Baked Feta With Tomatoes, Peppers And Olives

A family favorite recipe

Every once in a while, I make a new recipe that I know I’ll make again and again. It gets the seal of approval from my ‘chief testers’ aka Mr. Scrummy and our son. It’s also easy enough and yet impressive enough to serve to guests.

This baked feta with tomatoes, peppers and olives is one of those recipes.

If you’ve ever been to Greece, you may have eaten various versions of cooked feta cheese. The dish that this recipe is based on is called ‘bouyiourdi’ in Greece. I’ve eaten it there and it’s delicious but usually it’s very heavy on the feta and not so heavy on the veggies.

This is for sure inspired by my time living in Greece. But to make it into a more filling and versatile dish I decided to massively increase the amount of tomatoes, peppers, onions and olives. I hope you’ll love it as much as we do!

About the ingredients

You’ll find a full list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. But here’s a summary of what you need to know.

This is one of those recipes that hardly needs a recipe. Treat the amounts stated in the printable recipe as just a guide!

Feta cheese: As this is the star of the show in this recipe, I like to use good quality feta cheese. Preferably Greek. You’ll need a thick slice. Or two thick slices for a bigger crowd. Check the ingredients and look for just milk, rennet and salt. Try not to use brands with a lot of ‘extra’ ingredients.

Cherry tomatoes: Or any small tomatoes. Multi-colored ones can be nice. Just slice in half and throw them in!

Peppers: 1 medium sized pepper is all you’ll need. I like to use half a green pepper and half a red to make the dish more colourful. But use any color you like.

Onion: Just a 1/4 to 1/2 a medium sliced onion is enough. You can use red onion (my favorite) for a milder flavor, or yellow or white onion for punchier onion flavor.

Kalamata olives: Around 15 as a general guide. Just slice and throw them in. Or throw them in whole – it’s up to you. I prefer to use olives that already have the stone removed so that no one breaks their teeth!

Olive oil and dried oregano: Toss everything apart from the feta in a generous amount of olive oil and oregano. It’ll combine with the veggies to make the most delicious juices to mop up with bread.

Paprika: For sprinkling over the whole dish before baking. It’s optional, but adds a little color, aroma and mild spicy flavor to the whole dish.

How to make it

You could virtually make this baked feta recipe blind-folded!

See how easy it is? Slice the cherry tomatoes in half – if you like – then roughly chop the peppers and onion.

Toss plenty of olive oil and dried oregano through. Then nestle a whole block of quality feta cheese in the middle.

Scatter with paprika and a bit more olive oil, then bake for about 30 minutes or until bubbling and starting to brown.

How to serve

Yep, looks and sounds delicious, I hear you Mediterranean food lovers thinking. But is this baked feta dish an appetizer, a dip, party dish, lunch, side dish or dinner?

Well, any one of the above! My favorite way to serve it is as a shared appetizer or as part of a larger Mediterranean style meal.

It’s important to serve it immediately while still hot. Preferably with a big plate of these 2-minute olive oil toasts. Or if you have some extra time, you won’t regret making a loaf of this traditional Greek bread (it’s SO easy)!

Or air fryer pita chips! (If you have an air fryer. If not, just bake instead!)

When it’s just out of the oven the squidgy warm feta is perfect for smooshing onto the toast with some of the roasted Mediterranean vegetables. Don’t forget to mop up the amazing juices!

You can also serve this oven baked feta dish like this:

• As a lunch for 2, or for 4 if you double it and serve in a bigger dish. Add crispy smashed lemon potatoes on the side (air fry or bake).

• For dinner with a simple meat, fish or veggie protein. Try baked chicken skewers!

• As a BBQ side dish.

• As a baked feta dip at a party.

• Stirred through pasta! Did you catch the viral TikTok trend? All you have to do is cook some pasta (I like penne or similar, but any pasta works). When it’s ready, mash up the baked feta right in the dish. Then stir it through the hot pasta, serve and enjoy!

It’s a pretty simple idea, right? But it tastes as good as if you’d slaved over a hot stove for hours!

More Mediterranean favorites to try

• No apologies for spamming you with these incredible Greek potatoes. Wow guests with them or make them as a midweek treat to go with whatever you have in the fridge.
• This is our favourite Greek baked eggplant with tomatoes and feta. It goes especially well with meatballs!
• This baked Greek chicken and potatoes is another staple in our house. Always serve with a traditional Greek salad and tzatziki!
• This spinach and feta filo pie makes a perfect lunch for guests.
• More baked feta! This time with chicken in the form of this 20-minute baked chicken with feta and lemon.