Bushra Griffith
The baked feta pasta recipe that went viral on TikTok was created by Finnish food blogger Jenni Häyrinen in 2019. The recipe, which Häyrinen calls uunifetapasta, involves baking a block of feta cheese with cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, chilli flakes, and black pepper, and then tossing the mixture with cooked pasta. The recipe's simplicity and versatility have made it a viral sensation, with supermarkets in Finland selling out of feta cheese due to high demand.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the dish | Uunifetapasta or oven-baked feta pasta |
| Creator | Jenni Häyrinen |
| Creator's profession | Food blogger and artist |
| Country of origin | Finland |
| Year of creation | 2019 |
| Ingredients | Feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, chilli, garlic, olive oil, black pepper, basil leaves, pasta |
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What You'll Learn
Feta cheese pasta's Finnish creator
The feta cheese pasta craze that took over TikTok in 2021 was created by Finnish food blogger Jenni Häyrinen. Häyrinen, who runs the food blog Liemessa, first posted the recipe on her Instagram in 2019. The recipe, which Häyrinen calls uunifetapasta, or oven-baked feta pasta, involves roasting a block of feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, and chopped chilis on a sheet tray. Once melted and blistered, the mixture is combined with freshly cooked pasta, creating a salty and tangy sauce.
Häyrinen's recipe quickly went viral in her native Finland, with Finnish newspapers picking up on the trend and supermarkets selling out of feta cheese. The popularity of the recipe eventually spread beyond Finland, with food bloggers and influencers outside the country, such as Mackenzie Smith (@grilledcheesesocial), sharing their own versions of the recipe on Instagram and TikTok.
Häyrinen has embraced the various iterations of her recipe, saying that she has seen versions with burrata, jalapeños, and other creative additions. She even designated February 4th as International Uunifetapasta day in Finland to bring together feta pasta makers from around the world.
While the popularity of the recipe has led to some debate over who should be credited for its creation, with Tiiu Piret, a fellow Finnish food blogger, claiming to have created a similar recipe in 2018, Häyrinen is widely recognized as the creator of the original uunifetapasta recipe that sparked the global craze.
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Recipe's global spread
The recipe for feta pasta originated in Finland, created by food blogger Jenni Häyrinen. She posted a simple recipe for uunifetapasta, or oven-baked feta pasta, to her Instagram account in 2019. The dish involves roasting a block of feta, cherry tomatoes, and chopped chillies on a tray, then mixing with freshly cooked pasta. The recipe quickly went viral in Finland, with supermarkets selling out of feta.
Häyrinen's recipe was then shared by Mackenzie Smith (@grilledcheesesocial) on Instagram in 2019, and it began to gain traction outside of Finland. Smith's post sparked a new wave of interest in the recipe, with Häyrinen joining TikTok to share the original recipe, which included the often-omitted chilli. This sparked a global craze for the recipe, with people all over the world trying out the recipe and sharing their own variations. The recipe's simplicity, ease of preparation, and versatility have contributed to its widespread appeal.
The recipe's global spread can be attributed to the viral nature of social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where users share and adapt recipes. The use of hashtags, such as #uunifetapasta, also helped to spread awareness and create a community around the recipe. The recipe's popularity led to a worldwide demand for feta cheese, with suppliers struggling to keep up with the demand.
The recipe has inspired numerous variations, with chefs and home cooks experimenting with different cheeses, ingredients, and cooking methods. Some popular variations include adding herbs like basil, rosemary, or thyme, using different types of pasta, or including additional vegetables like shallots or onions. The recipe has become a global phenomenon, with people sharing their creations and adaptations, and it has even inspired an International Uunifetapasta Day in Finland, bringing together feta pasta enthusiasts worldwide.
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The original recipe
The recipe quickly went viral in Finland, with Finnish newspapers writing about it and supermarkets selling out of feta cheese. From there, it spread across the world, with chefs creating their own variations of the dish.
To make the original recipe, preheat your oven to 200°C. Place 200g of cherry tomatoes in an oven-safe baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and chilli flakes, and toss until well combined.
Then, place a 200g block of feta cheese in the middle of the baking dish and flip a few times to coat with the olive oil and seasoning. Bake in the oven for 20-35 minutes, until the tomatoes burst and the feta melts.
While the feta and tomatoes are baking, cook 375g of your chosen pasta according to the package instructions. Once the feta and tomatoes are done, add some fresh minced garlic and basil leaves, then toss with the cooked pasta. Serve immediately.
The beauty of this dish is its simplicity and versatility. You can easily customise it by adding extra vegetables or different types of cheese.
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Variations of the dish
The original feta pasta recipe has inspired a multitude of variations, with chefs around the world putting their own spin on the dish. The creator of the recipe, Jenni Häyrinen, has herself noted the many versions she has seen, stating that "there are so many versions I've seen and want to try".
Some variations include swapping out the feta for other cheeses, such as goat cheese, brie, burrata, or even jalapeños. For those who prefer a sweeter dish, Piret, another food blogger, recommends adding honey to the recipe, which she claims will take the dish to a "whole new level".
Other variations include adding extra vegetables, such as quartered shallots, rosemary, or smashed garlic, which can be added to the olive oil to infuse its flavour. For those who like spice, crushed red pepper flakes can be added, as well as chilli, which Häyrinen notes was omitted from many of the new iterations of the recipe.
The type of pasta used can also be varied, with penne, spaghetti, bow-tie, macaroni, cavatappi, and rigatoni all being suggested as potential alternatives.
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The creator's response
In early 2019, Finnish food blogger Jenni Häyrinen created a simple and wholesome pasta recipe featuring Greek feta cheese. She posted the recipe, called "uunifetapasta" or oven-baked feta pasta, on her Instagram and it quickly went viral in her native Finland. The recipe consists of roasting a block of feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, and chopped chilis on a sheet tray. Once melted and blistered, the ingredients are combined and tossed with freshly cooked pasta, resulting in a flavorful and easy-to-make pasta sauce.
Häyrinen's recipe gained widespread popularity, leading to a feta cheese shortage in Finland and even international attention. She shared her thoughts on the craze, expressing excitement and happiness about the impact her recipe had on people's cooking. She also emphasized the importance of adding chili to the dish, which some iterations of the recipe seemed to omit.
While Häyrinen is widely credited as the creator of the original recipe, she acknowledges that others, such as Mackenzie Smith (@grilledcheesesocial) and Tiiu Piret, played a role in popularizing it. Smith shared the recipe on Instagram in the summer of 2019, contributing to its resurgence. Piret, another food blogger, created a similar recipe called "Prosecco Spaghetti" in 2018, which included feta, Prosecco, onions, and honey. Despite not always receiving proper credit, Piret doesn't seem to hold any ill will, and all three chefs encourage people to continue experimenting with the recipe and making it their own.
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Frequently asked questions
The creator of the viral feta cheese pasta recipe is Jenni Häyrinen, a Finnish food blogger and artist.
The recipe involves roasting a block of feta, cherry tomatoes, and chopped chilis on a sheet tray. Once melted, it is combined with freshly cooked pasta.
Häyrinen first posted the recipe on her Instagram in 2019, and it soon went viral in her native Finland. Mackenzie Smith later shared the recipe on her Instagram in 2019, and Häyrinen also joined TikTok, where the recipe took off.
