This 8-ingredient baked feta recipe is simple, delicious & healthy. Cooked in a cumin-spiced tomato sauce, it's a fantastic appetizer or meal on its own.
It’s Saturday…if you have friends coming over for dinner but you don’t feel like spending all day in the kitchen, I’ve got just the thing for you: this super delicious baked feta recipe. It comes together in no time, you can serve it as an easy appetizer or the main meal, and it’s saucy, comforting, and flavorful. What’s not to love?
This recipe is inspired by a baked feta recipe from the book Cook90 by David Tamarkin, the editor and digital director of Epicurious. It’s a great book that’s full of accessible, easy-to-prepare dishes. I was drawn to this recipe because I am a huge fan of feta cheese. I also love chickpeas and kale, so I couldn’t resist trying it out. This recipe has only a handful of ingredients, and we all loved it – even Jack, who said, “what are those weird rectangles” before digging in and devouring his plate. (And then going back for more.)
Baked Feta Recipe Ingredients
The ingredient list to this baked feta recipe is short and sweet! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Feta, of course! When you’re at the grocery store, look for a big block of feta cheese, one that you can slice into 3-4 1/2-inch planks. Cow and sheep milk feta are both excellent here!
- Tomato sauce –Make your own, or buy pre-made sauce to make this recipe extra quick and easy!
- Cumin seeds – If you can’t find cumin seeds, feel free to substitute 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin. However, cumin seeds are really worth seeking out for this recipe. They infuse the sauce with delicious aromatic flavor.
- Chickpeas – They make this dish hearty enough to be a meal on its own! I love their flaky texture in the warm sauce.
- Kale – For extra veggie power!
- Lemon juice – It gives the whole dish a robust, bright finish.
How to Make Baked Feta
You won’t believe how easy it is to make this recipe! First, heat the oil in an oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and toast them until they become fragrant. Then, stir in the kale, working in batches as necessary, and cook until it wilts.
Pour in the tomato sauce, the chickpeas, the lemon juice, and a bit of water. Bring it all to a simmer, add the feta, and transfer the skillet to a 350-degree oven. Bake until the feta softens, about 15 minutes. Garnish with red pepper flakes, freshly cracked black pepper, and a big drizzle of olive oil.
Serve it as a main course or an appetizer, along with good crusty bread for scooping up the crumbly feta cheese and sauce. Pita bread, homemade focaccia, or no-knead bread would all be great choices. Enjoy!
More Favorite Dinner Recipes
If you love this baked feta recipe, try one of these hearty vegetarian dinners next:
Then, find more delicious dinner ideas here and more favorite appetizer recipes here!
Baked Feta
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 bunch lacinato kale, stems removed and torn into bite sized pieces
- 2 cups tomato sauce, or Marinara Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus wedges for serving
- 1 12-ounce block of feta, cut into 1/2-inch planks
- freshly ground black pepper
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- warm pita or baguette, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Heat a 10 or 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle gently for a minute or two. Add the kale in batches, letting each handful shrink and wilt before adding the next.
- When the last of the kale has wilted, add the tomato sauce, chickpeas, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup water. Stir and let it come to a simmer.
- Nestle the feta slices into the sauce and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Slide the skillet into the oven and bake until the feta has softened, about 15 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of red pepper flakes and serve with warm pita and lemon wedges.
Adapted from Cook90 by David Tamarkin
I like the style of writing on your blog.
Do you have nutrition information for your recipes?
So simple. So delicious. I made it with the 3 cups of sauce, because we like it saucy, and it was delicious!
Made this tonight and loved it! Wouldn’t change a thing, so delicious!
Hi Jeanine Donofrio. i am a big lover of food specially this type of food. when i read this blog i loved it and i told it friends of pho restaurant they told me thanks for giving this information. So any body can visit this website. thank you.
Hi Jeanine Donofrio. i am a big lover of food specially this type of food. when i read this blog i loved it and it try friends of pho restaurant they told me thanks for giving this information. So any body can visit this website. thank you.
One of your most inspiring posts, thank you! I made this tonight, using just 6 0z of cheese. My entire family loved it! The kids liked that they could choose to eat the dish as a sandwich or do “dippies”.
Hi Sarah, I’m so glad everyone loved it so much!
