Mediterranean Baked Feta
46 Comments
Jun 20, 2024
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This Mediterranean-baked feta is officially my signature appetizer for dinner parties. Besides being super easy to make, each scoop is the perfect bite of warm and soft feta cheese with an herb-infused green olive and sun-dried tomato topping.
Mediterranean Baked Feta Is a Winning Appetizer
Baked cheese is all the rage, and I’m here for it. I love making this baked brie with cranberry sauce during the holidays. But this Mediterranean-baked feta is my go-to for any other time of year. It’s robust in flavor and requires very little effort – and who doesn’t love that? This simple dish represents my favorite style of cooking and it’s something you’ll find across all of my Mediterranean recipes. Here’s a few more things to love:
- It’s savory and satisfying: Unlike other Greek baked feta recipes that use fresh tomatoes doused in honey, this version focuses on savory briny flavors, which I’m confident you (and your guests) will love.
- It’s a star appetizer: It’s the perfect addition to a mezze platter (an assortment of small plates and nibbles) before dinner. Serve it with something crunchy or crisp, and watch your friends and family devour this delicious appetizer!
Mediterranean Baked Feta Ingredients
- Feta Cheese: This appetizer is all about the feta, so go for quality. If possible, grab a block of feta that is stored with brine. The liquid will protect the cheese from air exposure and prevent it from drying out over time.
- Pitted Olives and Sundried Tomatoes: I’m going for green Castelvetrano olives (my personal favorite) for a pop of color, but you could also mix them with kalamata olives.
- Olive Oil: Stick with a quality extra-virgin olive oil for a full-bodied flavor. I’ve linked my favorite brand in the recipe card below.
- Aromatic Seasoning: Fresh garlic, dried oregano, dried thyme, dried basil, and a pinch of red pepper flakes give this appetizer the perfect herbaceous touch.
- Garnish: Don’t skip the fresh parsley on top, it truly makes a difference in terms of flavor and presentation. It’s amazing how a little sprinkle of parsley amplifies Mediterranean dishes.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How To Make Baked Feta
- First, prep the feta and topping. Place the feta cheese in a small baking dish. In a medium bowl, stir together the olives, sun-dried tomatoes, oil, garlic, oregano, thyme, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
- Second, top the feta. Pour the topping all over the feta making sure it’s fully coated in the oil, then push the majority of olives and sun-dried tomatoes to the side.
- Lastly, bake the feta and serve. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350°F (175°C), until the feta is softened. I broiled the top for 2 to 4 minutes to achieve a golden color, but this step is optional. If you do, watch that you don’t burn the olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Then, garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve it up with something to schmear the soft feta on. I’ve got a few ideas below.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
- To store leftovers in the fridge: I doubt you’ll have any leftovers, but if you do, store them in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
- To reheat: Place this back into a baking dish and bake in the oven at 350°F (175°C) until warm. Alternatively, you could microwave it in 20-second increments.
- To make ahead of time: Assemble the dish and bake it right before guests arrive or when you reach your destination. Alternatively, you can bake it and tuck it into a pre-warmed “hot bag” if you plan to bring it somewhere. The residual heat of the baking dish should keep it perfectly warm.
Your Questions Answered
- What can I serve with this? Baked feta tastes great with something crunchy like crostinis or pita chips. If you’re gluten-free like me, I love these gluten-free flatbreads. If you’re entertaining and would like to add a cocktail, this Aperol spritz, limoncello spritz, or red sangria is perfect.
- What size baking dish should I use? This recipe needs about an 8-inch baking dish (I’ve linked mine in the recipe card). But if you plan to make double, then you’ll need a bigger baking dish.
- Will it stay soft as it sits out? In my experience, the feta should stay soft for a bit after baking and resting at room temperature. But it will start to firm up again after an hour or so.
More Mediterranean Appetizers
- The Best Hummus: A classic Mediterranean dip everyone loves.
- Baba Ganoush: This smoky dip is a must during eggplant season.
- Tzatziki Sauce: The most refreshing cucumber dip!
