This creamy Baked Feta and Tomato Dip is the easiest and most delicious baked feta dip you can make. And it's absolutely delicious. For starters, it takes just 20 minutes and spends most of that time in the oven. Therefore, you can do other things while it bakes. This fast cook time and silky, luscious appearance make it the perfect appetizer to serve to a group of friends.
The feta, tomatoes, olives, and a touch of hot honey take this baked feta dip to the next level. Briny olives and slightly spicy hot honey perfectly counteract the cheesy feta and sweet cherry tomatoes. The combination of all these flavors is truly magical.
How to make Baked Feta and Tomato Dip
As with a lot of mediterranean cooking, the beauty of this baked feta dip lies in its simplicity.
Ingredients
Most of the ingredients in this dip are optional (except for the feta). If you don't want olives, leave them out. Try artichokes instead. If you don't like tomatoes, that's OK! As with all cooking, use what you have, and swap out ingredients as needed. I carefully chose these ingredients to create a flavorful, more complex version of this insanely simple dish.
- Feta
- Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
- Olives
- Lemon Zest
- Hot Honey (the best part of this dip)
- Thyme
- Olive oil, salt, pepper
Steps
All you have to do to make any baked feta dip is
- Place the feta and other ingredients into a baking dish
- Bake it in the oven
- Stir it all together while the feta is still hot.
Tips and Tricks for making Baked Feta Dip
- If the dip is too dry: All feta cheeses differ in texture and water content. Dryer, more solid feta will come out even dryer after baking. The solution to a dry dip that doesn't fully melt is to add a splash of water. This till loosen it a little and make it more melty.
- If the dip gets cold before friends arrive: This one's simple, just heat it up again in the oven or microwave. As mentioned above, you make need to add a drop of water this time.
- The feta didn't heat through: some blocks of feta are THICK. If you're using a really thick block of feta, slice it long ways into 2 smaller blocks so it heats through while baking. If you notice the feta hasn't heated through after the 20 minutes of baking, you can break it up a little and leave it in the oven for a few more minutes.
What you'll need to make Baked Feta and Tomato Dip
Having some of the equipment above will simply make this recipe and many others even easier. For instance, a Microplane is my absolute favorite kitchen tool, which I use for zesting lemons and grating garlic and ginger. It's amazing how efficiently I zest lemons these days!
The Silicone tongs are great because they don't get too hot near the stove and don't scrape or ruin nonstick pans.
Other cheesy, flavorful appetizers from On The Bias
If you like this baked feta dip, you'll love these other appetizers with similar flavor profiles- creamy cheese that counteracts more spicy and acidic ingredients:
Reheating Baked Feta Dip
In the rare case that you don't finish your baked feta and tomato dip all in one sitting, you can easily re-heat it later. Here are a couple ways you can do it.
- Microwave it for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until heated through.
- Place it back in the oven on 400F, this time for just 10-15 minutes, until heated through.
- Stovetop: Plop the leftover dip in a small sauté pan and reheat it over a medium-low flame until heated through. Add a drop of water if it starts to dry out while heating.
Baked Feta Dip Recipe
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Baked Feta and Tomato Dip
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: appetizers, vegetarian appetizers
- Method: Baked Feta
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This Baked Feta and Tomato Dip uses complex and well balanced flavors of feta, tomatoes, olives, lemon zest, hot honey, and thyme. This simple complexity makes it perfect for serving as an impressive but fun appetizer.
Ingredients
- 8 oz feta cheese, in block form
- 2 cups of grape tomatoes
- 1 cup of assorted olives
- 5 sprigs of fresh thyme, or your desired herb
- 2 Tb Hot honey OR 2 Tb regular honey and 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- The zest of half of a lemon
- A pinch of salt and pepper
- 2 Tb Olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Place feta into a baking dish. Surround the feta with tomatoes and olives and arrange thyme sprigs over the top. Drizzle hot honey and olive oil onto the feta, then sprinkle with lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes.
- When feta is done cooking, discard thyme sprigs and use tongs or forks to toss the feta, tomatoes, and olives. Crush the tomatoes as you stir. Make sure to do this while it's still hot so the feta is melty and silky.
- If the dip seems too thick, and isn't silky smooth as you stir it, add 2 Tb of water to loosen it up.
- Serve alongside some delicious crusty bread and assorted veggies to dip.
Keywords: baked feta dip, baked feta and tomato dip
Rosa Fazio says
Absolutely delicious! I was obsessed with the feta and tomato trend when it first started on TikTok and LOVE OLIVES, so put those two together and it’s heavenly! I’m a sucker for a good dip and if you’re looking for one stop here because you’ve found it!