This was really good! I’m a non-vegetarian (I am actually a butcher by profession) with a meat-and-potatoes-and-pizza boyfriend and we both just gobbled this up. All I had was a can of plain crushed tomatoes, so sauteed some onion and garlic before adding the kale, and I used little half-inch cubes of feta instead of feta steaks because that’s what I had in my fridge, but otherwise made the recipe as is. It’s really, really good. Hearty and tangy and inexpensive. Will add this to my dinner rotation for sure, especially if I keep getting lacinato kale in my veggie CSA. Even my chihuahua ate a few chickpeCD!
This is so delicious! I didn’t have a lemon so I used balsamic vinegar, and I love tomato so I used 3 cups of the homemade sauce. My whole family (OK, not the 4-year-old) loved it! Thank you.
How necessary is the lemon juice? I’m allergic to citrus. I’m hoping it’ll be okay to just leave it out. I’ve also had trouble digesting lot of chickpeas in the past so I thought I’d dilute them down a bit with some caramelized mushrooms and onions. Hopefully I’m on the right track here – am trying it later this week.
Hi Cyleste, you can leave out the lemon juice, it’ll be fine with out it. I think your idea of onions and mushrooms sounds delicious, let me know how it goes!
We made this last night with several changes; partly because I have a lot of food issues, and partly just for fun.
Let me begin by saying it was VERY GOOD!! We’re definitely going to do it again. Now in case anyone wants to know, here’s what we did…
For starters, we didn’t use any lemon juice (allergy). Then I misunderstood the recipe and we used marinara sauce instead of tomato sauce. I’ll use tomato sauce next time. We started with some caramelized mushrooms and onions. Normally I can eat that stuff like candy, but I really don’t think it was necessary. The dish has so much natural umami on its own – it really didnt need it. We also used half kale and half spinach – it was perfect for me, though hubby wants more spinach next time because he doesn’t like kale. Finally we used 2/3 chickpeas and 1/3 white beans. I loved that addition so much!
Hi Cyleste, I’m so glad you had fun with the recipe! Sounds delicious!
I mixed spinach & kale,substituted fava beans (because I didn’t have garbanzos)& it came out great
Hi Brian, I’m so glad you loved it!
Could I sub ground cumin for the cumin seeds? This looks so great, can’t wait to try it!
Yes and how much ground cumin? I just bought some and want to try it!
I would try 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, but I’d stir it in with the tomatoes so it doesn’t burn to the pan while the kale cooks. Let me know if that helps!
Thank you Jeanine!
Just made this tonight for book group. It was a hit! I used 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cumin but be careful it doesn’t burn. I also put in a 2 inch piece of kombu to take the gas out of the chickpeas while simmering. I removed the kombu after about 15 min. I only had crumbled organic low fat feta and sprinkled that on top of the dish and it was delish.
Love kale. I am going try the feta kale chickpeas. Sounds good and different.
Awesome recipes!!!!! Just what I have been looking for
thank you! Welcome!
Substituting with white beans and spinach for dinner on Sunday.
Sounds like a good combo, I hope you enjoyed it!
Do you have any nutritional values on any of these recipes?
This sounds wonderful! Kale, chickpeas, and feta- all three things I love and keep stocked at home. The only thing I need to grab is some fresh cumin. Can’t wait try it out!
We think alike, those 3 things speak to my heart too 🙂
What else do you suggest to serve with this entree if you were having guest over?
Hi Ellana, I’d serve it with warm naan or crusty bread and a hearty salad (for a pretty casual but yummy dinner)
any of these salads would compliment it well:
https://www.loveandlemons.com/roasted-cauliflower-tahini-lentil-salad/https://www.loveandlemons.com/spiced-fall-squash-salad/
https://www.loveandlemons.com/arugula-salad-quinoa-apricot-avocado/
Hope that helps!
Do you have a good naan recipe? Thanks
I don’t, I usually buy it – but maybe I should work on one? Homemade naan might be really fun, thanks for the idea 🙂
Check the King Arthur bread website, they have lots of great flatbread recipes – https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/pizza-and-flatbread/flatbreads-and-focaccia
thank you, I will!
When I read the ingredients my mine went immediately to the block of sheeps’ milk feta in my freezer… Fortunately my husband will eat lacinato kale (he hates the curly kind). I’ll definitely have to try making this.
Hi Susan, I hope you and your husband enjoy it!
Can I substitute tofu for the feta to make it vegan?
You could, it won’t have the same salty quality so I would season the whole dish a with a bit more salt and pepper than what’s written here. And I’d put 6 planks in the skillet to serve 3 people since tofu is lighter and less rich than feta. (so 2 tofu planks per person). I hope that helps!