If you haven’t heard of TikTok’s viral baked feta pasta recipe, where have you been?
The viral baked feta pasta recipe has reached extraordinary heights of fame since the beginning of 2021 after it was shared on TikTok and then shared again all over the internet.
A video of the recipe by cookingwithayeh has 14.9 million views, while a clip shared by feelgoodfoodie has over 20.9 million views. Meanwhile, the “fetapasta” hashtag has a whopping 1.4 billion views.
The viral recipe has led to shops running out of Feta cheese
Where did it come from?
The recipe didn’t originate on TikTok – it was actually first shared by Finnish food blogger Jenni Häyrinen in 2018. Häyrinen’s recipe went viral in Finland at the time, and the blogger even wrote that sales of feta cheese increased by 300%: “The shops were running out of baked feta pasta ingredients and by this date the original uunifetapasta post has over 2.7 million views. Finland has 5.5 million inhabitants…”
Even the original recipe by Häyrinen was a quick alternative for another recipe called “Prosecco spaghetti and oven tomatoes” by another Finnish foodie called Tiiu Piret.
However, the recipe’s life has continued. It was first reshared on TikTok by Mackenzie Smith, otherwise known as @grilledcheesesocial, in January, prompting several other foodie accounts to do the same, causing it to enjoy popularity once again, but this time on a global scale.
@cookingwithayehBaked Feta Pasta is def worth all the hype!! Inspired by the lovely @feelgoodfoodie 💗 #fyp #foodtiktok #bakedfeta #pasta #foryou #foryoupage♬ Taste It – Ikson
“TikTok Feta Pasta” quickly rose up in Google search trends and related tags rapidly grew on other platforms like Instagram and Twitter. It even caused a dramatic increase in demand for feta, with shops in the US reported a shortage of the cheese as a result.
How to make TikTok’s Feta Pasta Recipe
The recipe is very simple, making it perfect for a quick TikTok video. All you need to do is chuck a whole block of feta, whole cherry tomatoes, garlic with the skin still on, and olive oil in a pan before roasting it in the oven.
@grilledcheesesocialBaked feta pasta viral recipe! Inspired by ##uunifeta via @liemessa & @tiiupiret ##learnontiktok ##foodtiktok ##foodie♬ She Share Story (for Vlog) – 山口夕依
Meanwhile, all you have to do is boil your pasta, and combine it with the baked Feta mixture when both are cooked, adding some fresh basil to finish.
Of course, you can add other seasonings along the way such as oregano, and fresh chili pepper, or some crushed red pepper flakes. And for a creamier texture, foodies suggest using proper Greek Feta instead of feta-style cheese.
By nature, this recipe is open to variation, and inspiration can be found just by searching through the related tags on TikTok. One especially divisive recipe, which was uploaded by The Hunger Diaries, involved adding strawberries to the mix – try it if you dare!