This creamy spicy feta pasta takes the famous Cava Crazy Feta dip and turns it into a complete dinner, with a smooth, spicy sauce that blends roasted feta, tomatoes, peppers and jalapeño into every strand. As a dietitian, I swapped in chickpea spaghetti so each bowl gives you around 22 grams of protein and a good hit of fiber, all from one baking dish.
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Regular pasta and cheese on their own are the ultimate comfort food, but they are not always the most filling combination.
So I tweaked it. I borrowed the spicy blended style of Cava’s crazy feta dip, then swapped regular spaghetti for chickpea spaghetti to add more protein and fiber. You can also easily add cooked chicken or a tin of chickpeas for even more protein.
This is a one dish dinner that comes together in about 40 minutes, most of which is hands off while the oven does the work. Perfect for busy weeknights when you want something comforting that still feels balanced.
If you love a creamy veg based sauce like this, you might also enjoy my roasted red pepper pasta sauce or my pistachio feta dip, which leans into that same salty, savoury feta flavour.
A Quick Look At This Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Creamy Spicy Feta Pasta with Chickpea Spaghetti
🕒 Ready In: ~10 minutes prep + 30 to 35 minutes bake (about 40 to 45 minutes total)
👪 Serves: 4
🍽 Calories, Protein & Fiber: ~448 per serving, 22g protein, 8g fiber
🥣 Main Ingredients: Block feta, cherry tomatoes, roasted red pepper, sweet onion, jalapeño, garlic, chickpea spaghetti
📖 Dietary Info: Vegetarian, high protein, high fibre, gluten free (with gluten free pasta), naturally nut free
⭐ Why You'll Love It: A creamy, spicy one dish dinner that keeps you full thanks to the protein and fiber in the chickpea pasta.
Recipe Nutrition Highlights
Good source of protein at about 22 grams per serving. Most of that protein comes from the chickpea spaghetti and the feta. Protein helps you feel full and supports your muscles. If you are not sure how much you need, I break it down in my guide on how much protein you need.
High in fibre: The 8.3 grams of fibre per serving is around 30 percent of what most adults need in a day, and the chickpea pasta does most of the heavy lifting here. Fibre keeps you full, supports steady energy, and feeds your gut bacteria. There is more on this in my top fiber foods post.
Good source of potassium and vitamin C: The tomatoes and peppers bring potassium (756mg per serving) and vitamin C, plus antioxidants like lycopene from the cooked tomatoes.
A source of calcium: The feta gives you around 244mg of calcium per serving, which supports your bones and teeth.
A note on salt: Feta is naturally salty, so this dish has 711mg of sodium per serving, which is about 31 percent of the daily limit. That is fine as part of a balanced day, but go easy when salting the pasta water and the sauce, since the feta is already doing a lot of the seasoning for you. If you have high blood pressure it is a good idea to be mindful of your salt intake.
Nutrition information was calculated using Cronometer, a nutrition tracking tool that uses the USDA FoodData Central database and verified brand data for accuracy. These figures are for the base recipe divided into 4 servings, without the optional finishing toppings, so your numbers may vary slightly depending on the brands and amounts you use. Food is much more than just numbers though, so use these as a guide rather than a rule.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
The complete ingredient list with measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Feta cheese: Use a block, not the pre crumbled kind. A block roasts into a smoother, creamier sauce and usually has better flavour. For a lower salt dish, look for a reduced salt feta. For a dairy free or vegan version, a firm dairy free feta style block works, though it will not blend quite as creamy.
Cherry tomatoes: They burst and turn jammy in the oven, which gives the sauce its natural sweetness. Any small tomato works, so grape tomatoes are great too.
Roasted red pepper: Adds that vibrant orange red colour and a mellow sweetness. I like a jar of fire roasted peppers for convenience, about half a drained jar. You can roast your own if you prefer.
Sweet onion or shallot: Caramelises as it roasts and balances out the salty feta. A regular onion works fine if that is what you have on hand.
Jalapeño: This is the main source of heat. For less spice, remove the seeds or use half. For more heat, leave the seeds in or add a second jalapeño.
Garlic: Roasts down sweet and mellow. Use fresh cloves rather than the pre minced kind for the best flavour.
Chickpea spaghetti: This is what makes the dish high in protein and fibre, and it keeps the recipe gluten free, just check the packet says gluten free. If you prefer, regular or whole wheat spaghetti works too, though you will lose some of the protein and fibre. Red lentil pasta is another good high protein swap.
Olive oil, chili flakes, black pepper and lemon: The oil helps everything roast, the chili flakes and pepper season it, and the squeeze of lemon at the end lifts the whole sauce.
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Equipment
A large baking dish: Big enough to hold the feta and veg in a fairly single layer so everything roasts rather than steams.
An immersion blender: This blends the sauce right in the baking dish, which means less washing up. A regular blender or food processor works too. If you go that route, let the hot mixture cool slightly first and take care when blending.
Expert Tips for Making This Recipe
- Roast until jammy. The tomatoes should burst and the edges of the veg should be a little caramelised. That is where the flavour comes from, so do not pull it out too early.
