I’m not sure when it all started. Maybe when I ran down to Minneapolis (in rush hour, no less) and picked up some gorgeous Feta at Bill’s Imported Foods (I love to give a shout-out to a local business) so I could make Bulgarian Clay Pots (not the pottery, the recipe) and ever since then, I can’t stop eating Feta or recipes with Feta in them! And so maybe it isn’t such a surprise that I’d make Honey Roasted Feta.

Easy Honey Roasted Feta

And of course, when summer hits and it’s hot and sticky it only makes sense to turn towards recipes that hail from the Middle East and the Mediterranean. So many dishes are fast, fresh, and fabulous with tons of flavor and not much work. Mediterranean Salmon Salad, I’m looking at you, my new favorite salad – and of course, it has Feta!

About Easy Honey Roasted Feta:

I’ve been wanting to try a baked Feta dish for a while, and am glad I took the plunge. It’s fast and easy and pretty much no effort at all. The results are a creamy luscious spread that’s perfect with crackers or pita chips. To next level this (I guess that’s a verb, now!) try it with Homemade Pita Chips. I first served this with a good flatbread but liked the textural contrast of something crispy with the creamy cheese a lot better. Whatever you serve this with, it’s just a fun summer appetizer. Or for that matter, a fun appetizer any time of the year!

On a whim, I tossed in a few olives and some halved cherry tomatoes, completely optional, but I like the briny, acidic kick it gave the Feta. Another option would be to serve this with fig or maybe a blackberry jam. Or fresh figs or a perfect peach. Or maybe, to swing back to the more savory side, brined artichoke hearts, pine nuts or a small salad.

This Feta is sprinkled with my Homemade Za’atar Spice, but if you don’t have that on hand, and I gotta admit, I don’t know many people who do, just go with a little thyme or oregano or maybe some other herb or spice or combination you like. And those Pita Chips? They’re sprinkled with Za’atar, too. I felt completely transported like maybe I was sitting at a cafe table outside a market. If you love Mediterranean or Middle Eastern flavors, you’re probably going to love Za’atar so it might be worth checking out.

Homemade Za’atar Spice

In Other News:

Has anyone been watching “Stranger Things” on Netflix? If you haven’t, it’s worth checking out, and the new season is here. I felt the new season (sadly, I binge-watched it and now I have nothing to look forward to!) had just a bit of a different flavor than the previous seasons at first, but really hit stride about the 3rd episode. Gosh, did the season ever end with a cliff hanger! I’m not saying any more!

Maybe you’ll want to make this Feta, toss out some Pita chips and binge watch it, too! I haven’t been compensated, by the way, I just love the series!

Making Easy Honey Roasted Feta:

There’s nothing to the recipe. Drizzle the Feta with olive oil, bake, then drizzle with honey and broil. Just be careful to adjust the oven rack down about six inches, and watch during the broiling process; the honey can flare up!

If possible, use a softer Feta, like a French Feta, but this will still be good with any Feta you can get your hands on. If you’re buying at a grocery store and have a choice, look for feta packed in brine instead of a block that’s just wrapped.

Bake this off in a small casserole or skillet; my little cast iron skillet worked beautifully. I’m always shopping at second-hand stores and have quite a little collection of them. If your skillet isn’t “serving” ready, line your skillet with a little foil so the feta can be easily removed to a serving plate. Pull the foil up on the edges if your skillet is larger so the oil doesn’t spread over a large surface area.

Easy Honey Roasted Feta

Saving Money on Easy Honey Roasted Feta:

Buying Feta is never intuitive. If you have access to a Greek or Middle Eastern market, check there. The prices can be surprisingly low. I bought some fabulous Feta at Bill’s Imported Foods (just driving over to Minneapolis was a fun trip) for $4.99 a pound. The other day, I checked my grocery store. A block of Feta in a plastic package was $4.99 for 8 ounces. The crumbles, in the same sized package, right next to it was $3.99 for 4 ounces. The crumbles are never a good deal and always inferior, and I think people pick them up because they think they’re a dollar less than the block.

So if you multiply out the prices to a pound, just for comparison, the fresh Feta from the market was $4.99 a pound, the grocery store block Feta is $9.98 a pound, the crumbles are $15.96 a pound. By the way, if your crumbles are $3.99 and only contain three ounces like some I saw, that’s $21.28 a pound!

Honey can be pretty pricey these days, so go with what you like to use; you don’t need a fancy honey with this recipe since the herbs add a lot. If you’re on a budget, a surprising place to find inexpensive honey is your pharmacy! Watch the ads! Aldi has a great price, too.

Easy Honey Roasted Feta

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I’ll be sharing Easy Honey Roasted Feta at Fiesta Friday #284, hosted this week by Diann @ Of Goats and Greens and Petra @ Food Eat Love