If you make this Mediterranean baked feta recipe, I’d love to know how it turned out in the comment box below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration (and exclusive content), join my free newsletter.
Mediterranean Baked Feta
Description
Video
Equipment
- Staub Oval Baking Dish My favorite baking dish for appetizers like this!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces block feta cheese
- 1 cup pitted olives, drained and halved
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- pinch red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- roughly chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Place the feta. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Place the feta cheese in a small baking dish.
- Stir the topping. In a medium mixing bowl, add the olives, sun-dried tomatoes, oil, garlic, oregano, thyme, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Stir until well mixed.
- Top the feta. Pour the topping all over the feta making sure it's fully coated in the oil, then push the majority of olives and sun-dried tomatoes to the side.
- Bake the feta. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the feta is softened. Optionally, turn on the top broiler for 1 to 2 minutes to lightly brown the top of the feta. Just watch that you don't burn the olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve with crostini or sliced cucumber.
Lisa’s Tips
- To store leftovers in the fridge: I doubt you’ll have any leftovers, but if you do, store them in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
- To reheat: Place this back into a baking dish and bake in the oven at 350°F (175°C) until warm. Alternatively, you can microwave in 20-second increments.
- For making ahead of time: Assemble the dish and bake it right before guests arrive or when you reach your destination. Alternatively, you can bake it and tuck it into a pre-warmed bag if you plan to bring it somewhere. The residual heat of the baking dish should keep it perfectly warm.
- I love serving the baked feta with these gluten-free flatbreads!
- I also just bought this olive jar with strainer, so that I don’t have to individually pick out olives again in the future (as seen in the video 😂).
Nutrition
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Behind-The-Scenes
This is one recipe that didn’t need a lot of testing as it was pretty perfect the first try. Love when that happens!
As I mentioned on the video above, one of the tweaks I made after the first try was to halve the olives. While whole olives look pretty in photos, let’s be honest, they’re impossible to spread and tend to take up the whole cracker. Bite-sized pieces are much better!
And heads-up, the quality of the feta really makes a difference in terms of how long it stays soft. I noticed that plastic-wrapped fetas, which typically have less moisture, firm up faster as the dish sits out. And fetas packaged in brine tend to stay softer longer. That’s key in terms of spreadability for as long as possible.
This was such an easy recipe and my friends are loving it so much that I’m already thinking of variations to it. But if you have any ideas, let me know, I’m all ears!
I made this dish tonight. thank you . I will be making more in the future. Delicious
Glad you enjoyed this baked feta dish, Muriel!
I loved it and so did my guests. Everyone just dove right in! There were only a few olives left at the end of the night. I like the green/red combo. I’m going to use Kalamata and Anchovy stuffed for some extra color today. The feta was so soft and yummy!
Thrilled to hear everyone devoured this baked feta!
WOW. I made this the other day, and it was incredibly delicious. I knew I would love it, but it was even tastier and more flavourful than I had imagined. I decided to mix it with some pasta to make a meal, and it was perfect. I also added 1/2 cup of black olives. I will definitely make this again soon!
So happy you loved it, Marina!
I made this today but instead of serving as an appetizer, I mixed it with ground pork and pasta and made myself lunch. It was so good! Even approved by my mom (the most important one).
As a tip: it needs more olives. They are delicious :-)
Wow, that sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing this lunch idea, Lara.
Hi Lisa,
Is the nutrition info per serving or for the entire dish. If it’s per serving, what should a portion size be?
Hi Alan – The nutritional information will always be per serving. It’s hard to give an exact amount for a portion, but it would be 1.3 ounces of feta, plus a portion of the olive topping.
I made this as an Appy and was so disappointed, I followed the instructions exactly and the fera was still hard and didn’t seem to melt
Hi Tina – sorry to hear that! It sounds like it may have been the brand of feta you purchased. I’d try it again with a different brand. :)
Thank you for the recipe! It was fabulous. This is my new favorite, it looks like I’m going to have to get stretch pants.
Hi Melanie – I’m so glad you loved this baked feta dish!