- Save more pasta water than you think you need. Chickpea pasta soaks up sauce quickly, so having extra on hand lets you loosen things back up.
- Blend while hot. The sauce comes together at its creamiest straight out of the oven.
- Taste before you add salt at the end. The feta is salty, so you may not need much more.
- Cook the chickpea pasta to just al dente. It can turn soft fast, so start checking a minute or two before the packet time.
Serving Suggestions
There are loads of ways to enjoy this spicy feta pasta:
- On its own as a quick, satisfying dinner.
- With a simple green salad or my corn summer salad on the side.
- Topped with grilled chicken or my crispy Mediterranean roasted chickpeas for extra protein.
- Alongside some garlicky greens or roasted broccoli to bump up the veg.
- Finished with fresh basil, a drizzle of chili oil, and a little extra feta crumbled on top.
Storage Tips
Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freezer: The sauce freezes better than the assembled pasta, so freeze the blended sauce on its own for up to 2 months. Chickpea pasta can go a little soft once frozen and reheated.
Reheat: Warm gently in a pan or in the microwave with a splash of water or milk to loosen the sauce back up.
Make ahead: You can roast and blend the sauce up to 3 days in advance, then cook fresh pasta and toss it through when you are ready to eat.
FAQs
Crazy feta is a spicy whipped feta dip made popular by the restaurant chain Cava. It blends feta with jalapeño into a creamy, spicy spread. This recipe takes that same flavor idea and turns it into a pasta sauce.
This usually happens if the feta did not get soft enough in the oven, or if it was blended when too cool. Make sure the feta is properly soft and the tomatoes have burst before blending, blend the sauce while it is still hot, and add a splash of warm pasta water to bring it back together.
It depends on your goals, but chickpea pasta is generally higher in protein and fibre than regular white pasta, which helps keep you fuller for longer. Regular pasta is not a bad food, chickpea pasta just adds more of the nutrients many people are trying to get more of. The taste and texture are slightly different, so it is worth trying to see if you like it.
Stir in a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt or a splash of milk to mellow the heat, add a little more pasta to spread the spice across more servings, or finish with an extra squeeze of lemon. Next time, remove the jalapeño seeds or use less before roasting.
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Spicy Feta Pasta with Chickpea Spaghetti
Equipment
- Large baking dish
- Immersion blender (or regular blender or food processor)
Ingredients
- 200 g 1block feta cheese 7 to 8 oz
- 250 g 1 punnet cherry tomatoes about 1 ½ cups
- 1 roasted red pepper sliced (about ½ a drained jar of fire roasted peppers)
- 1 sweet onion or shallot sliced
- 1 jalapeño sliced
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoon olive oil 45ml
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Salt to season the pasta water and to taste
- 225 g chickpea spaghetti 8 oz
- 120 ml reserved pasta water ½ cup
- Juice of ½ lemon
To finish
- Fresh basil
- Extra feta
- Chili oil
- Cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Add the feta block to the centre of a large baking dish and arrange the cherry tomatoes, roasted red pepper, sweet onion, jalapeño and garlic around it.200 g 1block feta cheese, 250 g 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, 1 roasted red pepper, 1 sweet onion or shallot, 1 jalapeño, 4 garlic cloves
- Drizzle everything with the olive oil and season with the chili flakes, black pepper and a little salt.3 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon chili flakes, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the tomatoes are bursting, the feta is soft, and the vegetables are caramelised.
- While the feta mixture bakes, cook the chickpea spaghetti in salted water until al dente. Reserve ½ cup (120ml) of the pasta water before draining.Salt, 225 g chickpea spaghetti
- Remove the dish from the oven, setting aside a few roasted tomatoes for texture if you like.
- Use an immersion blender directly in the dish to blend the feta, tomatoes, pepper, onion, garlic and jalapeño into a creamy, smooth sauce.
- Stir in the lemon juice and a splash of pasta water until the sauce becomes glossy and silky.Juice of ½ lemon, 120 ml reserved pasta water
- Add the cooked spaghetti to the dish and toss well to coat, adding more pasta water as needed until the sauce clings nicely to the pasta.
- Finish with fresh basil, extra feta, a drizzle of chili oil and some cracked black pepper before serving.
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Notes
- Use a block of feta rather than crumbles for better flavor.
- Blend the sauce while it is still hot for the creamiest result. If it turns grainy, add a splash of warm pasta water to bring it back together.
- Chickpea pasta absorbs sauce quickly and can soften fast, so cook it to just al dente and keep extra pasta water on hand.
- For less heat, remove the jalapeño seeds or use half. For more heat, leave the seeds in or add a second jalapeño.
- Gluten free: check your chickpea pasta packet says gluten free. Dairy free or vegan: use a firm dairy free feta style block (it will not blend quite as creamy). This recipe is naturally nut free.
- Storage: fridge up to 3 days. Freeze the blended sauce on its own for up to 2 months. Reheat gently with a splash of water or milk.
- Nutrition analysis does not include the optional toppings
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