Baked Feta Cheese Appetizer with Olives is served sizzling hot and it's a delicious and easy recipe that you can make almost entirely ahead of time. Perfect for sharing, it's a scrumptious start to any meal.
This baked Feta cheese appetizer is one of my favorite recipes to serve a small group. It's fantastic for sharing and easily comes together with just a handful of simple ingredients.
I love crumbled Feta served chilled, like in this Melon Feta recipe - but, it's also amazing served in a block and hot.
Feta is a Greek cheese made from sheeps' milk and has a salty, tangy flavor. These flavors are enhanced from its brine solution, which is essentially salt water.
Feta Cheese Appetizer Ingredients
- Feta cheese block
- extra virgin olive oil
- Kalamata olives
- roasted red peppers
- fresh oregano
- lemon juice
- black pepper
How to Make it
Baking Feta is an easy process, and there’s something quite magical about serving this cheese hot and sizzling.
- Place the Feta block in a small casserole dish.
- Combine the olive oil, olives, peppers, lemon juice and oregano in a small bowl. Drizzle this over the cheese, and gently lift the block so a bit of the mixture goes under it.
- Bake it in a 350°F oven until the oil is sizzling around it, and the top edges become golden. Often, the oil is sizzling before it’s golden, in which case a few seconds under the broiler will do the trick.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
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- It’s always best to buy Feta in brine. The texture will be smoother and creamer, and the shelf life is longer.
- You can buy jarred, roasted peppers, or roast them yourself. Here's How to Roast and Peel Peppers. Of course it saves time to buy them, which for this recipe is great because it's so quick and easy.
- Just make sure they have a lot of flavor. These are my favorite jarred, roasted red peppers.
- It's a good idea to lightly rinse feta cheese when it's used directly from its brine. This will remove any excess salt.
- If you'd like to substitute dried oregano for fresh, use about a third the amount.
Serving Suggestions
- Really, I could eat this with a fork — and I have. 🙂
- Typically though, I serve this with thin, toasted baguette slices. And it’s a delicious idea to rub a raw garlic clove on them. Otherwise, I don’t add any additional flavors because the Baked Feta itself is so flavorful.
- You could also serve it with plain crackers. (I like these.)
Can you make baked Feta ahead?
You can prep the recipe 100%, and then just put it in the oven about 20 minutes before you're ready to serve.
I would definitely keep this Feta cheese appetizer in mind the next time you have a casual dinner party.
Hope you love it as much as I do!
More recipes with Feta cheese:
Baked Feta Appetizer with Olives Recipe
This Baked Feta Cheese Appetizer is served sizzling hot, and it's a delicious and easy recipe that you can make almost entirely ahead of time. Perfect for sharing, it's a scrumptious start to any meal.
- approximately ½ pound Feta cheese block, (drained)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Kalamata Olives, (pitted, finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoons roasted red peppers, (finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoon fresh oregano, (washed and dried, finely chopped)
- freshly ground black pepper
-
Set oven and cheese. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the block of Feta in a small casserole dish. Ideally the dish should be just a little bigger than the block.
-
Make marinade. In a small bowl, combine the oil, olives, peppers, lemon juice and oregano. Mix and pour this over the Feta. Gently lift the block so a bit of the mixture goes beneath it.
-
Bake. Bake in the preheated 350°F oven until the oil is bubbling and the edges and top of the Feta are golden, 15 to 20 minutes. (If this amount of time passes, and the top is not golden, place it under the broiler briefly — 30 seconds or so.)
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Serve. Serve immediately with small toasts or something similar.
Calorie count is only an estimate.
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angiesrecipes
A perfect appetizer! I love Feta and should try this ASAP.
valentina
I hope you love it, Angie! Thanks!:-) ~Valentina
Nancy Buchanan
Hands down one of my favorite ways to eat feta!!! Love the combo of peppers and olives! Definitely will be making this over the holidays - isn't it amazing how something SO SIMPLE can be so delicious???
valentina
Awesome. Thanks, Nancy! And yes, I love the simplicity of it. 🙂 ~Valentina
Patricia K Rose
Thank you Valentina. I have Bulgarian feta in my fridge calling to me. Had not baked it before now! Yum!
valentina
Yum! Bulgarian Feta! How great is that? Enjoy and thank you. 🙂 ~Valentina
Eha
Yes, yes, absolutely yes ! Love feta, have simply been too dumb to use this simple method ! And yes o the olives and peppers - I try very hard not to buy tins for more than one reason, but in this case methinks the jarred peppers would have a better consistency and are certainly faster to use . . . . weekend endeavour perchance . . . 🙂 ?
valentina
Thanks, Eha. I hope you give it a go and love it! Have a delightful weekend. 🙂 ~Valentina
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
I can't tell you how much I LOVE this recipe, Valentina! As soon as I landed on your page and saw the title I pinned right away. I seriously can't wait to try! This is something hubby and I would absolutely devour on a Friday night, maybe as part of a meat and cheese board. I didn't know feta translated to 'slice'. Learn something new every day! Making very soon...and I can see this one being lovely for entertaining during the holidays 🙂 Such a great recipe! Happy Friday!
valentina
Thanks so much, Dawn. You mention Friday nights often in relation to food -- I'm thinking you two have very special and delicious dinners on Friday nights. 🙂 I hope you love it! ~Valentina
David Scott Allen
Baked feta cheese is one of my favorite appetizers to serve. There are so many variations, and I love your version! You are so correct… it is very simple, but very special! Have a lovely weekend!T
valentina
Thanks, David! (And no garlic. :-D) Hope you have a lovely weekend, too! 🙂 ~Valentina
Kim Lange
This sounds so yummy and simple to make! Who wouldn't love this??! I love feta and fear I would probably eat the whole thing myself! 😉 Pinning for game day for snacking!
Gerlinde @Sunnycovechef
I love feta and always have some in the fridge. Your recipe is wonderful and I will make it as soon as I can cook again. Pinned!
David @ Spiced
Interesting! I love feta, and I often just use it by itself. I've also marinated it, and that turned out well. But I have never tried baking feta. What a great holiday appetizer idea with a loaf of chewy Italian bread. Yum!!
valentina
Well now I have to try marinating it. 😀 Thank you for that idea. Enjoy and thank you. ~Valentina
mimi rippee
Well this is fabulous! I love to grill, fry, bake, or just warm just about any kind of cheese! But I love your topping. Some people like to just use honey, and I find it way to sweet of a combination. I much prefer savory toppings.
valentina
Thank you, Mimi. Hope you give it a go sometime and love it. 🙂 ~Valentina
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Tried this over the holidays (for New Year's Eve, actually) and hubby and I LOVED it! So easy and so tasty....will definitely make again 🙂
valentina
Hi Dawn, This makes me so happy! Thank you for sharing. Wishing you and yours a very happy 2020! 🙂 ~Valentina
Lloyd
Haven't tried it yet but loving the feta recipe.
btw - typo alert. Fix WITH
Baked Feta wtih Olives and Roasted Peppers
valentina
I hope you love this recipe, Lloyd. And thank you for the typo alert. I'm a one girl show over here so sometimes things get missed, and I always appreciate when readers let me know these things. It's fixed! Happy cooking. 🙂 ~Valentina