Baked Feta Fettuccine with Shrimp

It’s February 2021 and baked feta pasta has taken the internet by storm! It’s the most popular dish of the year so far and you know I had to make my own version. Baked Feta Fettuccine with Shrimp! And let me just say, this one is so much better.

Baked Feta Fettuccine with Shrimp

I tried the original baked feta pasta and loved the flavor but was a bit underwhelmed. I found that it had too few tomatoes, too little sauce, and was lacking a little flair. Plus there were no measurements for things like salt and pepper and I know so many people need guidelines on how much to add, so I always try to provide measurements for those in my recipes!

Using Ghee or Clarified Butter

My first change in the recipe is to use ghee or clarified butter instead of olive oil. Since you’re going to be baking/roasting at over 400ºF (205ºC) and the smoke point of olive oil is somewhere between 374–405°F (190–207°C), any temperatures above that and you are going to have a smoky kitchen and you could get some bitterness in your final dish. Not terrible, but not ideal either.

Ghee is a great substitution because it can be heated to almost 500ºF. You can also use clarified butter. My first thought for this recipe was actually to use avocado oil, but since it’s a fairly large quantity and you are basically making a tomato confit, I didn’t think the flavor would be that great. So ghee sounded perfect!

It has a great flavor that pairs well with the rest of the dish! To get that nice olive oil taste that compliments this dish so well, I toss the pasta in olive oil after it’s done cooking and also drizzle the dish with it at the end! YUM!

Pasta Toss

Speaking of tossing with olive oil, the original feta pasta recipe was seriously lacking in the sauce department. When the pasta is added and stirred in, it pretty much immediately soaks up any liquid and you’re left with basically no sauce. It wasn’t my favorite. Now you could just throw in some of the pasta water at the end, but I tried this and didn’t love that result either. It was just too grainy with the feta.

SO, to get a nice saucy pasta dish, I toss my pasta with olive oil after it’s done cooking to coat it so it won’t soak up the sauce. Now, I wouldn’t usually do this in my recipes, as you actually do want your pasta to soak up some sauce, but since there is so little liquid in this one, I think the olive oil toss is essential! It also adds that great olive oil taste as I mentioned above!

Another addition I made to my baked feta fettuccine was more tomatoes! The original recipe had so few! I went ahead and added 2 pounds to my recipe and let me tell ya, it did not disappoint. Not only did this add even more flavor per bite, but it actually made for even more sauce at the end!

Vegetarian Version

And last but certainly not least, I just felt like this dish needed a little extra something. I think the original vegetarian version is great for a weeknight meal at home, but I wanted to elevate it a bit so that you could serve it for a nice weekend date night in or even a dinner party! So I knew I had to add my favorite quick-cooking protein: shrimp! They pair perfectly with this dish too!

And the best part is you can throw them right in with the dish and don’t need to cook them separately! After 25 minutes in the oven at 400ºF the dish comes out and you nestle the shrimp right into the liquid amongst the tomatoes, then throw it back in the oven and broil on high for 5-6 minutes! That’s it! So easy and 1 million times more impressive to serve your date or dinner guests!

My recipe is based off of the original Uunifetapasta by Finnish blogger Jenni of Liemessä. Her now-famous pasta dish was brought to the English-speaking world in by blogger MacKenzie of Grilled Cheese Social. So we totally have these ladies to thank for this amazing pasta dish! Such a wonderful idea!

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Baked Feta Fettuccine with Shrimp

• Gluten-Free
• Pescatarian

5 from 1 vote

Print

This upgraded version of the viral baked feta pasta is just what you need for a special, quick dinner! This version is made with gluten free fettuccine, has more tomatoes, and I've included some other tips and tricks to make this recipe even better than the original. Oh, and I've added shrimp! Oh yes! So good!!

Prep Time: 4 minutes mins

Cook Time: 31 minutes mins

Total Time: 35 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients 

• 1/2 cup ghee or clarified butter* melted
• 2 lb 900g grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 8 oz 225g block feta cheese
• 1 lb fettuccine gluten free or traditional
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil divided
• 1 lb 450g large shrimp
• 4 large cloves garlic minced or pressed
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes**
• 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400ºF (205ºC).
• Add ghee, tomatoes, salt and pepper to a large skillet or baking dish (I used a 15-inch cast iron skillet) and toss to coat. 
• Place feta in the middle, brush top and sides with the ghee, and sprinkle with more pepper. 
• Bake at 400ºF (205ºC) for 25 minutes on the middle rack.
• Cook fettuccine according to package directions while the tomatoes and feta bake. When finished, drain well and toss with 1 Tbsp olive oil. This step is important so that your finished dish has plenty of sauce. Most baked feta pasta recipes add the pasta right in and it immediately soaks up most of the liquid. Tossing with olive oil prevents that.
• Remove skillet from oven, set oven to broil on high, then nestle shrimp in with the tomatoes and brush tops with the melted ghee.
• Place skillet back in the oven and broil on high (middle rack) for 6 minutes or until the shrimp are opaque and cooked through. Adjust cook time based on size of shrimp. I use large shrimp for this recipe and 6 minutes is just right.
• Remove skillet from oven, stir garlic and red pepper flakes into the tomatoes (without breaking up the feta), then add in cooked fettuccine on top of everything and stir together to coat. I like to leave some chunks of feta for presentation and because it just tastes better that way!
• Drizzle the whole dish with 1 Tbsp olive oil and garnish with basil leaves.
• Serve and enjoy!

Did you love the recipe? I would love it if you left me a 5-star review below!

Notes

*It's important that it's clarified since that raises the smoke point. Regular butter will burn and get bitter. 

**This really doesn't make the dish spicy, it just brings out the other flavors. However, if you are very sensitive to spice, then reduce or omit. 

Category:

• 45 minutes
• Birthday
• Comfort Foods
• Date Night
• Dinner
• Fall
• Family Friendly
• Gluten-Free
• Greek
• Main Dish
• Mediterranean
• New Year's
• Party Food
• Pasta & Pizza
• Pescatarian
• Quick Weeknight Dinners
• Shrimp
• Spring
• Summer
• Valentine's Day
• Winter

Author: Kit

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How did your baked feta fettuccine turn out? If you loved it I would absolutely love if you left me a 5-star review below! xx Kit