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Mediterranean Baked Crispy Chicken and Pasta

Averie Sunshine

4.88 from 8 votes

Updated: Sep 08, 2025

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🫒🧀🍗 Mediterranean Chicken Feta Pasta Bake provides depth of flavor galore, thanks to the juicy baked chicken with crispy skin and tender pasta! The sauce is a mixture of melted feta cheese and crushed tomatoes, red peppers, kalamata olives, white wine, garlic, and more! You’ll be sure to IMPRESS everyone with this next-level tasting recipe that’s EASY to make!

This Mediterranean-inspired baked chicken recipe features layers and layers of briny, savory goodness. Despite a semi-long list of ingredients and directions, I promise this is a very doable and approachable weeknight recipe that you can have ready in 45 minutes.

Or if you want to serve this at your next get-together with your friends or another couple, I promise everyone will be very impressed! It serves 4 perfectly, although you can double the recipe if you’re cooking for a bigger group.

Recipe Ingredients

For this Mediterranean-inspired recipe with crispy chicken skin, pasta sauce, and bowtie pasta, you’ll need the following easy-to-find and common fridge and pantry ingredients:

• Skin-on bone-in chicken thighs – The best option for crispy skin and tender meat is bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. Boneless thighs with skin also work well. Boneless skinless chicken breasts (with or without bone/skin) are fine but lean, so bake for less time to avoid drying out. If using skinless chicken, sear for 2–3 minutes to help seal in moisture, even though there’s no skin to crisp
• Olive oil – Avocado oil will also work
• Veggies – White or yellow onion, red pepper, serrano chile pepper, garlic, whole cherry tomatoes. If you have Roma tomatoes on hand, they will be fine. I would use two tomatoes, cubed into large bite-sized chunks
• Lemon zest and lemon juice – Always zest your lemon before you juice it. And make sure to only take off and use the outermost lemon peel. Do not use the white pith because it’s bitter
• Reduced sodium chicken broth – I always use reduced sodium broth rather than regular because I can always add more salt at the end if I feel like it needs it. As the chicken bakes, and the broth evaporates and concentrates, it will taste saltier, which is another reason I opt for lower-sodium chicken broth to begin with
• Dry white wine, optional but recommended – I recommend using a dry white wine such as chardonnay, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, or something similar. Do not use a sweet wine
• Feta cheese – Use full-fat feta cheese rather than reduced-fat or fat-free feta because full-fat melts much better. I use feta that I cube, but I suppose full fat feta crumbles will also work since you’re stirring this together in the end anyway
• Pitted kalamata olives – These add an essential briny, umami flavor that makes this dish truly Mediterranean, so don’t skip them! I use pitted black kalamata olives for ease. I haven’t tested green olives and can’t say how they work. If you’re not into olives, try one of my other pasta recipes below instead
• Bowtie pasta – You can use other small shape pasta such as ziti, rotini, penne, or fusilli. You can also use long pasta like spaghetti or fettuccine. I wouldn’t use anything too thin, like angel hair or capellini, as it won’t stand up very well to the sauce and will get mushy
• Reserved pasta water – Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water to use in case you need to thin out the mashed red pepper, olive, and feta sauce that you make. Based on how it looks and your preferences, you may or may not need the reserved pasta water
• Fresh parsley, optional for garnishing

Note: All ingredients amounts are listed in the recipe card section when you keep scrolling down.

How to Make Chicken Feta Pasta Bake

Let’s make crispy chicken with a Mediterranean twist! Follow these straightforward steps.

Step 1: Mix together the salt, pepper, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Score the chicken skin, rub with the spice mix, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (up to overnight). Let sit at room temp 20–30 minutes before cooking.

Step 2: Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or braising pan. Sear chicken skin-side down until browned, then remove and set aside.

Step 3: Add more olive oil, then sauté onions, red pepper, and optional serrano for 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, cumin, thyme, broth, and wine.

Step 4: Return chicken to the pan, add feta, cherry tomatoes, and olives, and bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, boil pasta and reserve some pasta water.

Step 5: Remove chicken from the pan. Mash feta, tomatoes, and veggies into a sauce, thinning with pasta water if needed. Toss pasta in the sauce, top with chicken, bake 5 more minutes, then garnish with parsley and serve.

What to Serve with This Recipe

Edamame Salad

Kale Caesar Salad with Fried Chickpeas

Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Cheesy Roasted Asparagus

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4.88 from 8 votes

Mediterranean Chicken Feta Pasta Bake

By Averie Sunshine

🫒🧀🍗 Depth of flavor galore in this juicy baked chicken with crispy skin and tender pasta! The sauce is a mixture of melted feta cheese and crushed tomatoes, red peppers, kalamata olives, white wine, garlic, and more! You'll be sure to IMPRESS everyone with this next-level tasting recipe that's EASY to make!

IMPORTANT – This isn't a difficult recipe but there are a fair amount of steps and I highly recommend reading the recipe all the way through in its entirety before beginning so you know what's next and you don't miss things. Like making sure to boil your pasta while the chicken bakes and various other nuances.

