Oven-Baked Feta Cheese Dip

⏲ ~38 min total · prep 12 · cook 26 · 4 servings

By the KFI Test Kitchen · Tested & approved by Jason Lieu, KFI recipe editor

Published Sep 15, 2026 · Updated Sep 15, 2026

Ingredients

• 8 oz block feta cheese, patted dry (one block, not crumbles)
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 6 fresh basil leaves, torn
• Cucumber slices and bell pepper strips, for serving

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400°F.
2. Toss the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and black pepper in a 9-inch round baking dish or small cast-iron skillet.
3. Set the feta block in the center and scatter dollops of the cream cheese around it, then drizzle any remaining oil over the top.
4. Bake 25 to 28 minutes until the tomatoes have burst and collapsed and the feta slumps with light golden edges.
5. Mash everything together right in the dish with a fork, swirling the molten feta and cream cheese through the burst tomatoes — it should look marbled, not uniform.
6. Let stand 5 minutes to settle.
7. Stir in the basil and serve warm, straight from the dish, with cucumbers and peppers.

Why this recipe works

• A block of feta, not crumbles The block slumps in the oven and stays creamy inside its golden edges. Crumbles would dry out long before the tomatoes burst.
• Tomatoes as the sauce base Cherry tomatoes roast until they collapse, and their juice becomes the liquid of the dip. A quarter cup of olive oil carries it all.
• Marbled, not stirred Mashing with a fork leaves ribbons of feta through the tomatoes. Uniform stirring would flatten the contrast that makes the dip interesting.

Tips for making this recipe well

Pat the feta dry

Surface moisture keeps the feta edges from turning golden. A minute with a paper towel changes the whole bake.

Whole garlic, smashed

Smashed cloves roast in among the tomatoes and mellow as they soften. Chopped garlic would scorch across 25 to 28 minutes at 400°F.

Read the tomatoes

The tomatoes are ready when they have burst and collapsed into the oil. Underdone ones stay whole and watery, and the dip ends up thin.

Rest before mashing

Let the dish stand five minutes before you pick up the fork. The feta finishes slumping, and then it mashes in the dish where it will be served.

Serving suggestions

Baked feta usually fails by drying into a brick. This version builds the dip around a whole block surrounded by tomatoes and oil, so the cheese softens in its own bath while the edges turn golden. Serve it in the baking dish on a wooden board, with cucumber slices and bell pepper strips scattered close. The basil goes in after the oven so it stays green. At 3.0 net carbs, the vegetables are the dippers that keep it keto.

Storage and meal prep

Leftovers keep three to four days covered in the fridge, and the dip firms up considerably when cold. Reheat it in the same dish at the recipe's 400°F for several minutes until it loosens, or eat it cold, which lands closer to a spread. Freezing is not worth it. Dairy this simple separates on thawing and never quite returns. The tomatoes' acidity deepens a little by day two, which is not a flaw.

Variations worth trying

• Add heat Double the red pepper flakes or slide a whole dried chile in with the tomatoes. The oil carries the spice evenly.
• Olive finish Scatter a handful of olives into the dish before it goes in the oven. Their brine deepens the salt of the feta.
• Herb swap Replace the basil with torn dill or oregano leaves stirred in at the end. Both sit well against roasted tomatoes.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use crumbled feta?

It is not the same dish. Crumbles dry out across the 25 to 28 minutes the block needs, and you lose the molten center that mashing depends on.

What if my tomatoes have not burst by 28 minutes?

Give them a few more minutes, since ovens and tomato sizes vary. Press one with a fork, and if it collapses easily the dish is ready.

How do I serve it for a party?

Bake two dishes rather than one crowded one, and stagger them so a hot dish is always out. The dip holds its texture warm for a good stretch.

Is this dip supposed to be chunky?

Yes. The fork-mash leaves feta ribbons and tomato halves visible, which is the point. Mash more if you want it smooth, but expect a denser dip.

What dippers work best?

The cucumber and bell pepper strips called for keep the carbs where they are. Pork rinds scoop the oily edges well, and a spoon works too.

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