Baked Feta with Olives and Roasted Peppers is served sizzling hot, and is a ridiculously delicious and easy to prepare. This Feta cheese appetizer is perfect for sharing before a meal, you simply won’t be able to get enough!
This baked Feta recipe has quickly become my favorite Feta cheese appetizer to serve. Guests simply cannot get enough!
I love Feta served crumbled and chilled in salads, but I might just love it a little more served in a block and hot!
Where does Feta cheese come from?
- Feta cheese is Greek and was first mentioned during Byzantine times (330 to 1453 CE).
- In the 17th century Greeks started using the name “Feta.” Feta literally means slice.
- It is thought that the name came from the practice of slicing the cheese to serve or for storage.
- Feta is a brined curd white, crumbly aged cheese made from sheep’s milk, or sometimes from a mixture of sheep and goat’s milk.
- It’s commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture.
What does Feta taste like?
Feta is a salty, tangy tasting cheese. These flavors are enhanced from its brine solution, which is essentially salt water.
What kind of Feta should you buy?
It’s always best to buy Feta in brine. The texture will be smoother and creamer. And if it’s crumbled Feta you want, it’s easy enough to crumble it in a matter of seconds. The shelf life is also lengthened when it’s in brine.
Should you rinse feta cheese?
Yes, it’s a good idea to lightly rinse feta cheese when it’s used directly from its brine. This will remove any excess salt.
How to Bake Feta Cheese
It’s so quick and easy to bake Feta cheese, and there’s something quite magical about serving it hot and sizzling.
In this recipe, we’re adding a small handful of super delicious ingredients, but the baking instructions would be more or less the same without them.
- Drizzle a block of Feta cheese with olive oil in a small casserole dish.
- Bake it in a 350°F oven until the oil is sizzling around it, and the top edges become golden. Often, the oil is sizzling before it’s golden, in which case a few seconds under the broiler will do the trick.
How to Serve it
- Really, I could eat this with a fork — and I have. 🙂
- Typically though, I serve this with thin, toasted baguette slices. And it’s a delicious idea to rub a raw garlic clove on them. Otherwise, I don’t add any additional flavors because the Baked Feta itself is so flavorful.
- You could also serve it with plain crackers. (I like these.)
Recipe Tip
You can buy jarred, roasted peppers, or roast them yourself. Here’s How to Roast and Peel Peppers. Of course it saves time to buy them, which for this recipe is great because it’s so quick and easy.
Just make sure they have a lot of flavor. These are my favorite jarred, roasted red peppers.
Can you make this baked Feta recipe ahead?
You can prep the recipe 100%, and then just put it in the oven about 20 minutes before you’re ready to serve.
I would definitely keep this Feta cheese appetizer in mind for the holiday season!
Hope you love it as much as I do!
Oh, and here are a few more of my favorite recipes using Feta:
- Melon with Feta and Oregano
- Spinach Feta Quiche in Portobello Shells
- Tomato Feta Salsa Recipe for Meat or Chicken
Baked Feta with Olives and Roasted Peppers
Ingredients
- approximately 1/2 pound Feta cheese block, drained
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Kalamata Olives, pitted, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons roasted red peppers, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon fresh oregano, washed and dried, finely chopped
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the block of Feta in a small casserole dish. Ideally the dish should be just a little bigger than the block.
- In a small bowl, combine the oil, olives, peppers, lemon juice and oregano. Mix and pour this over the Feta. Gently lift the block so a bit of the mixture goes beneath it.
- Bake in the preheated 350°F oven until the oil is bubbling and the edges and top of the Feta are golden, 15 to 20 minutes. (If this amount of time passes, and the top is not golden, place it under the broiler briefly — 30 seconds or so.)
- Serve immediately with small toasts or something similar.
Cooking On The Weekends is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
angiesrecipes says
A perfect appetizer! I love Feta and should try this ASAP.
valentina says
I hope you love it, Angie! Thanks!:-) ~Valentina
Nancy Buchanan says
Hands down one of my favorite ways to eat feta!!! Love the combo of peppers and olives! Definitely will be making this over the holidays – isn’t it amazing how something SO SIMPLE can be so delicious???
valentina says
Awesome. Thanks, Nancy! And yes, I love the simplicity of it. 🙂 ~Valentina
Patricia K Rose says
Thank you Valentina. I have Bulgarian feta in my fridge calling to me. Had not baked it before now! Yum!
valentina says
Yum! Bulgarian Feta! How great is that? Enjoy and thank you. 🙂 ~Valentina
Eha says
Yes, yes, absolutely yes ! Love feta, have simply been too dumb to use this simple method ! And yes o the olives and peppers – I try very hard not to buy tins for more than one reason, but in this case methinks the jarred peppers would have a better consistency and are certainly faster to use . . . . weekend endeavour perchance . . . 🙂 ?
valentina says
Thanks, Eha. I hope you give it a go and love it! Have a delightful weekend. 🙂 ~Valentina
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
I can’t tell you how much I LOVE this recipe, Valentina! As soon as I landed on your page and saw the title I pinned right away. I seriously can’t wait to try! This is something hubby and I would absolutely devour on a Friday night, maybe as part of a meat and cheese board. I didn’t know feta translated to ‘slice’. Learn something new every day! Making very soon…and I can see this one being lovely for entertaining during the holidays 🙂 Such a great recipe! Happy Friday!
valentina says
Thanks so much, Dawn. You mention Friday nights often in relation to food — I’m thinking you two have very special and delicious dinners on Friday nights. 🙂 I hope you love it! ~Valentina
David Scott Allen says
Baked feta cheese is one of my favorite appetizers to serve. There are so many variations, and I love your version! You are so correct… it is very simple, but very special! Have a lovely weekend!T
valentina says
Thanks, David! (And no garlic. :-D) Hope you have a lovely weekend, too! 🙂 ~Valentina
Kim Lange says
This sounds so yummy and simple to make! Who wouldn’t love this??! I love feta and fear I would probably eat the whole thing myself! 😉 Pinning for game day for snacking!
Gerlinde @Sunnycovechef says
I love feta and always have some in the fridge. Your recipe is wonderful and I will make it as soon as I can cook again. Pinned!
David @ Spiced says
Interesting! I love feta, and I often just use it by itself. I’ve also marinated it, and that turned out well. But I have never tried baking feta. What a great holiday appetizer idea with a loaf of chewy Italian bread. Yum!!
valentina says
Well now I have to try marinating it. 😀 Thank you for that idea. Enjoy and thank you. ~Valentina
mimi rippee says
Well this is fabulous! I love to grill, fry, bake, or just warm just about any kind of cheese! But I love your topping. Some people like to just use honey, and I find it way to sweet of a combination. I much prefer savory toppings.
valentina says
Thank you, Mimi. Hope you give it a go sometime and love it. 🙂 ~Valentina
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
Tried this over the holidays (for New Year’s Eve, actually) and hubby and I LOVED it! So easy and so tasty….will definitely make again 🙂
valentina says
Hi Dawn, This makes me so happy! Thank you for sharing. Wishing you and yours a very happy 2020! 🙂 ~Valentina
Lloyd says
Haven’t tried it yet but loving the feta recipe.
btw – typo alert. Fix WITH
Baked Feta wtih Olives and Roasted Peppers
valentina says
I hope you love this recipe, Lloyd. And thank you for the typo alert. I’m a one girl show over here so sometimes things get missed, and I always appreciate when readers let me know these things. It’s fixed! Happy cooking. 🙂 ~Valentina