We've found ourselves scratching our heads over TikTok's viral pasta recipe that makes
use of feta cheese and cherry tomatoes. It's a dish so popular, it's caused feta shortages
in some stores. Here are all the reasons why this dish may not actually be as good as it
seems.
TikTok is not a purpose-made cooking platform. First, posts currently can't exceed a 60-second
runtime, which isn't nearly enough to do real cooking justice. Second, much of TikTok's
content is, frankly, pretty derivative. Take, for example, the TikTok feta pasta recipe
that has become a sensation.
The recipe seems to have come from the Finnish food blog Liemessa, which may have adapted
it from yet another Finnish blogger. Smitten Kitchen says the first blogger may have adapted
their own version from a classic Mediterranean dish involving grilling a block of feta cheese
with tomatoes, olives, and herbs. Wherever it originated, the TikTok feta pasta recipe
basically involves baking a block of feta with cherry tomatoes and olive oil before
topping it all off with fresh basil.
American Instagrammer McKenzie Smith posted about the recipe in 2019, and TikTokkers took
it viral — so viral, in fact, that American sales of feta have gone through the roof in
the past month, Instacart's trends expert, Laurentia Romaniuk, told Mashed.
"Oh. Sold out." "Awww." "Fatia was hoping to have it for lunch."
The Evening Standard's David Ellis wrote in his delightfully "grumpy" review of the viral
feta pasta recipe,
"It's easy to see why such a thing would go so far so quickly. It's startlingly simple
and looks delicious."
The Maillard-charred bright red tomatoes, along with a melty hunk of cheese resting
in a pool of deeply golden, extra virgin olive oil delivers a visually arresting sight. The
whole dish works well visually as a siren song of warmth, simplicity, and abundant health.
And it seems easy enough for even amateur home cooks to give it a try.
So those home cooks ran out to the grocery store, picked up a block of feta, a bag of
cherry tomatoes, and a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil. They turned on their ovens, and,
in relatively short order, had themselves a big ole pile of melty Mediterranean goodness.
Many then tossed that result with boiled pasta and proceeded to eat with pride.
Just ask Redditor Kareree, who gushed about it in a post. Of course, dig a little into
Kareree's post, and you'll see that significant modifications were made, including the addition
of mushrooms, artichokes, and spinach. In our opinion, those modifications are very
necessary.
We don't want to sound cranky, and we certainly don't want to ruin anyone's TikTok cooking
fun. But the truth is that the TikTok feta pasta makes for a rather bland finished product.
As user CrankyReviewerTwo posted on a Reddit thread devoted to the viral sensation,
"It's very rich. Very filling. And it's bland."
So when they reheated their leftovers, they added mushrooms, ham, and various spices,
which they say served to make the dish more palatable. Overall, though, even with all
those additional ingredients, their verdict was,
"I will not add this dish to my weekday dinner rotation. It's not that interesting."
For those who want to try adding some much-needed flavor, a pinch of thyme or rosemary, a sprinkling
of oregano, and a liberal dusting of freshly cracked black pepper would do the trick.
The TikTok feta pasta has an aromatic "sauce" with lots of umami flavor, even if it isn't
quite a classic sauce that you might see in a culinary school or high-class restaurant.
But any true connoisseur of Mediterranean food has to ask, where is the garlic? Yes,
garlic is mentioned in blogger Jenni Häyrinen's recipe, but only as an afterthought. She writes
at the very end,
"Garlic goes well with baked feta pasta. To add garlic cut four garlic cloves in half
lengthwise, toss them at the same time as the tomatoes, and roll in olive oil."
As long as you're not cooking for the famously garlic-averse Queen Elizabeth or, say, a vampire...
"It's just that I'm...garlic intolerant."
...why exactly would you not revel in all the glory of garlic? Luckily this is an easy
fix. You can add halved garlic cloves before baking, or feel free to toss a couple of whole
garlic cloves in the oil you're using. Then, let them roast along with the tomatoes. Once
the dish is done baking, you can simply mash the garlic as you mix the sauce together.
Something else that seemed to vex some Redditors is that starting out with an enormous block
of feta cheese inevitably makes for a very tangy flavor profile. Redditor JoJamJule,
who said they usually prefer food with a bit of a tang, felt compelled to add some honey
to take the acidity down a notch. It's worth noting that the Finnish blogger who likely
started the feta pasta craze in the first place used honey in their recipe, too. JoJamJule
wrote,
"I'm super into [...] simple recipes but this just wasn't balanced enough to be enjoyable
with only the bare minimum ingredients."
The Redditor suggested that perhaps fans of feta would do better simply tossing some of
it into some other light pasta dish, in effect using it the way people often use parmesan
on pasta. Reddit user Mollofla suggested that the dish might benefit from a squeeze of lemon,
though it would seem that would only add to the acidity rather than cut it.
It's possible that starting the TikTok feta pasta recipe off with a 7-ounce block of feta
cheese might be getting everything going on the wrong foot entirely. As Reddit user Mollofla
wrote,
"I think it's crying out for a 30 to 50 percent reduction in the amount of feta."
Another Redditor agreed, saying,
"I LOVE feta, but I saw a few of the videos and I personally think it's too much feta."
