“I tried the internet’s most viral pasta recipe. Here’s how it went.”

Sorry to internet shame you, but if you haven’t heard of The Viral Feta Pasta, what rock are you living under - and can I bring some of this tasty TikTok carb to you?

No seriously - it’s everywhere. Even my mum has heard of it and she follows, like, twelve people. 

This trending dish started when Finnish food blogger Jennie Hayrinen made it in 2019 and started the hashtag #uunifetapasta. At the time, Finnish supermarkets reportedly sold out of feta because of the recipe. 

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A post shared by Jenni Häyrinen | Food artist (@liemessa)

Now, it’s had a resurgence (read: 334.7m Feta Pasta hashtag users on TikTok) thanks to an account called Feel Good Foodie sharing her simple video on how to make it.

@feelgoodfoodie

Baked feta pasta with cherry tomatoes!! Recipe on blog • Inspired by @grilledcheesesocial 😘 #tiktokpartner #learontiktok #fetapasta #recipes

♬ original sound - Feel Good Foodie

Like the rest of the internet, I jumped on the bandwagon with little to no convincing needed and tried it out for myself. 

It talked a big game so I was keen to see if it lived up to the hype - but let’s be honest, with a name like Baked Feta Pasta, how could it be anything but absolutely scrumptious. 

Cheese and pasta are hard to screw up, and honestly, the recipe looks as though even the least culinary inclined folks could give it a crack. 

Ingredients:

The ingredients you need for the viral 'Baked Feta Pasta' recipe. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 500g of pasta of your choice (I used rigatoni as I think it’s a good one for getting sauces stuck inside but you could also use something like macaroni, spaghetti or orecchiette.) 

• 2 packets of cherry tomatoes

• 1 block of feta cheese

• ½ cup olive oil

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon pepper

• Chilli flakes, to taste

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 handful of basil leaves

Method:

You can’t screw this simple recipe up! 

I made this recipe by watching the TikTok video which I don’t recommend because you’ll get super sick of hearing the recipe on repeat. 

Here are the steps, in words - that I took to recreate the pasta.

1. Start by preheating your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. 

Put your tomatoes in an oven-safe baking dish and imagine you’re making your very own ASMR TikTok video as you listen to them plop into the dish. 

(The last part is not essential. Unless you’re actually making this for TikTok in which case I recommend you get a hands-free iPhone holder like me, so you can film and plop at the same time.)

2. Pour the olive oil on top of the tomatoes. Yes, it will look like your tomatoes are SWIMMING IN IT but this is no time for restraint. 

Season with salt and pepper and use your hands to massage it all together. 

3. Place the block of feta in the middle of the tomatoes. I used Greek Feta but I’m sure any type will do. Make sure it’s nestled in there nice and snug and all the tomatoes are closely packed - this will make sure they get really saucy. 

Add some more olive oil to the top of the feta and sprinkle with chilli flakes.

4. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and the feta has expanded and melted.

While it’s in the oven, cook your pasta as per packet instructions. (You can also choose to reserve some pasta water for later. It’s good to have just in case you need to thin the sauce out.) 

5. Add the finely chopped basil and crushed garlic and get ready for the fun part. It’s time to smoosh it all together! The residual heat ‘cooks the garlic’ so don’t worry about that raw garlic taste.

Go on and break up all the tomatoes, making sure all of them have burst. And keep mixing until all the feta is incorporated. This takes about a minute but is essential to get that creamy consistency.

6. Then add in your cooked and drained pasta on top of the sauce and stir. I added some pasta water here as well. 

The verdict:

All in all this recipe definitely lives up to its reputation, and look - I’m not all that surprised. It would be strange if a recipe went viral and it actually tasted like… s**t. 

The sauce was thick and creamy, garlicky and sweet all at the same time and had that roasted flavour that seems as though you’ve spent hours in the kitchen.

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A post shared by Mamamia (@mamamiaaus)

It takes about 45 minutes all up so it’s great for a mid-week dinner or even a dinner party.

It’s one of those meals that the output is far greater than the input, so it tastes way more luxe and gourmet than it actually is. 

If this recipe isn’t your jam, don’t worry because there are plenty of other variations you could try, including this goat's cheese, honey and pesto one:

@feelgoodfoodie

You asked if it was possible to make the baked feta pasta with another cheese, so I tried goat cheese! #fetapasta #tiktokpartner #learnontiktok

♬ original sound - Feel Good Foodie

Or this low carb version using spaghetti squash. 

@feelgoodfoodie

If you’re looking for a low carb version of #bakedfetapasta, try this recipe with spaghetti squash! So good! #tiktokpartner #learnontiktok #fetapasta

♬ original sound - Feel Good Foodie

Feature Image: Supplied/Eleanor Katelaris.