Baked Feta Pasta with Bacon (43g Protein Per Serve)
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This baked feta pasta is the meal prep recipe I keep coming back to, and once you see those macros, you’ll understand why. Made with budget Greek-style cheese (just 75p!), smoky cooking bacon, and a tray of roasted veggies, it comes together in 45 minutes and gives you five generous portions to see you through the week. If you’re already a fan of high-protein meal prep like my creamy corn pasta, this feta pasta bake is going to become your new Sunday staple.
Recipe Summary: Creamy Baked Feta Pasta
- ✅ Recipe Name: Baked Feta Pasta
- 🕦 Ready in: 45 minutes
- 🤝 Serves: 5
- 🍴 Calories: 651 kcal
- 🧑🍳 Main ingredients: feta/Greek-style cheese, penne, cherry tomatoes
- ✨ Summary: This high protein baked feta pasta with bacon makes 5 portions and hits 43g protein per serving. The budget feta pasta recipe you need.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- High protein variation of the viral classic. Most baked feta pasta recipes clock in at around 12g of protein per serving. This one hits 43g, thanks to the bacon and a generous block of feta. For anyone building out a rotation of high-protein meal prep options that actually taste good, this is the one.
- Budget-friendly without sacrificing flavor! Greek-style cheese is a great budget alternative to as the real thing here. You get all the salty, creamy feta flavour without the premium price tag.
- It solves the soggy reheated pasta problem. A lot of people find baked feta pasta goes watery and stodgy when reheated. The trick of reserving a third of the veg and bacon to top each portion before storing keeps every box tasting fresh.
- One tray, five balanced meals: Everything except the pasta cooks in the oven. There’s barely any washing up and the whole thing is on the table in 45 minutes.
Table of Contents
Ingredients For Baked Feta Pasta
Here’s what makes this feta pasta recipe worth making every week:
- Greek-style cheese (or feta): The star of the show. Baking it transforms the block into a rich, salty sauce that coats every bit of pasta. The budget Greek-style version works brilliantly and saves you a fair amount compared to branded feta. Love feta? Try my whipped feta as a fun, tangy dip for summer.
- Cooking bacon: Chopped into chunks and roasted alongside the veg, the bacon crisps up slightly and adds a smoky depth that you just don’t get from a plain tomato feta pasta. It’s also what pushes the protein to 42g protein per serve!
- Cherry tomatoes: These blister beautifully in the oven and become jammy and sweet, which balances the saltiness of the cheese perfectly. Plus everyone’s favourite combo seems to be a tomato and feta pasta!
See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and quantities.
Variations/ Adaptations
- Swap the bacon for another protein. Diced pancetta or chopped chorizo both work really well in this feta pasta bake. Chorizo in particular adds a smoky, paprika vibe. For a fully developed recipe with chorizo, try my sweetcorn pasta salad with chorizo.
- Make it veggie. Leave out the bacon and throw in a tin of drained chickpeas or chopped halloumi. You’ll lose a bit of protein but gain a hearty, plant-based feta tomato pasta that’s still really filling.
- Change up the vegetables. This recipe works with almost any roasting veg you have in the fridge. Aubergine, mushrooms, and red onion are all fantastic additions. Don’t sleep on vegetable waste like broccoli stalks, roasting in the oven really develops the flavour! My broccoli stalk pasta shows this in action.
How to make Baked Feta Pasta
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 200°C FAN. Add the cherry tomatoes, courgette, bacon and red pepper into a large baking tray and coat with extra virgin olive oil, Italian mixed herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Step 2: Place the Greek-style cheese/feta on top then cover the tray with foil. Pop in the oven for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 20 minutes.
Step 3: During this time, cook your pasta according to packet instructions in heavily salted boiling water, reserving a mugful of pasta water before draining.
Step 4: When your oven timer goes off, remove 1/3 of the veg/bacon from the tray. Add 200ml of pasta water and stir/mash the feta to form the sauce. Pour the pasta into the tray and stir everything to combine. Divide into meal prep containers, then top with the reserved bacon/veg. Finish with a sprinkle of parsley and a crack of black pepper.
Tips for the best result
- Don’t skip the pasta water. Adding around 200ml of starchy pasta water to the tray before you mix everything together is what turns the melted cheese into a proper, glossy sauce. Without it, the feta can clump.
