When entertaining during the holidays — or really anytime of year — easy apps are always a great option so you can focus on your guests and cooking the rest of your meal. So this Baked Feta with Olives, Soppressata and Thyme is a great, flavorful option.
Once baked, the feta is perfectly creamy and perfect to spread over the crunchy crostinis. Top each with the olive + soppressata mixture — which is seasoned with garlic, thyme and orange zest to brighten it all up — and your guests will be wowed with every bite of these Baked Feta with Olives, Soppressata and Thyme.
Baked Feta with Olives, Soppressata and Thyme
Serves: 8 People
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Ingredients
For the Baked Feta:
- 1 [7-ounce] block of feta
- ¾ cup diced hard soppressata or salami about ½ of a 6-ounce log
- 1 cup roughly chopped pitted mixed green olives
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- Fresh cracked pepper
For the Crostini:
- 1 loaf French baguette
- olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the block of feta in the center of a medium-sized oven-safe baking dish.
- In a small bowl, combine the soppressata, olives, garlic, orange zest, thyme, olive oil and honey. Toss until just combined. Pour around and slightly over the block of feta. Top with a few cracks of black pepper.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes.
- Meanwhile, slice the French bread and place on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Transfer to the oven (on a different rack from the feta) and continue to bake until golden brown and crisp, about 8 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- Remove the crostini from the oven and turn the oven on ‘broil’. Broil, watching carefully, until the feta forms a golden crust around the edges, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Using a spoon, carefully toss the olives on the side and sprinkle with some fresh thyme leaves.
- Serve with the crostini and spoon/spread the feta onto each crostini, then top with some of the olive/sopressata mixture. Enjoy!
Notes
MAKE AHEAD TIPS: This dish is great to make ahead of a party! Prepare it in the baking dish but don't bake it yet! Simply cover and store in the fridge. When your guests are on the way, remove from the fridge and pop it in the oven and bake it! It may just take a few extra minutes!
HAVE LEFTOVERS? Let it cool, cover, and store in the fridge. To reheat, simply pop in the oven at 350 until it is nice and warm and keep enjoying it!
17 Comments
Stefanie T
January 2, 2022 at 1:23 amLove!!! Made this for New Year’s Day. Super easy & elegant. I feel like this would be really good with pasta. Kinda like the viral Baked Feta pasta. Thanks Alex for a great recipe
Marcia
December 30, 2021 at 4:38 pmWe had this dish as an appetizer for Christmas Day and it was definitely a hit. The tip about leftovers were right on because we served the heated-up leftovers the next day and it was just as delicious. I would love to know the serving dish that you used. I couldn’t find the right size in my kitchen but ended up making something work.
Avery
December 27, 2021 at 4:46 pmI have made this dish twice and I really like it, but my one gripe would be that the soppressata feels almost burnt by the time the dish is done. It is tough to chew and almost takes away from the flavor of the rest of the dish. It’s like the feta isn’t ready yet, but the soppressata is so it’s a weird limbo period.
I think in the future I might put just the olives / olive oil mixture in for the first half of the bake time and then add the soppressata towards the end. But I do love this dish! Who knows, it could be the type of soppressata I’m using that’s causing this.
Jet
December 25, 2021 at 4:02 pmI want to take this in a mini-crockpot (1.5qt)…what would you recommend?
Lauren
December 25, 2021 at 12:45 amThis was a hit for Christmas Eve! Delicious! I would just suggest that folks plan for prep taking longer than the noted 5 minutes. It was about 15-20 minutes for me.
Shannon
December 24, 2021 at 10:04 pmJust made it and it’s delish and super easy to make!
Michaela
December 22, 2021 at 2:27 pmHi Alex! Making this for a Christmas Eve App, looks amazing. Any ideas on a veggie or something to serve this with in addition to the bread for dipping? Thank you!
Alex
December 23, 2021 at 12:22 pmYou could do endive or mini bell peppers cut in half!
Jordan
December 21, 2021 at 9:22 pmThis looks amazing! Do you think it would be ok to make a 4 days ahead and cover in the refrigerator?
Sonja
December 16, 2021 at 11:12 amAll of my family loves feta, but only half love olives. What would be a good substitute for the olives as I sooooo want to make this! Thank you!
Alex
December 16, 2021 at 3:46 pmHi!! what a bummer they dislike olives!! haha. Try roughly chopping up some Peppadew Peppers!
Brandi
March 6, 2023 at 6:52 pmI am the same. I think I may add some artichoke hearts.
Melanie
December 10, 2021 at 7:41 pmCan kalamata olives be substituted? Love your recipes!
Kelly
December 10, 2021 at 7:17 pmAn olive/stinky cheese lovers dream! Can’t wait to try it!
Debbie
December 9, 2021 at 8:35 pmJust wanted to drop a note to say I LOVE your recipes. Every one I’ve tried has been a hit! And I love that your commentary prior to the recipe is short and to the point. Makes we excited to read it AND get quickly to the recipe without scrolling for days!
Alex
December 10, 2021 at 3:28 pmThank you, Debbie!!
Emily
December 9, 2021 at 5:05 pmDo you have a link for that baking dish?