This wonderfully delicious and creamy Baked Feta recipe is an easy appetizer featuring soft and warm feta cheese, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, black olives, and seasonings. This is one of the tastiest dishes you’ll ever whip up! Just grab some naan bread or potato chips to go with it, and you’re all set!

Close-up shot of a baking dish with baked feta cheese, tomatoes, olives, and red peppers

As a Macedonian, I’m excited to share a piece of my culinary heritage through this baked feta recipe, or as we call it back home, ‘Topeno Sirenje.’ I’ve tailored the traditional recipe to bring out the rich flavors that have been enjoyed in my family for generations. I hope it brings a taste of the Mediterranean as well as of Macedonia to your table!

This easy-to-make Mediterranean Baked Feta Dip recipe brings together the creamy richness of feta cheese with the robust flavors of roasted red peppers, tangy black olives, and ripe tomatoes. Drizzled with olive oil and baked to gooey, melty perfection, each bite is a warm bite that’s irresistibly good. It’s the perfect appetizer recipe for gatherings or a treat for a cozy night in, and it’s always a hit with cheese lovers.

Why We Love This Baked Feta Recipe

Easy and Quick: With minimal preparation required, this dish is simple to make. It’s perfect for those times when you want a quick yet delicious appetizer.
Packed with Flavors: Baked feta cheese with peppers, tomatoes, and olives combine to make this dish a real flavor bomb. It’s got all those awesome Mediterranean flavors that we can’t get enough of.
Convenient: This dip can be prepped a day ahead and kept in the fridge. When ready to serve, just bake it until soft and bubbly.

overhead close up shot of baked feta cheese blocks topped with tomatoes, olives, peppers, and herbs

Ingredients For Baked Feta

Feta Cheese: You’ll need one block of feta cut into about six half-inch thick slices.
Grape Tomatoes: The tomatoes should be cut in half. Cherry tomatoes are also okay to use.
Roasted Red Peppers: I usually find these in a jar. If they aren’t already cut into strips, cut them up before using.
Black Olives: Regular pitted black olives from a deli counter or canned ones are fine.
Garlic: One clove is plenty for this dish.
Dried Oregano and Thyme: These add a wonderful flavor and aroma to the baked cheese!
Olive Oil: I use extra virgin olive oil; it has the strongest flavor and goes well with all the ingredients.
Cracked Black Pepper: This gives more of a peppery kick to the dish than regular ground pepper, but feel free to substitute (or omit) according to your taste! Red pepper flakes are also great!
Fresh Basil: Just a bit for a garnish.
Pita Chips or Crackers: For serving. You could also use veggies or toasted baguette slices.

How To Make Baked Feta

This snack is a great and tasty recipe to put together quickly. All you do is slice the feta, halve the tomatoes and olives, and then arrange everything in a baking dish and bake it!

Blocks of feta in an oval baking dish and topped with olives and tomatoes.

Preheat Oven: The oven should be preheated to 425°F before baking.
Assemble Dish: Place the feta in a small baking dish. Top with tomatoes, peppers, and olives; then sprinkle with garlic, oregano, and thyme. Finally, drizzle olive oil over the dish.
Bake, Garnish & Serve: Bake until the cheese is soft. Remove from the oven. Garnish with cracked black pepper and basil, and serve with crusty bread or pita chips.

Recipe Tips And Variations

Buy Brined: Feta tastes best when it’s been packaged in its own brine because it doesn’t dry out as much that way. So, if possible, look for vacuum-sealed packages of feta cheese in brine for the best flavor and texture.
Rinse or Soak: You might find that the feta cheese you have purchased is a little too salty for your liking. If so, try rinsing the cheese, or even soaking it in water for a few minutes, to remove some of the salt.
Substitutions: If you want to change up some of the ingredients here, please do. This dish works really well with most things you’d find in antipasti, or Mediterranean charcuterie boards: sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic, different olive varieties, marinated veggies of all kinds (hello, artichokes!), even goat cheese instead of feta, and little slivers of prosciutto or ham.
Enjoy it fresh from the oven: This dish is best enjoyed while the feta is warm and at its creamiest, perfect for spreading.
To serve: Pair the dip with pita chips or toasted bread slices.

Serving Suggestions

If you’d like to serve this as a side dish, it fits perfectly with my White Bean Soup, or try it with this Instant Pot Chicken Marsala. Serving a Mediterranean appetizer with Creamy Garlic Butter Pasta with Spinach is a fantastic choice. For a mezze platter, include this Mediterranean White Bean Salad alongside the feta dip and add some Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes, too.

A hand holding a cracker and scooping up oven baked feta appetizer.

Storing Leftovers

To refrigerate, cover leftovers tightly in airtight containers and store them in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. To reheat, place the leftovers in an ovenproof dish and bake at 350˚F until heated through.