- Reserve a third of the veg and bacon before mixing. This is the move that keeps your meal prep boxes looking and tasting fresh. The reserved bits go on top of each portion rather than getting stirred in and going mushy.
- Use foil for the first 20 minutes. Covering the tray keeps the moisture in and stops the cheese from browning too fast before it has a chance to soften properly.
- Season carefully. Feta and cooking bacon are both quite salty, so taste before adding any extra salt to the finished dish.
- Heavily salt your pasta water. It should taste like the sea. This is the biggest thing that separates good pasta from bland pasta, and it makes a real difference in a baked feta pasta recipe where the sauce is creamy rather than punchy.
Serving Suggestions
This baked feta pasta is a full meal in itself, but if you want to round things out, a crisp green salad on the side works brilliantly. If you’re building a week of meal prep, it pairs really nicely with lighter options alongside it, something like my Cajun steak salad for the days you want something fresher.
Or my pork tenderloin in the oven if you’re after another easy, oven-based dinner that reheats just as well. A slice of good bread to mop up any extra sauce is always a shout with this.
Leftover Storage and Reheat Instructions
Refrigerator: Divide into five airtight containers and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Keep the reserved veg and bacon separate if possible, and add it on top when reheating for the best texture.
Freezer: Yes, this baked feta pasta is freezable for up to 3 months. Freeze portions individually and defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheat: Microwave for 2 minutes, adding a small splash of water before heating to loosen the sauce. Give it a stir halfway through.
Baked Feta Pasta FAQs
Absolutely, and it’s one of the best pasta recipes for it. This baked feta pasta recipe makes five portions, stores in the fridge for up to 4 days, and reheats in minutes. The key is reserving a third of the roasted veg and bacon to top each box rather than mixing it all in, which keeps the texture much better after reheating. Add about 1-2 tbsp of water to the container before popping in the microwave to loosen the sauce slightly.
This usually comes down to not adding enough pasta water when mixing everything together, or using tomatoes with a high water content that haven’t had long enough in the oven to blister properly. Make sure your cherry tomatoes are fully jammy before you pull the tray out, and always add a good mugful of pasta water to bring the sauce together.
Yes, of course. Real feta works beautifully. The Greek-style cheese swap is purely to keep the budget down. It behaves the same way in the oven and gives you the same creamy, salty sauce for a fraction of the cost.
Short pasta shapes with ridges or tubes work best as they hold onto the sauce. Rigatoni, penne, and fusilli are all great choices. Avoid long pasta like spaghetti as it doesn’t combine as easily with the chunky veg and bacon.
The pasta will absorb more sauce as it sits, which can make it dense. Adding that splash of water when you reheat it loosens everything back up. Storing the reserved veg and bacon on top rather than mixed in also helps keep the texture better over the 4 days.
Yes. Leave it out and add a tin of chickpeas or some extra veg in its place. You’ll want to season a little more generously to compensate for the flavour the bacon brings, but it’s a solid vegetarian version of this feta pasta recipe.
Explore More High Protein Meal Prep Pasta Recipes
If you tried this Baked Feta Pasta, it would mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Baked Feta Pasta
Ingredients
- 250 g cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 500 g cooking bacon chopped into chunks
- 2 courgettes thinly sliced
- 1 red pepper thinly sliced
- 200 g feta or Greek-style cheese
- 400 g pasta
- fresh parsley torn, to serve
Cupboard Essentials
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Italian mixed herbs
- salt and pepper
Method
- Preheat your oven to 200°C FAN. Add the cherry tomatoes, courgette, bacon and red pepper into a large baking tray and coat with extra virgin olive oil, Italian mixed herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Place the Greek-style cheese/feta on top then cover the tray with foil. Pop in the oven for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 20 minutes.
- During this time, cook your pasta according to packet instructions in heavily salted boiling water, reserving a mugful of pasta water before draining.
- When your oven timer goes off, remove 1/3 of the veg/bacon from the tray. Add 200ml of pasta water and stir/mash the feta to form the sauce. Pour the pasta into the tray and stir everything to combine.
- Divide into meal prep containers, then top with the reserved bacon/veg. Finish with a sprinkle of parsley and a crack of black pepper. Enjoy!
Notes
- Don't skip the pasta water.
- Reserve a third of the veg and bacon before mixing.
- Use foil for the first 20 minutes.
Nutrition
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