This baked feta, spinach, and mushroom pasta is perfect for a low-effort mid-week meal in under 30 minutes. Plus, this creamy feta pasta recipe is also super versatile!
If you’ve spent much time on TikTok – or any social media account – as a foodie, then you’ve probably already noticed the viral baked feta pasta trend. I’ve already shared a recipe for the classic feta & tomato combination, and now it’s time for baked feta, spinach, and mushroom pasta.
This feta mushroom spinach pasta dish combines creamy, savory feta with flavorful umami-packed mushrooms, fresh spinach, herbs, and your favorite pasta for a simple, practically effortless mid-week meal. Best of all, depending on what pasta you use, you can make this recipe gluten-free or even low-carb (by swapping out the pasta entirely for zoodles!).
I already have a bit of an obsession with anything creamy and mushroomy (especially pasta with mushrooms!) like this Super Creamy Vegan Mushroom Sauce Pasta or Easy Creamy Mushroom Toast (Vegan Optional). Now, this mushroom and spinach pasta takes a new twist with the addition of the baked feta.
If you want to know more about the baked feta pasta trend, then hop on over here for more information. Otherwise, let’s get straight on with it!
The Ingredients
- Feta cheese: you’ll need a single block of feta for this recipe, not the crumbled or cubed type. French feta will also work (it’s creamier too). You could also swap it for a ricotta/goat cheese blend.
- Mushrooms: this is where you get to be creative. Use your mushroom of choice or even a combination of several. I used whole brown mushrooms – you could also chop the mushrooms in half or even slice them for smaller pieces through the mushroom pasta dish.
- Spinach: I prefer to use baby spinach, but any spinach will work.
- Onion: you can use red or white onion.
- Olive oil: or another neutral cooking oil like avocado oil or even coconut oil.
- Seasonings: I used a combination of garlic, dried oregano, fresh thyme, and salt & pepper.
- Pasta: use your favorite pasta. You could also use homemade pasta like Vegan Pasta or Oat Pasta (GF).
Optional Ingredients & Variations
- Mushroom powder: if you love the flavor of mushrooms as much as I do, then you can add a little mushroom powder/seasoning to the pasta at the end for a more concentrated ‘umami’ flavor.
- Wine: add a good glug of white or red wine to the bottom of the pan before baking the feta and mushrooms. The alcohol will burn off in the heat, leaving just pure flavor.
- Cream: this baked feta pasta is already super creamy and rich. However, if you want even more creamy, cheesy sauce, you can add a little heavy cream to the dish after removing it from the oven.
- Capers: the tang of capers pairs wonderfully in mushroom pasta dishes, and you don’t need many.
- Other vegetables: this mushroom spinach pasta dish pairs well with tons of other vegetables. Sliced bell peppers, zucchini, and lemon zest will all work well and can be added to the dish before baking in the oven.
- Add spice: you could add a little fresh chili or chili flakes to the dish when cooking. You could also sub a little olive oil for chili oil.
- Pine nuts: I like to toast them lightly in a pan and then sprinkle over the mushroom pasta before serving.
- For a lower-carb option: use zoodles (zucchini noodles) or similar vegetable noodles.
- For vegan feta pasta: you could try this method with this homemade vegan feta. The texture won’t be the same, so you’ll need cream to make more of a sauce.
How To Make Baked Feta & Mushroom Pasta
Step 1: Prepare the mushrooms & onion
First, clean the mushrooms. I avoid using water for this. Instead, use a clean kitchen towel to gently rub away any dirt. If there are any stubborn dirt bits, you can dampen the kitchen towel while rubbing, but don’t soak the mushrooms.
Next, roughly chop the onion and mushrooms. I left the small brown mushrooms whole and did large chunks of onion. If you want everything more evenly distributed in your baked feta pasta, you can slice/dice the onion and mushrooms into smaller pieces.
Step 2: Prepare the baking dish.
Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic, and olive oil to the pan and toss well to coat everything well. Then add the fresh thyme to the center of the dish.
I threw my garlic in as whole cloves that I ‘smashed’ once roasted. You could also finely chop/mince the garlic – just make sure it’s under olive oil so it doesn’t burn in the oven.
Add the feta cheese block over the herbs – which will avoid them burning in the oven. Then sprinkle everything with a little dried oregano, salt, pepper, and a little more olive oil (over the feta).
Step 3: Bake the feta and mushrooms
Bake the dish in the oven at 400ºF/200ºC for about 25 minutes – the feta should become golden in color and the mushrooms will release their juices to create a ‘sauce’.
Step 4: Prepare your pasta
As the feta and mushrooms bake, prepare your pasta of choice according to its package instructions. If using zoodles, you can prepare them now, too. I actually eat my zoodles raw, but you can cook them if preferred.
Once cooked, drain the pasta and save 1/4-1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water to potentially add to the dish to help the mushroom sauce adhere to the pasta.
The remaining salty pasta water can be frozen in ice cube trays to use in stocks and soups.
Step 5: Assemble the Feta, Spinach and Mushroom Pasta
Remove the mushroom and feta from the oven and mash up the feta, mixing it well within the dish.
Add the spinach to this dish and mix it in. The residual heat will wilt the spinach into the mushroom pasta.
Add the cooked pasta and pasta water (optional) to the baking dish and toss well to mix everything. You can then enjoy the feta, spinach, and mushroom pasta (or zoodles) directly in the dish or serve it up into smaller dishes.
