If you've been on TikTok in the past month, you've seen TikTok Baked Feta Pasta going viral on TikTok and everyone and their aunt who has a Facebook page is obsessed with it. However, we can say that dairy is not for everyone. If you're wondering how to make vegan baked feta pasta, you're in luck because it's just as easy as making the original.
The original baked feta pasta recipe is so simple: Drizzle olive oil over a block of feta cheese and top it with a pile of cherry tomatoes in an oven-safe container. Add salt, pepper, garlic, and any other seasonings that speak to your carb soul. (Basil, red pepper, and Italian seasoning are all great additions to this dish.) Bake for about 40 minutes, remove from the oven, stir in the cooked pasta, and voila! Delicious dinner courtesy of TikTok.
The dish already has a few dishes using burrata, goat cheese and boursin. So if you don't like feta in the first place, you can try making pasta recipes using plant-based alternatives, like Boursin's Vegan Cheese Sauce or Treeline's Herb Garlic, which has a similar texture to Boursin.
However, if you want to stay as close to the original as possible, here are three ways to make a vegan version of baked feta pasta.
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Swap it out for vegan feta cheese
The easiest option is to simply swap out regular feta for plant-based feta cubes. Vegan brands like Violife, Nafsika and Vromage have some great non-dairy feta options. But remember: This recipe works best with a block of feta, not crumbled feta. (Toasted crumbled feta will end up being a bit dry.) Honestly, you might have more luck finding vegan feta than actual feta, since some people think TikTok recipes are causing a feta shortage. (While an Instacart representative told Refinery29 that "feta" is the No. 1 trending search term on the shopping platform, there's no actual evidence to support this claim.)
Once you've chosen your vegan feta cheese, follow your usual recipe. You can check out TikTok from @suhleejessica for a simple guide.
Make Vegan Feta with Tofu
If you can't find a piece of vegan feta, or want a full DIY approach to the recipe, you can try making vegan feta with tofu. Most recipes use a combination of firm tofu, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, refined coconut oil, and various seasonings. But you can change the texture and flavor by adding other ingredients. Vegetable-forward recipes include white miso paste. PlantYou’s version adds soaked cashews. This recipe from Lovin' It Vegan adds agar agar powder.
For those of you looking for quick dinner ideas, this may not be the recipe you want. In addition to requiring more ingredients, most homemade vegan feta recipes require 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Use a Vegan Feta Blend
To make DIY feta even easier, Urban Cheesecraft offers a dairy-free cheesemaking kit. Their brie, feta, chevre and fondue kits come in batches of 10 and are slightly cheaper than buying the same amount of pre-made vegan feta. This kit does not include everything you need as you will need oil and some kind of base (e.g. nuts, seeds, vegetables, white beans). However, their kit can handle any hard-to-find ingredient and most measurements and be ready in about an hour.
If all else fails, there’s always Annie’s Vegan Mac and Cheese.
