This baked feta dip with pear, dates, and walnuts comes together in 30 minutes or less with minimal hands-on time! Orange and honey round out the flavors of this vegetarian appetizer complementing all of the other elements. Once baked, the feta becomes super soft and creamy and is perfect for spreading onto crackers.
As you can tell by the title, this baked feta dip is not the viral summery version with tomatoes. Instead, it’s a more flavorful wintry version made with sweet and juicy pears and bright, winter citrus! It comes together so quickly (literally, just mix, dump, bake!) with the oven doing all of the heavy lifting. During the time in the oven, the feta gets super soft and creamy while the pears get tender and juicy and all of the flavors from the orange, dates, walnuts, and honey marry together. I love to enjoy this easy appetizer with these Maine Crisps crackers but it’s also great with any cracker, crostini, or bread you like. Let me show you how easy it is to throw this dip together!
Notes on Ingredients and Substitutions
You can easily make this dip vegan with a block of vegan feta and some maple syrup or agave syrup in place of the honey! I like the vegan feta block from Violife since it gets nice and soft in the oven. Use any ripe, juicy variety of pear here such as Bartlett, Bosc, or Anjou. While I really love walnuts paired with the orange and dates, pecans or hazelnuts would be equally delicious. I always seem to have a package of Medjool dates hanging out in my fridge but if that’s not the case for you, feel free to use 1-2 handfuls of dried cranberries or dried cherries. As for what to serve the dip with, go with your favorite crackers, flatbread, and/or crostini.
SEASONAL TIP: Winter is citrus season! While a standard navel orange will be the easiest and most common variety to find, you can also use a Cara Cara orange, mandarin, blood orange, or tangerine here. Play around and see what you like!
Baked Feta Dip in 4 Easy Steps
RECIPE TIP: You don’t need a very large baking dish! Something with a 2-4 cup capacity is plenty. I ended up using one of my ceramic pie plates for both testing and photos and it was nice and roomy.
Perfect Recipe Pairings
I think this easy baked feta dip is perfect for pairing with some mocktails or cocktails for a happy hour, movie night, or New Year’s Eve celebration. This cranberry mocktail with blood orange and ginger beer would pair really well with the dip! It can easily be batched for a crowd so you don’t get stuck playing bartender. Need more snacks for your spread? Try these spiced pecans with rosemary (they’re made on the stovetop in about 15 minutes) or this creamy poblano sauce paired with some tortilla chips for dipping.
Baked Feta Dip with Pear, Dates, and Walnuts
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This baked feta dip with pear, dates, and walnuts comes together in 30 minutes or less with minimal hands-on time! Orange and honey round out the flavors of this vegetarian appetizer complementing all of the other elements. Once baked, the feta becomes super soft and creamy and is perfect for spreading onto crackers.
Ingredients
- 1 8–ounce block feta cheese
- 1 medium ripe pear, cored and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts, chopped
- 3 medjool dates, pitted and chopped
- 1 medium orange, zested and juiced
- 2 tablespoons honey, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- Flaky sea salt
- crackers, to serve
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Grease a small baking dish with a little bit of olive oil then place the block of feta in the middle.
Add the sliced pear, walnuts, dates, orange zest, and 1 tablespoon of the orange juice to a medium bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of honey and 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top. Mix well.
Spoon the pear mixture around and on top of the feta. Drizzle everything with a little more olive oil and honey and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the feta is soft. Serve warm with your favorite crackers, crostini, or flatbread.
Notes
- Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container and reheated in a small dish in the oven or airfryer. Enjoy leftovers within 4-5 days.
- While this dish is best enjoyed warm, it’s also delicious at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
This sounds absolutely sophisticated and delicious! I love the unexpected combination of feta with sweet pear and dates. Ready in 30 minutes? I definitely want to make this!
The salty feta pairs so well with the sweet fruit! Hope you enjoy this one!
Saving this for holiday apps! The warm feta with pear, dates, and walnuts sounds like the perfect sweet-salty bite. I’m planning to serve it with toasted baguette and a drizzle of honey, can’t wait to try it!
Serving it with a toasted baguette and extra honey sounds perfect! Enjoy! 🙂
The flavors of this really shined with the feta! We loved it!
So glad to hear you enjoyed this one! Thank you for coming back and leaving a review!
This is going to be great for my Christmas appetizers! Can’t wait to make it.
Awesome! I hope you enjoy it Leanne!
This was amazing. The pear and dates were such a combo – we didn’t have walnuts in the house but it was still so good!
I’ve made this without the nuts, too and I agree — still delicious!
This baked feta dip sounds incredible! Sweet pears and dates with crunchy walnuts and creamy feta, perfect for spreading on crackers and sharing at any gathering.
Definitely my new favorite for parties! Hope you enjoy it!
Wowzers!!! This flavor combo is everything!!! So good!
I’m so glad you like it!
This was such a fun, unique dip! It had such a great balance of flavors and textures, and I will definitely be making this again.
So happy to hear that! While it’s not a standard creamy “dip”, it’s such a great combination of flavors.