It’s not news that I love mac and cheese. It is also becoming 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.
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This creamy feta mac and cheese 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 Cook 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 the chopped basil. Serve while it’s nice and hot.
Printable Recipe
- 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
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 pinches of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 10 Kalamata olives - halved
- 5 sun dried tomatoes
- 3-4 fresh basil leaves - chopped
- Boil your pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain and set aside.
- Cut olives in half, chop sun dried tomatoes and basil. Zest your lemon. Set aside.
- In the now empty pasta pan, melt butter and then whisk in flour.
- Cook until bubbly, but not brown. About 1 minute.
- Pour in milk and stir continuously on medium heat for 5 minutes, until creamy and thick.
- Add feta and cook until melted. There will still be some chunks.
- Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Add drained pasta to the sauce and stir in olives, tomatoes, and basil.
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