thank you so much for leaving a review, Gillina. I really appreciate it 🙂
New favorite appetizer and very easy to make! I adjusted the recipe a bit and used jarred roasted red peppers instead of sun dried tomatoes and used garlic infused evoo instead. (Have friend that cannot have garlic.) I did make ahead of time (without evoo and spices), took out of refrig about hour before and added evoo right before baking. I also found jar of mixed greek olives at my grocery store which was perfect amount. I used regular feta – not brined.
YUM – roasted red peppers would be great in this appetizer!! 🙂 I’m glad to know that it worked out to assemble ahead of time – thanks for that tip!! I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review, Kim!
So good and soo easy! I just made it for the second time for a New Years Eve get together. Every body raved!! It’s soo yummy!!
I love to hear that, Stephanie!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this feta appetizer. Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
This recipe looks and sounds delicious. I’m definitely making it. I was wondering if you could prep everything the night before and then just pop it in the oven the next day.
Thank you!
It’s one of our favorites!! The only two issues I see with making it ahead is that the olive oil will solidify in the fridge. But I think if you prepare it ahead, refrigerate, and then let it sit out for an hour or two before popping it in the oven it could work. I’d love to hear how it goes if you end up trying it!
I made this last night and it was a huge hit! I loved how easy it was to make and everyone that had it raved about how good it was. I will definitely make again!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Sandra!! Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