Description
Baked Feta Chicken Pasta is a delicious, creamy, and tangy one-pan meal featuring tender baked chicken breasts, juicy roasted cherry tomatoes, whole garlic cloves, and a block of rich feta cheese. Combined with perfectly cooked fusilli pasta and fresh basil, this easy-to-make recipe delivers comforting Mediterranean flavors with minimal effort.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Chicken and Feta Bake
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (two 8-ounce breasts)
- 8 ounce block of feta cheese
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes (about 20 ounces)
- 5-6 cloves garlic, whole and peeled
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
Pasta
- 8 ounces uncooked fusilli or any type of short pasta
Instructions
- Preheat and Arrange: Preheat your oven to 400 °F. In a 9×13-inch ceramic casserole dish, evenly space out the chicken breasts and block of feta. Surround them with the cherry tomatoes and whole peeled garlic cloves. The dish will be crowded but that’s perfect for roasting.
- Season and Coat: Pour olive oil over everything in the casserole dish. Sprinkle kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using) evenly. Use your hands to gently toss and coat the chicken, feta, tomatoes, and garlic with the olive oil and seasonings. Remember to wash your hands after.
- Bake: Place the uncovered dish in the oven and bake for about 35 minutes. Begin checking the chicken for doneness around 30 minutes; it’s done when it reaches a minimum internal temperature of 165 °F. The full bake time ensures juicy, fully cooked chicken.
- Cook Pasta: While the chicken bakes, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Reserve half a cup of pasta cooking water to use for adjusting the sauce consistency, if needed.
- Rest Chicken: Once baked, transfer the chicken breasts to a clean cutting board and let them rest for 5-10 minutes. This helps retain moisture before slicing.
- Optional Broil: For a little extra flavor and texture, increase oven temperature to broil and return the feta, tomatoes, and garlic to the oven for about 3 minutes until the tomatoes blister and feta starts turning golden.
- Combine Sauce: Remove the dish from the oven and stir the softened feta cheese with the roasted tomatoes and garlic cloves, gently squishing them to create a creamy sauce. Stir in the fresh basil until evenly distributed.
- Toss Pasta and Chicken: Add the cooked pasta to the casserole dish and toss it well in the feta-tomato sauce. Then slice the rested chicken breasts and add them to the pasta. Toss everything gently to combine.
- Serve: Serve immediately topped with extra fresh basil if desired. Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
- This recipe can serve up to 6 people depending on appetite and whether served alongside a side dish. A green salad pairs especially well.
- The recipe was inspired by Yumna’s viral TikTok from Feel Good Foodie and adapted from Grilled Cheese Social.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 610 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 780 mg
- Fat: 28 g
- Saturated Fat: 11 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 16 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 47 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 44 g
- Cholesterol: 105 mg