Reddit user Chilly Willy 44 revealed that they had the opportunity to try the TikTok
feta pasta recipe when their fiancé made it. Unfortunately, it did not go well.
"[It was] absolutely horrendous. [I don't know how people] even eat this. Every bite
is so overpowered by feta cheese it is brutal. I would never recommend this to anyone."
Another Redditor pointed out that there's always the possibility of simply crumbling
feta cheese on cooked pasta, rather than cooking it first, reducing the intensity of the flavor.
Something that seems to have been left out of the TikTok videos about the dish is that
feta is not a one-size-fits-all cheese. There are many types of feta, varying greatly in
texture and flavor profile. Bon Appetit explained,
"Good cheese shops and some grocery stores will offer a few types of feta, differentiated
by origin, milk type, and packaging technique."
Sheep's milk feta is the classic version of this cheese, as well as the sharpest, while
fetas made with goat or cow milk tend to be milder.
Redditor Simpledoo18 made the astute observation that the particular kind of feta that you
choose is "crucial" to how this recipe will turn out. They suggested that the feta flavor
might be less overwhelming if a softer, milder version of the cheese were used, like the
aforementioned cow's or goat's milk varieties. And if you prefer sharper feta, you can simply
use a smaller amount than the seven ounces called for in the recipe.
The TikTok feta pasta recipe's pinch of salt is a pinch too much. Feta is already very
salty, and there's really no way of knowing quite how salty it will taste once it's baked.
Reddit user Elphyon echoed that sentiment, posting,
"Just made it tonight, we found it wayyyyy too salty. Had to salvage it by adding more
pasta and a dash of cream, and even then it was not a particularly good dish."
Instead of salt, an accent of a different sort might bring out the umami flavor a little
better: monosodium glutamate, or MSG, which has a less salty taste than standard table
salt. And don't worry. MSG is perfectly safe to eat. Whatever dire proclamations your parents
or grandparents may have made about MSG are not backed up by hard scientific facts, according
to the Mayo Clinic. It even may help you avoid the pitfalls of too much salt in your diet.
It's pretty fundamental to the recipe, so we honestly feel kind of awkward bringing
it up, but, despite that the thing has "pasta" in the name, it's a bit jarring to realize
it's intended as a so-called "pasta sauce."
What you end up with here is not exactly a "sauce." Even if you were to dump it into
the food processor — which you shouldn't do, by the way — it would still be more
of a "spread" than a classic sauce meant to complement pasta. So why should this non-sauce
be used as pasta sauce? Why does a lovely, savory Greek-inspired dish featuring tomatoes
and feta have to involve pasta at all? Frankly, we'd much rather use it as a dip, perhaps
for toasted pita triangles.
Sometimes you just want a nice plate of pasta. There's nothing wrong with that. Perhaps that's
why the TikTok feta pasta has caught on to the extent that it has, because it promises
a big old serving of heavy carbs. If you're dead set on making a pasta sauce out of this
recipe, might we suggest using some marinara sauce in place of the cherry tomatoes?
Yes, we know, that's not what the other kids on TikTok are doing. But you know who's doing
it? Martha Stewart, who thinks that substituting marinara for the cherry tomatoes is a good
idea. She wrote in a February 15 post to her Instagram,
"Here, feta is baked in a pool of marinara. Serve the tangy, creamy goodness that results
with plenty of crostini — it's good to the last drop. Or, toss in your favorite pasta
for an easy weeknight dinner."
Stewart leveled up her advice for improving the TikTok feta pasta recipe even further
by adding in a helping of "smoky roasted piquillo peppers."
Chili Pepper Madness notes that piquillo peppers are famous for delivering a little sweet plus
a little heat. You can even turn them into a homemade condiment by cooking them over
a medium flame for just a few minutes, then blending them with a bit of saffron and red
pepper before adding lemon juice, salt, and topping with goat cheese. So there's definitely
some wisdom in adding piquillo peppers to the TikTok feta pasta recipe. Consider simply
tossing them in and letting them roast with the tomatoes and cheese. It might also be
nice to roast them in the oven for a few minutes before blending them into marinara, as Stewart
herself suggested.
Whichever route you take, the addition of a slightly spicy pepper is a brilliant one
in this case, and one that could really help spice up a dish that just seems to be missing
something.
"I see what I have to do now. I need a little spice in my life!"
Tossing some fresh basil on top of your feta pasta will add a freshness that will no doubt
enhance the end result both visually and in terms of flavor. But there are definitely
other color accents that could be added to the recipe to make it less bland and less
audaciously "feta." Smitten Kitchen has a recipe for just such a dish, which is close
enough to the TikTok feta pasta recipe that it may have had a hand in inspiring it. But
just know it is so much more colorful than what you've been seeing on your feed.
Smitten Kitchen's recipe makes clear that your tomatoes don't have to all be red. You
can experiment with a rainbow of heirloom tomatoes, some of them with delightfully odd
shapes and plenty of delicious flavors. This particular recipe also involves bright hints
of flavor and color in the form of Kalamata olives, sliced onion, and flat-leaf parsley.
While you're at it, how about a nice drizzle of balsamic vinegar on top of the whole thing
after it's finished cooking? Then you'll have something that tastes better and is nicer
to look at.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Mashed videos about food trends
are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.