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

• 1 Small Bowl
• 1 Dutch Oven
• 1 Large Pot

Ingredients 

• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, regular paprika may be substituted
• ▢ 4 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs*
• ▢ 4 to 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• ▢ ½ cup white or yellow onion, finely diced
• ▢ ½ of a medium red pepper, seeded and diced small
• ▢ 1 serrano chile pepper, seeded and finely minced; optional**
• ▢ 3 to 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
• ▢ Zest from 1 lemon
• ▢ Lemon juice from 1 lemon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ ½ cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• ▢ ½ cup dry white wine, optional but recommended***
• ▢ 8 ounces full fat feta cheese, cubed (do not use low fat or fat free feta because it doesn’t melt well)
• ▢ ¾ cup whole cherry or grape tomatoes, 2 Roma tomatoes, diced in large bite-sized pieces may be substituted
• ▢ ½ cup pitted kalamata olives, no substitutions
• ▢ 8 ounces bowtie pasta****
• ▢ ½ cup reserved pasta water, for possible use
• ▢ Fresh parsley or basil, finely minced; optional for garnishing

Instructions 

Dry Rub

• To a small bowl, add the salt, pepper, chili powder, smoked paprika, and stir to combine.
• Score the skin side tops of the chicken thighs, making about 6 slits on each piece.
• Evenly distribute the spice rub onto each of the 4 pieces of chicken, and rub it in.
• Place chicken in an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight if desired.
• About 20 to 30 minutes before you plan to begin cooking the chicken, remove it from the fridge and allow it to sit on the counter to warm up a bit.
• Preheat oven to 350F.

Searing Chicken

• To a large, oven-safe, high-sided skillet, Dutch oven, or similar braising pot, add 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, add the chicken skin-side down, and sear over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. Tip – While the chicken is searing, don't move it, disturb it, or check on it. Just let it be. Remove it from the skillet and set aside.

Sauteing Vegetables

• Add 1 to 2 tablespoons additional olive oil, and add the onions, red peppers, optional serranos, and saute over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes; stir frequently.
• Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute; stir continuously.
• Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, cumin, thyme

  , white wine, and stir to combine.

  Caution

  – The liquids will likely bubble up and steam quite vigorously right after you add them for a second or two. Just be careful so you're not caught off guard with a facefull of very hot steam.

Baking

• Add the chicken back into the skillet, and evenly sprinkle in the feta, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, place the skillet in the oven, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Tips – Start boiling your pasta (step 12) while chicken bakes! And I recommend checking the temperature with a digital thermometer. Chicken thighs are done with the meat (don't touch the bone) is at an internal temp of 175F. The temp will also continue to rise, off the heat, due to carryover cooking.

Boiling Pasta

• While the chicken is baking, cook your pasta according to package directions, minus 2 minutes, because it will continue to cook more in the sauce and you don't want it to be overcooked. For example – If the directions say boil 11 minutes for al dente, you actually only need to boil it for 9 minutes.
• Drain pasta but reserve 1/2 to 3/4 cup pasta water for your sauce later on should you need the pasta water. Note – I don't rinse pasta, but you can if you think it helps prevent sticking. I personally add a tablespoon of olive oil to my boiling water for anti-sticking.
• After chicken has baked and is done, remove the skillet from the oven, and remove the chicken pieces and set them on a plate.

Mashing to Make the Sauce

• Mash and stir together the remaining ingredients in the skillet – the feta, tomatoes, red peppers, olives, etc. I use a fork but you can use a potato masher.
• Depending on how the sauce looks to you, add some pasta water. Tip – 1/2 cup should be plenty, but you can add a bit more if you think it needs it.

Assembly

• Add the cooked pasta and toss to combine.
• Add the chicken back in and return the skillet to the oven for 5 minutes, or until everything is nicely warmed through.
• Taste the dish and if you think it needs it, add more salt, pepper, a sprinkling of red chili flakes for heat, etc.
• Optionally (but recommended), garnish with fresh herbs and serve immediately. Leftovers will keep airtight for up to 5 days in the fridge or up to 4 months in the freezer. Tip – The pasta may continue to absorb some of the sauce so it may appear you have less sauce when you open your container of leftovers. Pasta has a way of doing this. And if it happens, the pasta will be on the softer side, rather than al dente.

Notes

*I recommend using skin-on chicken thighs. I use bone-in, but you can also use boneless. While you can use chicken breasts rather than thighs, they won't be as flavorful and juicy. If you do opt for breasts rather than thighs, I definitely recommend skin-on. You can always discard it before eating if you don't like chicken skin. This skin is so crispy and delicious though!

**If you want to remove any type of spiciness from this dish, then omit the serrano chile. However, the dish doesn't really read "spicy" unless you're very sensitive to spiciness; rather it's very flavorful. Serranos are spicier than jalapeno peppers. If you're unsure about including it, perhaps only include half of one serrano, seeded, and diced very finely.

***The 1/2 cup of white wine in the sauce adds such a great depth of flavor and richness to the overall dish. The alcohol content burns off in the cooking and baking process, and what you’re left with is an elegant and wonderful tasting sauce.However, if you don’t want to use wine, you can omit it. And instead use an additional 1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth.

I recommend using a dry white wine such as chardonnay, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, or something similar. Do not use a sweet wine!

****I used bowtie pasta but you can use other small shape pasta such as ziti, rotini, penne, or fusilli.You can also use long pasta like spaghetti or fettuccine. I wouldn’t use anything too thin like angel hair or capellini as it won’t stand up very well to the sauce and will get mushy.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 483cal, Carbohydrates: 39g, Protein: 14g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 24g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 788mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 8g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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