Air fryer Pasta (Baked Feta Pasta)

This delicious, luscious easy to make air fryer pasta with feta, tomatoes, garlic and basil is perfect for busy weekday dinner. It is vegetarian, quick to make and you require just few simple ingredients to whip up this lip smacking pasta.

Baked feta pasta got massively popular after getting viral on Tiktok (people actually started calling it tiktok pasta). I have always made this tomato feta pasta in oven but this time I thought of giving it a try in my air fryer and voila! it turned out so good and flavourful.

Valentine’s day is just around the corner and if you are looking ways to use your air fryer to whip up a tasty dinner, this pasta should definitely be on your list. This pasta recipe is also a keeper for summer season when you don’t want to turn on your oven or use stovetop for cooking.

The air fryer feta cheese pasta recipe shared here is:

Vegetarian (no eggs)
Can be made gluten free
Super easy & quick to make
Perfect easy quick meal option

Air fryer Pasta Ingredients:

Pasta: Choose any pasta of your choice like penne, fusilli, farfalle, rigatoni. orzo (risoni) or cavatappi etc. To make the recipe gluten-free, use gluten free pasta variety or other varieties like lentil pasta or millet pasta.

Feta: Use good quality feta cheese block as it imparts all the creaminess and richness to the pasta sauce. Authentic feta is made from 100% sheep’s milk and has slightly tangy-salty flavour.

Cherry Tomatoes: For maximum taste, colour and flavour, use fresh ripe cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes).

Seasoning: The sauce is seasoned with simple salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic. You can use fresh garlic cloves or garlic powder. Chilli flakes or other herbs like thyme, oregano, rosemary etc also tastes great in this pasta.

Basil: Some fresh basil leaves instantly adds lovely aroma to the pasta sauce and elevates the flavour. If you don’t have fresh basil, you can use dried basil too.

You can add more nutrition or fibre to this pasta by adding sautéed or air fried vegetables like onion, bell peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini or toss handful of baby spinach leaves when you are mixing pasta with the sauce.

Though this feta tomato sauce turns out creamy and thick but if you want to make it even creamier add some low fat cream or coconut milk.

Can you cook pasta in air fryer?

Yes, this tomato feta pasta is perfect recipe to cook in air fryer. Before you start making it, first look out for a baking dish or pan that fits in your air fryer. The pan should be smaller than the air fryer basket for proper air circulation.

No chopping, peeling or prior prep is required to make this pasta sauce. Just pop in cherry tomatoes, olive oil, seasoning and feta cheese block in oven safe pan and bake in air fryer till tomatoes are all soft and mushy. Mash the feta, tomatoes and mix well to make a thick creamy sauce. Add pasta to it and ta-daz! dinner is ready!

Serving Suggestion:

You can enjoy this yummy baked feta pasta as it is or accompany it with soup, bread or air fried vegetables like-

If you have some extra boiled pasta, also give a try to this simple air fryer pasta chips recipe.

Ingredients:

Pasta (uncooked)- 4 oz (115 gms)
Cherry Tomatoes- 8 oz (250 gms)
Feta Block- 3.5 oz (100 gms)
Olive Oil- (1 + 1/2) tbsp
Garlic Cloves- 3 to 4
Crushed Black Pepper- 1/2 tsp (to taste)
Italian seasoning- 1/2 tsp
Salt-1/8 tsp (to taste)
Fresh Basil Leaves- 1/4 cup

Notes:

Double the recipe if your air fryer basket is bigger in size.
I have used fusilli pasta here. You can use any pasta of your choice.

Directions:

Step 1:

Transfer cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves in a square or round baking dish (with size smaller than air fryer basket). Add salt, Italian seasoning, crushed black pepper, 1 tbsp olive oil and mix well.

Step 2:

Move the cherry tomatoes to sides and place a feta block in the centre. Drizzle 1/2 tbsp olive oil on it.

Step 3:

Preheat the air fryer at 180°C (360°F) temperature for 3-4 minutes. Place this baking dish in air fryer basket and air fry at 180°C (360°F) for 13-15 minutes until tomatoes start blistering and feta becomes melty soft with some golden brown spots.

Step 4:

While the tomatoes & feta are in air fryer, start boiling the pasta as per the packet instructions. Drain the pasta and reserve 1/4 cup water in which it was boiled.

Step 5:

Once the tomatoes are done cooking, bring the baking dish out of air fryer (be careful as it will be hot). Mix everything well while crushing feta, garlic & tomatoes using back of a spoon. Add roughly chopped basil leaves to the sauce.

Step 6:

Add 3 to 4 tbsp pasta water to thin out the sauce as per your liking. Taste and adjust salt or seasoning if required. Add cooked pasta to it and mix gently. (As the baking pan was small in size I transferred the sauce to a larger serving dish before mixing with pasta).

Garnish with fresh basil leaves before serving and enjoy!!

Tips:

1. Some overlapping of cherry tomatoes is fine but for even roasting spread them as much as possible. Here I have used 6″inches round baking pan. If you have large size air fryer then you can double the recipe, choose a larger baking dish and make big batch in one go.

2. Always reserve some pasta water to use later as the starch in it helps the sauce in sticking to the pasta. Add it to adjust the consistency of pasta sauce or add it later while reheating the pasta.

3. If you want to add broccoli in this recipe, use same pan for boiling broccoli & pasta. First boil broccoli for 2-3 minutes, strain it and then in the same water boil pasta.

4. To make this pasta sauce even creamier, you can add some coconut milk, low fat cream or heavy cream.

Reheating Pasta in air fryer:

Any leftover pasta can easily be stored in an airtight container in fridge for 2-3 days. Add a splash of water (or reserved pasta water) before reheating. You can reheat it in microwave or in air fryer for 2-3 minutes at 180°C (360°F).

Can I make this pasta in oven?

Yes, you can use oven for making this baked feta pasta. All steps will remain same except the part where we bake feta-tomatoes in air fryer. Bake them at 200°C (400°F) for 25-30 minutes. Start boiling the pasta on stovetop when only 5-10 minutes of baking time is left.

More pasta recipes:

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