FAQs
This is definitely enjoyed best immediately. However, transfer any leftovers to an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.
You can reheat the pasta on the stovetop or within the microwave until warmed through.
This is really down to your personal taste, as so many mushroom varieties will lead to a delicious mushroom pasta dish.
Common varieties like cremini, button, and portobello (which are actually the same type of mushroom just at different ages) are great.
You could also use shiitake, morel, porcini, oyster, and chantarelle. Several supermarkets sell ‘wild mushroom’ variety packs which would work too.
Yes. If you’re not a massive fan of feta (or can’t find it), you could use ricotta cheese instead. Just note that ricotta is very mild, so you may want to add more seasoning to the dish.
You could use a combination of ricotta and goat’s cheese for something that is similar-ish to baked feta.
Alternatively, use a block of cream cheese. It won’t react the same way when baked and will create a smoother sauce – but will taste delicious.
Recipe Notes & Top Tips
- Use high-quality feta – use a whole feta block – not crumbled feta (which can be chalky and won’t create a ‘sauce’ the same way). You could also use French feta.
- For a lighter dish – you can reduce the amount of feta in the recipe and replace it with a little light cream, vegetable stock, or extra pasta water.
Related Recipes
If you enjoyed this pasta with feta cheese and mushrooms, then here are some other dishes you may enjoy.
- Baked Feta and Cherry Tomato Pasta
- Baked Feta and Beet Pasta Sauce
- Super Creamy Vegan Mushroom Sauce Pasta
- Easy Creamy Mushroom Toast (Vegan Optional)
- Cream Of Mushroom Soup (GF, Vegan optional)
- Healthy Mushroom & Lentil Vegan Meatballs
- Vegetarian One-Pot Pasta bake
- Tomato and Eggplant Pasta (Pasta Alla Norma)
- Crispy Air Fried Oyster Mushrooms (or Oven Roasted)
- Easy Garlic Lemon Pasta (Pasta al Limone)
If you try this Baked feta, spinach, and mushroom pasta recipe, then let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments. I’d also really appreciate a recipe rating and would love to see your recreations – just tag @AlphaFoodie.
Baked Feta, Spinach and Mushroom Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta GF if needed. Zoodles will also work
- 8 ounces mushrooms (I used brown mushrooms) check FAQs for more suggestions
- 1 feta block about 7 ounces/200 grams
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 handful thyme
- 2-3 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil, coconut oil or other cooking oil
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup spinach
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the mushrooms & onion
- Clean the mushrooms. I avoid using water for this. Instead, use a clean kitchen towel to gently rub away any dirt. If there are any stubborn dirt bits then you can dampen the kitchen towel while rubbing but don't soak the mushrooms.
- Roughly chop the onion and mushrooms. I left the small brown mushrooms whole and did large chunks of onion. If you want everything more evenly distributed in your baked feta pasta then you can slice/dice the onion and mushrooms into smaller pieces.
Step 2: Prepare the baking dish
- Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic, and olive oil to the pan and toss well to coat everything well. Then add the fresh thyme to the center of the dish.I threw my garlic in as whole cloves that I 'smashed' once roasted. You could also finely chop/mince the garlic – just make sure it's under olive oil so it doesn't burn in the oven.
- Add the feta cheese block over the herbs – which will avoid them burning in the oven. Then sprinkle everything with a little dried oregano, salt, pepper, and a little more olive oil (over the feta).
Step 3: Bake the feta and mushrooms
- Bake the dish in the oven at 400ºF/200ºC for about 25 minutes – the feta should become golden in color and the mushrooms will release their juices to create a 'sauce'.
Step 4: Prepare your pasta
- As the feta and mushroom bake, prepare your pasta of choice according to their package instructions. If using zoodles, you can prepare them now too – I actually eat my zoodles raw but you can cook them if preferred.Once cooked, drain the pasta and save 1/4-1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water to add to the dish to help the mushroom sauce adhere to the pasta.The remaining salty pasta water can be frozen in ice cube trays to use in stocks and soups.
Step 5: Assemble the Feta, Spinach and Mushroom Pasta
- Remove the mushroom and feta from the oven and mash up the feta, mixing it well within the dish.Add the spinach to this dish and mix it in. The residual heat will wilt the spinach into the mushroom pasta.Add the cooked pasta and pasta water to the baking dish and toss well to mix everything. You can then enjoy the feta, spinach, and mushroom pasta (or zoodles) directly in the dish or serve it up into smaller dishes.
Video
Notes
- Use high-quality feta – use a whole feta block – not crumbled feta (which can be chalky and won’t create a ‘sauce’ the same way). You could also use french feta.
- For a lighter dish – you can reduce the amount of feta in the recipe and replace it with a little light cream, vegetable stock, or extra pasta water.
Stacey
Thank you, Alpha Foodie, this is my favorite “watch a basketball game after work” dish ever! I use boxed whole wheat pasta and shallots (I’m in the US, the picture of ingredients says onion but it looks like a shallot to me, do the British use the term onion interchangeably?) I like the sweetness the shallot adds.
Support @ Alphafoodie
Hi Stacey,
I’ve tried it both with shallots and onions – both are delicious. I guess I kept the photo with the shallots. Thanks for spotting this 🙂