Baked Feta Cheese Dip
Enjoy an easy baked feta cheese dip with cherry tomatoes, basil, garlic, and olives, and served with pita wedges. Optional to add honey! This feta cheese dip is perfect for any party, holiday, game day appetizer or even for a “light” Greek dinner!
I love a good cheese dip! I also love Greek recipes that pair well with this Baked Feta Cheese Dip, like our tacos, and chicken. This Baked Feat Dip features a creamy feta cheese, bursts of roasted cherry tomatoes, and olives with basil. Pair it with your favorite crackers, bread, or homemade pita wedges. So delicious, especially if you love cheese as much as I do.
Also, if you’re cooking a Greek menu, we love this dip as a starter, then this Greek Spaghetti, garlic bread, and a house salad. A not-too-heavy meal.
This baked feta cheese dip recipe is the perfect “anytime” appetizer! I say anytime, because it’s fitting for Valentine’s Day or Christmas (hello white and red – and green!), but it’s also great for 4th of July parties.
We recently served it at our Super Bowl Party and it was quickly scooped up and devoured. It mixes together and is to tasty. You won’t believe how simple it is to make, so let’s get started.
Why I love this recipe
- Simple ingredients (definitely splurge on a very good quality feta cheese!)
- Festive for most gatherings or holidays.
- You can serve with various salty snacks, like pita wedges, crostini, crackers, or chips!
Gather these ingredients for easy Greek appetizer
- Feta cheese: Use a very good quality feta cheese block
- Fresh garlic
- Cherry tomatoes
- Kalamata olives (we love Delallo brand)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional, for heat)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Sea Salt: use sparingly especially if your feta is really salty
- Fresh basil
Serve with:
- Pita baked wedges (or crackers)
- You can also serve with chips, crackers, pita chips, or crostini.
How to make simple baked feta cheese
- Preheat the oven.
- Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Remove the feta chese from water and place on paper towels; pat dry.
- Place the block of feta in the center of the baking dish.
- Place the garlic on top of the feta, and then the tomatoes and olives around the feta.
- Drizzle olive oil all over the cheese, tomatoes, and olives.. Sprinkle with the red pepper flakes, a crack of salt, and pepper (use desired amount).
- Bake and gently sitr. Return back to the oven and bake for 10-15 more minutes, until the tomatoes are juicy and shriveling and the feta is turning somewhat golden.
- Remove the dish from the oven. With a spoon, gently swirl the feta, tomatoes and olives together—but not mixed completely. Taste, and add more salt if needed.
- Sprinkle over the top fresh chopped basil.
- Serve warm with pita wedges on the side. See list above for other salty item to serve along with this dip.
Tips and substitutions
- Look for the best quality feta cheese (block) when you are shopping!
- Make sure and dry it out (we use paper towels) before adding to the 9×13 dish.
- Optional to leave out the olives, but it really makes it a delicious savory Greek appetizer when you include them. Mix up the olives and add your favorite flavors (green are great, too).
- If you love garlic – add more! We found that 4 cloves is about right.
- Use the salt sparingly – every feta cheese is different so you don’t want to over-salt this dish.
- Honey: Some people drizzle honey over the mixture before baking. It adds a sweetness for sure.
- This appetizer rocks in the summertime when you can get fresh garden cherry tomatoes. Nice and sweet! Also fresh garden basil.
- We do buy our basil at Trader Joe’s – it’s always fresh there.
Storage and leftovers
- Leftovers? The leftovers keep well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 4 days.
- Gently reheat before serving.
- Spread on a wrap, add to scrambled eggs, or just reheat and enjoy again with pita, crackers, etc.
More feta cheese recipes you may want to try while you are here:
Get the Recipe:
Baked Feta Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 8 oz feta cheese, drained (very dry)
- 4 cloves garlic cloves, pressed
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup Kalamata olives, pittled and halved
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of red pepper flakes, optional, for heat
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Sea Salt, to taste (if you even need it, use it sparingly)
- ¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
For serving:
- Pita baked wedges, or crackers, chips, or crostini
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the baking rack on the upper third rack.
- Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Remove the feta chese from water and place on paper towels; pat dry.
- Place the block of feta in the center of the baking dish. Place the garlic on top of the feta, and then the tomatoes and olives around the feta,
- Drizzle olive oil all over the cheese, tomatoes, and olives.. Sprinkle with the red pepper flakes, a crack of salt, and pepper (use desired amount).
- Bake for 20 minutes; gently sitr. Return back to the oven and bake for 10-15 more minutes, until the tomatoes are juicy and shriveling and the feta is turning somewhat golden.
- Remove the dish from the oven. With a spoon, gently swirl the feta, tomatoes and olives together—but not mixed completely. Taste, and add more salt if needed (most likely you won't need more salt, but every feta cheese is different).
- Over the top, sprinkle with fresh chopped basil.
- Serve warm with pita wedges on the side.
- Leftovers keep well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 4 days. Gently reheat before serving.
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
