Feta Cheese Recipes: 6 Flavorful Feta Cheese Dishes

Feta is a soft, brined, white cheese traditionally made from sheep’s milk but commonly made from a mixture of sheep’s milk, goat’s milk, or cow’s milk. Traditional feta is white with a salty and tangy flavor and a soft, crumbly, and slightly grainy texture.

Feta cheese is a protected designation of origin product in the European Union. There feta cheese production must meet specific qualifications, including traditional preparation in specific areas in Greece, in order to be true feta. However, many other areas make feta-style cheese, each with their own slight variations—for instance, French feta is usually milder, United States feta is more crumbly, and Bulgarian feta isn’t generally as salty.

Feta cheese has a fat content lower than many aged cheeses like Parmesan or cheddar and more vitamin B and calcium than soft cheese like cottage cheese. As a brined cheese, feta has a much higher sodium content than most other dairy products. Learn how to make, serve, and store feta cheese.

Home cooks can choose from various dishes, including pasta recipes, appetizers, and weeknight meals, that feature the salty flavors of a block of feta. Try recipes with creamy feta, whipped feta, or feta dips to find the best feta recipe for your taste. Here are six flavorful recipes:

1. 1. Baked feta: A vegetarian dish and flavorful appetizer, baked feta involves cooking an entire block of feta cheese in a baking dish in the oven with cherry tomatoes, onions, red peppers, and other ingredients to make an aromatic and creamy dish. Serve this appetizer with pita chips or flatbread.
2. 2. Mediterranean bowls: You can make an aromatic Mediterranean bowl or Greek salad by mixing ingredients like chickpeas or chickpea salad, quinoa, lentils, and feta cheese with kalamata olives, red onions, and fresh herbs like oregano or cilantro. Dress the bowl or salad with a vinaigrette.
3. 3. Mediterranean chicken bake: A savory main dish, this recipe calls for chicken breasts stuffed with feta cheese, spinach, and peppers that you bake or grill for a crusty skin and rich flavor. Complement this dish with couscous or orzo drizzled in extra-virgin olive oil.
4. 4. Roasted eggplant with feta cheese: You can make this Turkish-spice roasted eggplant recipe with fresh basil and feta cheese up to four days in advance if you leave out the basil. Warm the dish back up in a nonstick sauté pan, add basil, and garnish with feta crumbles and micro sorrel. Learn how to make Chef Gordon Ramsay’s Turkish-spice roasted eggplant recipe with fresh basil and feta cheese.
5. 5. Smoky marinated feta: Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s smoky marinated feta is a flavor bomb made by letting feta sit in an oil bath infused with garlic, lemon, bay leaves, and charred chili flakes. Charring the aromatics adds an intense, smoky flavor to the oil, which the feta absorbs to a beautiful effect. This marinated feta keeps in the refrigerator for up to five days (the flavors only get better the longer it sits), and it’s equally delicious on toast or in a tomato salad.
6. 6. Watermelon feta salad: This salad is a refreshing side dish for a summertime cookout or brunch meal. Sweet watermelon and salty feta cheese produce a stunning flavor combination in this easy summer salad recipe. Try it with Mediterranean lamb chops, Chef Thomas Keller’s crispy fried chicken, tacos al pastor, grilled chicken and zucchini, tomato and balsamic vinegar bruschetta, or arugula avocado pasta salad.

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