This addicting baked feta cheese with honey and thyme is packed with flavor. It comes together in around 20 minutes total, with only a few minutes of active prep time. Serve it as an appetizer or alongside dessert for a show-stopping dish that’s both savory and sweet!
I have been on a huge feta kick recently. It’s such a satisfying cheese; salty, creamy, and firm yet soft. It’s wonderful on shakshuka (baked eggs in tomato sauce), in salads, and even baked into turnovers. This recipe is a showcase for feta, highlighting everything I love while enhancing the flavors with sweet honey, earthy thyme, and silky olive oil.
Recipe Ingredients
- Feta cheese (good quality, if possible)
- Olive oil
- Honey
- Fresh thyme
- Optional: za’atar (more on that below)
How to Make Baked Feta Cheese
This feta recipe is so simple. Here’s how you make it:
Step 1: Brush a baking dish with olive oil and top with feta
As I noted in my Greek salad recipe, good quality feta will make a huge difference in the final results. If possible, you really want to go all in here since feta is THE ingredient.
You can read more about how the quality of cheese impacts recipes in my post 5 Ingredients That Are Worth The Splurge.
Step 2: Top with remaining olive oil, then bake
The amount of oil you use here will depend on the size of your baking dish. I used a souffle-sized ramekin, which doesn’t leave much room to spare. The goal is for the oil to cover the top and the sides, with only a small amount of excess in the bottom. Too much and the cheese will be swimming.
If you use a larger baking vessel (for example, a gratin dish) you can add more olive oil. It’s perfect for dipping pita or naan bread.
Step 3: Drizzle honey over the baked feta
The honey will assist in the browning process, so make sure it covers the entire top. This is easier if you thin it out in the microwave for a few seconds. A pastry brush is also helpful, if you have one.
Step 4: Broil until the top is bubbly and caramelized
The intensity of broilers varies quite a bit, so watch the cheese carefully during this step. My oven has a low and high broil setting, and I alternated between the two for best results. It took around 5 minutes to get a perfect caramelized top. That much time under the broiler in my old oven would have incinerated it.
Step 5: Top with a drizzle of honey and fresh thyme
The broiled honey will have lost some of its sweetness during the caramelization, so drizzle a bit more on top. Then top with some fresh thyme leaves. You can also optionally sprinkle on some za’atar (which you’ll see in the final photo).
Serve immediately with pita (preferably Greek pita, which is thicker) or naan bread. The cheese will firm back up as it cools, so you can always stick it back in the oven for a bit to soften, if necessary. We inhaled this so quickly that it was gone before it had a chance to firm up.
Recipe Notes
While any extra virgin olive oil will work here, I like using a nicer one with fruity and/or peppery notes. I love the olive oils from Zingerman’s.
I also recommend using a good quality honey, if possible. You can actually find thyme-infused honeys at some specialty shops. However, this will taste delicious with whatever you have in your pantry.
I recommend serving this in the same dish it’s cooked in. The feta will be very soft when it comes out of the oven, and you don’t want it to collapse while transferring to a serving platter (I might be speaking from experience). Warn adults to be careful, and scoop some into a separate dish for younger guests.
As I noted above, I recommend using Greek-style pita if you can find it. It’s similar to naan bread: thick, soft, and perfect for soaking up olive oil. If you can only find thin, gyro-style pita, I recommend using naan bread instead. I’ve been seeing naan regularly at grocery stores lately!
Cheese Substitutions
I haven’t tried this with other cheeses, but I’m guessing haloumi would work as well. Haloumi is more firm, so I don’t know that the results will be as soft and melty.
What is Za’atar?
Za’atar is a Middle Eastern herb blend. It’s generally prepared from dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, sesame seeds, and salt, though additional spices like sumac might also be included in the mix. {Learn more about Za’atar on Wikipedia}
More Feta Cheese Recipes
If you love this recipe, be sure to check out my Grilled Zucchini Salad with Feta and Sweet Croutons, Easy Greek Salad, and Greek Pasta Salad.
Baked Feta with Honey and Thyme
Ingredients
- 8 ounces good quality feta cheese, patted dry (see notes)
- 1 1/2 to 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey, plus more for serving
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, or to taste
- Optional: a light sprinkling of za’atar
- For serving: pita or naan bread, toasted and cut into wedges
Instructions
- Place an oven rack on a shelf near the top third of the oven, then preheat to 400 degrees Brush a thin layer of olive oil inside an 8-ounce ramekin, small casserole dish, or any oven-safe baking pan. Place the feta on the dish and drizzle with 1 1/2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon olive oil (see notes), making sure the entire top is covered (you can optionally brush it down the sides). Bake until the cheese is warm and soft but not melted, around 10 minutes.
- When the feta is almost finished baking, thin out the honey using either the microwave (around 10 secondor a double boiler, until it can easily be spread with a pastry brush.
- Remove the feta from the oven and preheat the broiler. Brush the honey evenly all over the feta, then broil until the top of the cheese browns (a little char around the edges is delicious as well), anywhere from 3-7 minutes (mine took 5). Watch the broiler carefully; oven models vary greatly in intensity. If your broiler has a low and high setting, you can alternate between both to control the browning.
- Remove from the oven and drizzle with some additional honey (1-2 teaspoons). sprinkle with thyme leaves and za’atar, if using.
- Serve immediately with pita. The feta will firm up again as it cools, so you can return it to the oven to soften it back up if desired.
Video
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
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Ooh 20 minutes to heaven. I adore the flavor of za’atar and it sounds dreamy with the honey, thyme and feta.
This is just beyond amazing as an appetizer! An absolute show stopper, but so simple to make!
This was delicious! Even my picky son ate it. Daughter claimed the little bit left for school lunch. Thanks, Jen!
Yay!!! I’m so glad you liked it :)
Oh Jen, your timing with this recipe is perfect. Had something similar in Spain last month and have not stopped thinking of it. Definitely adding this to our summer rotation. Hope all is well!
This is one of those recipes that I will make again and again. It is so decadent but so easy to do, fabulous!
My daughter made this since she’s a huge feta fan and she loved it! Thanks for the recipe – was super easy for her and delicious.
This recipe looks insanely yummy. Would it work without the fresh thyme but with just the honey and za’atar???
Yup!