Baked Cream Cheese Pasta
The famous Baked Feta Pasta is honestly perfect as-is, but we couldn't resist the urge to swap in cream cheese and add bacon. (And we're so glad we did!) Just like the original, this pasta is pretty adaptable. Use red onion or shallot, leave out the spinach or add kale instead, and use any pasta you want. Just don't forget to save some pasta water before draining. That starchy water will bring the sauce together and help it stick to your noodles! As far as the oven time goes, make sure to bake the cheese until it's golden and looks like it's about to fall apart.
Have you made this yet? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
(8-oz.) block cream cheese
pint cherry tomatoes
small red onion, cut into quarters
strips bacon, cut into 1" pieces
extra-virgin olive oil
dried oregano
crushed red pepper flakes
baby spinach
long pasta
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat oven to 400°. Place cream cheese in middle of a large baking dish. Add tomatoes, red onion, and bacon around it. Sprinkle oregano and red pepper flakes all over, then drizzle oil all over.
- Bake until cream cheese is golden and tomatoes have started to burst, about 40 minutes. Add spinach as soon as it comes out of the oven and stir until cheese is smooth and spinach is wilted.
- While cheese bakes, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain.
- Add pasta to stirred sauce and ¼ cup of reserved pasta water and stir to combine. Add more pasta water to help sauce come together as needed and season with salt and pepper to taste.
