Baked Feta Pasta With Chicken

This baked feta pasta with chicken is super creamy, flavorful, and cheesy – all the things you’d want in pasta! The pasta is boiled until al dente, then mixed with the baked feta, cherry tomatoes, and chicken.

If you’ve been wondering what your next pasta dish should be, you should definitely consider this baked feta pasta with chicken. The recipe is perfect for beginners in the kitchen as you don’t have a lot of cooking science involved. And what’s even better is that there isn’t a lot of hands-on work. Once you have the cooked pasta, you just mix everything, bake, and that’s pretty much it.

You can enjoy this feta pasta vegetarian, or add the chicken for some extra flavor and protein. Of course, if you have leftover chicken, that will work great as well.

What ingredients do I need to make baked feta pasta with chicken?

To make this baked feta pasta with chicken, you’ll need the following ingredients:

1. Pasta of choice – you can use your favorite pasta here. You can use Tortiglioni, Fusilli, Faralle, Macaroni, Penne etc.
2. Cherry Tomatoes – are what I used for this recipe, and I feel like they work best.
3. Feta cheese- the mozzarella adds additional creaminess to the sauce and combines all the ingredients together. I like to add the mozzarella to the bottom of the pan, and once done baking, I mix everything together so it spreads out evenly into the baked pesto pasta.
4. Garlic cloves – add a lovely garlicky flavor to the sauce, and I absolutely recommend them if you like cooking with garlic.
5. Chicken – marinated in a simple olive oil, salt, and pepper marinade.
6. Parmesan – is optional here. I like to use it as a topping on each individual serving or add it a few minutes before the pasta is finished baking.

How to make this baked feta pasta with chicken?

Baked feta pasta was so popular over the Internet some time ago. And while I loved the pasta with only feta and cherry tomatoes, this version with chicken is just as delicious and packed with protein!

• Cut the chicken into 1.5cm/half-inch cubes. Add the chicken to a bowl and add olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/390F. Add the cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves, and feta cheese to a medium-sized oven-safe pan. Poke the cherry tomatoes lightly with a knife. Season the tomatoes with salt and oregano. In the end, drizzle everything generously with olive oil.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and the cheese has a slightly golden color on top.

• Fill a medium or large pot 70% with water. Cover with a lid and transfer the pot to the stove over high heat. Once the water starts to boil, add the salt and then the pasta. Stir a few times in the first minute to make sure the pasta doesn’t get stuck to the bottom of the pot. Cook the pasta until al-dente. Reserve some of the pasta water to add to the sauce later on.
• Preheat a pan over medium heat and add the chicken and the marinade. Cook, the chicken for 5 minutes on each side or until cooked all the way through. Take the chicken out of the pan and set it aside.
• Once the tomatoes are soft, take them out and let them rest for 5 minutes. Then, mash everything with a fork or potato masher. I also like to peel the skins of the tomatoes, but that’s not required at all.
• Add the chicken, a few tablespoons of the pasta water, and drained pasta. Mix everything well and add more salt if needed. Garnish with parsley and parmesan cheese on top.

A few tips on how to boil pasta!

And while it’s super easy to cook pasta, there are a few to give your pasta a chef’s touch and take it to the next level.

• Add the pasta to really salty boiling water – this way, the pasta would soak the seasonings when boiling and will be flavorful all the way through.
• Use a large pot, fill it generously with water, and keep the lid slightly uncovered. Cooking in a large pot would make sure the pasta doesn’t boil over. Plus, you can add more water so it doesn’t evaporate before the pasta is cooked.
• Stir a few times with a spoon after adding the pasta. Stirring would ensure the pasta doesn’t get stuck to the bottom of the pot.
• Reserve a little bit of the starchy pasta water to add to your sauce. This can be used in almost all pasta sauces. Adding the starchy water makes the sauce super creamy and gives additional flavor to the dish.

You’ll also love to try:

Easy Hummus Pasta Salad
Italian Polenta With Parmesan Cheese
Greek Lentils And Rice Recipe

Print Recipe

Baked Feta Pasta With Chicken

This baked feta pasta with chicken is super creamy, cheesy and flavorful. The cherry tomatoes and feta are baked together, and then mashed until a creamy sauce forms. At the end the cooked pasta, and chicken are added to the sauce.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Resting Time30 mins

Total Time1 hr 10 mins

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 678kcal

Author: Emilia

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade:

• 500 g 1 pound of chicken breasts cut into 1.5cm/half inch cubes
• 50 g 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Pasta sauce:

• 500 g 1 pound of cherry tomatoes
• 250 g 0.5 pounds of feta cheese
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil

Pasta:

• 250 g 0.5 pounds of pasta
• water for cooking the pasta
• 2 tsp salt

Instructions

Marinade the chicken:

• Cut the chicken breasts into 1.5cm/half-inch cubes. Transfer the chicken to a medium bowl and add the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well to combine, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and transfer the chicken to the refrigerator and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Make the sauce:

• Preheat the oven to 200C/390F. To a medium oven-safe pan, add the cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, and garlic cloves. Poke the cherry tomatoes on top with a knife. Season everything with salt, oregano, and olive oil.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and everything is lightly golden brown on top.

Cook the pasta:

• Fill a medium or large pot around 70% with water. Bring the water to a boil, then add the salt and pasta to the water. Stir in with a spoon a few times in the first minute to make sure the pasta doesn't get stuck to the bottom of the pot.
• Lower the heat down to medium, cover the pot slightly with a lid and let the pasta cook until al-dente.

Cook the chicken:

• Preheat a pan over medium heat, and add the chicken together with the olive oil. Cook on each side for around 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.
• Take the chicken out of the pan and set it aside.

Assemble everything:

• The cooked tomatoes out of the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and reserve a little bit of the pasta water to add to the sauce.
• Mash the tomatoes and feta with a fork or potato masher until a sauce forms. Add the pasta water, the cooked pasta, and chicken.
• Mix everything well together and season with more salt if needed. Optionally, top with parsley, and grated parmesan cheese on top.