Absolutely delicious! I’ll be making this again. It was delicious with the homemade tzatziki and we also had Greek chicken kabobs! Yum!!!
So thrilled you loved it, Beth!
Fabulous flavor!! We don’t care for olives very much and these are wonderful! I made the recipe exactly as Lisa recommended. Very easy to make with minimal prep!! I’ll be making this again as it’s so yummy!! Thank you Lisa!
Hi Susan – This baked feta definitely makes olives taste extra delicious! Glad you enjoyed it.
So good. Quick and easy. I had Kalamata olives and spicy pitted green olives in the house so I use those with smoked sun-dried tomatoes. Mine served as a light dinner with cucumbers since I couldn’t stop eating it! My feta didn’t melt; I’ll try a different brand next time. Didn’t matter, was still a winner. Thanks for the recipe, Lisa.
Hi Sue – Thrilled to hear you loved this baked feta appetizer! As for your feta, it shouldn’t melt completely, but be soft enough to scoop.
I love the idea of this but between the green olives and feta this is salty. Any other substitution ideas for the green olives?
Hi Barbara – I saw someone mentioned using artichoke hearts instead, and that sounds delicious!
I have several olive haters in the family, so I substituted artichokes for olives and added pine nuts for a bit of extra nutty flavor. Absolutely delicious!!!! Mine took 30 minutes to get soft, so good to know there is differences in ovens.
Love the swap for artichokes, Heidi!
MAKE THIS!!! This is one of those recipes that will become your go-to recipes from now on for all parties and gatherings! A friend made it for us this weekend, and we immediately went out to get the ingredients to make it again. It is amazing. Simply amazing. Be sure to buy the right olives, and get pitted ones. Mine weren’t pitted and that was a huge mistake!
Yay, so happy you loved the recipe, Caroline! And sounds like you’ve got some good friends if they make you delicious recipes like these. ;) Enjoy!
Absolutely delicious and so easy. My husband says it looks fancy. I will be making this at many a gathering.
You’ve gotta love a recipe that looks fancy, but is so easy to make! ;) Hope you continue to enjoy it, Susan!
So delicious, I did substitute sun dried tomatoes for roasted red peppers. Plus used avocado oil instead of olive oil. Only because I was out of both ingredients. I made a half recipe, just a great appetizer/dinner for a night by myself! Elevated my evening completely! Definitely sharing this recipe. 😉 Thank you
Hi Lisa – I’m sure this baked feta tasted great with roasted red peppers instead!
easy to make and delicious!!
Hi Geovanna – Thanks for leaving a review and so glad you enjoyed this baked feta dish!
Will definitely try this recipe for the weekend – I need to bring this dish to friends’ house this weekend. You talked about tucking it in a pre-warmed bag but I am not sure what a pre-warm bag is?
Hi Valentina – Oh, that just means an insulated bag of some sort!
It looks delicious! Is it super salty?
Hi Karen – This appetizer is on the saltier side, but not too bad!
Love the feta dip!!
I have to say I make quite a bit of these recipes so delicious.
Looks delicious! This will be the next recipe of yours I’ll try. And, thank you for providing the link to the GF flatbreads! That’s always helpful—I trust your judgement!
Hi Margot – Hope you enjoy this recipe and the flatbreads!
This looks delicious! Unfortunately I’m not a fan of sun dried tomatoes.
Do you think roasted red peppers would work as a substitute for tomatoes?
Thank you for your response!
Hi Christine – Yes! You can use roasted red peppers instead.
Hi Lisa Are you using the 9 inch or 11 inch Staud ceramic dish in these photos please? Thank you!
Hi Joanna – I’m using the 9-inch!
Perfect timing. We’re having a “Taste of Nations” potluck at work tomorrow and this would be wonderful.
I’d love to make this over the weekend but I don’t have all the seasonings, can I substitute Italian seasoning? Or other suggestions? It looks amazing! Otherwise, I’ll grab the right seasonings at trader joes. Thanks!
Hi Loretta – Italian seasoning has a bit more than what’s listed here, but you could use it. Otherwise, I would at least keep the dried oregano and dried thyme.