It’s not news that I love mac and cheese. It is also becoming Willa, my oldest daughter’s, favorite food and I am both proud but also worried she will only want to eat mac and cheese for the rest of her life like her mama. I made this feta mac and cheese as a way to change it up and try to introduce some new flavors to her. It wasn’t a shocker that she didn’t like it at all and only wanted the orange stuff from the box, but to me, it’s all about exposure.
One way I like to introduce Willa to new flavors, now that she’s a little older, is to have her help me in the kitchen. I have a few tips on how kids can get involved later on in this post!
This creamy feta pasta recipe has sun-dried tomatoes and olives, both of which are optional, to add some flavor and texture. The feta cheese melts surprisingly well to create a creamy sauce when you make the cheese sauce from scratch with a roux. There will be small chunks of feta cheese throughout the sauce, but to me, that’s half the fun!
Feta Mac and Cheese Ingredients
8 oz. cavatappi pasta (half a box)
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1-1/2 cup whole milk
6 oz. feta cheese
Zest from one lemon
Juice from half a lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
2 pinches of salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Kalamata olives (about 10)
Sun-dried tomatoes (about 5)
Fresh basil leaves (about 3-4 big leaves)
How to Make Creamy Feta Mac and Cheese
Boil your pasta according to the directions on the box and drain.
While your pasta is boiling you can get your olives cut in half, your tomatoes cut into small pieces, your basil chopped and your lemon zested!
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour and cook until bubbly, but not brown. This will take about 1 minute.
Pour in your whole milk and stir on medium heat until the mixture thickens into a sauce consistency, for about 5 minutes.
Stir in your feta and melt until creamy. There will still be some lumps of feta and you want that! The chunks of cheese are delicious in the finished pasta. Once the sauce is creamy, add your lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Add your pasta back into the pan with the sauce and stir to combine. Mix in your sun dried tomatoes, olives, and chopped basil. Serve this feta pasta recipe while it’s nice and hot.
How to Make Creamy Feta Mac and Cheese Sauce
The key to making a creamy feta pasta recipe is the roux. Be sure to cook the flour for at least a minute to remove any raw taste. Then, if possible, make sure your milk is close to room temperature. This reduces the chance of clumps when you create your sauce.
If you aren’t a fan of feta chunks, another easy way to make this even creamier is by pulsing your feta in a food processor quickly before adding it to the sauce. This eliminates any large chunks and the feta will melt evenly throughout this feta pasta recipe.
Which Pasta is Best for This Feta Pasta Recipe?
I love to use cavatappi pasta for this recipe, but there are other pasta shapes that work really well in this feta pasta recipe! I would avoid long pasta like fettuccine or spaghetti, but some other short shapes to try include:
- Elbow macaroni
- Penne
- Rotini
- Gemelli
- Farfalle
- Orecchiette
Get the Kids Involved
For this recipe, I think the easiest way to get the kids involved is to have them help measure the sauce ingredients and halve the olives.
Instead of chopping the basil, you could also let the kids tear it up into small pieces using their fingers!
Helpful Items
Here are some helpful cookware tools to make this feta pasta recipe even easier.
Microplane/zester: This feta mac and cheese needs lemon zest. It adds such a fresh and bright flavor and I highly recommend using a Microplane to easily zest the lemon. I also use these to grate garlic directly into my dishes, as well.
Food processor: This is completely optional. If you don’t like larger chunks of feta in your sauce, I recommend giving the feta a quick pulse in a food processor so that it’s finely grated and will evenly melt into your sauce.
Kid’s Knives: If you do want to get the kids involved and can safely monitor them while they help, I recommend these kid’s knives from Amazon. We have them and they are easy to use and I don’t get scared about cuts or accidents.
Enjoy!
I hope this feta mac and cheese recipe works well for your family. It’s a twist on a classic that can help introduce some pretty grown-up flavors to your kids.
I love to serve this feta pasta recipe with some grilled chicken or baked fish with lemon. You could also serve it with a simple green salad and greek dressing.
Creamy Feta Mac and Cheese
This delicious feta mac and cheese is creamy and flavorful. It's packed with feta cheese, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and perfectly cooked pasta.
- 8 oz cavatappi pasta
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 6 oz feta cheese
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ~10 kalamata olives
- ~5 sun dried tomatoes
- 3-4 leaves fresh basil
- Salt
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Boil your pasta according to the directions on the box and drain.
-
While your pasta is boiling you can get your olives cut in half, your tomatoes cut into small pieces, your basil chopped and your lemon zested!
-
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour and cook until bubbly, but not brown. This will take about 1 minute.
-
Pour in your whole milk and stir on medium heat until the mixture thickens into a sauce consistency, for about 5 minutes.
-
Stir in your feta and melt until creamy. Once the sauce is creamy, add your lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
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Add your pasta back into the pan with the sauce and stir to combine. Mix in your sun dried tomatoes, olives and the chopped basil.
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