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My dirty martini spaghetti is briny, lemony, and deeply savory, with baked feta and Castelvetrano olives melted into a flavorful sauce that coats every strand. It’s a dump and bake pasta that comes together in about 40 minutes and tastes like something you’d order at a restaurant.
save this recipe!The dirty martini concept isn’t just a clever name. Castelvetrano olives are buttery and mild rather than sharp and salty, which means they blend into the baked feta sauce in the same way olive brine softens and rounds out a cocktail.
The lemon goes in halved, roasting alongside everything else until it’s caramelized and concentrated, then gets squeezed directly into the sauce at the end. That step is the one that makes people ask what’s in it!
Key ingredients
- Feta cheese: The block form is essential here, not crumbled. A block holds its shape during baking and then breaks down into a creamy, spreadable base when mashed. Pre-crumbled feta has added anti-caking agents that prevent it from melting smoothly.
- Castelvetrano olives: The variety matters. Their buttery, mild flavor is what makes this sauce work. Pitted Castelvetrano olives are available at most grocery stores, often in the olive bar or jarred in the condiment aisle.
- Lemon: The roasted juice has a depth and sweetness that raw lemon juice doesn’t.
- Fresh rosemary: Dried rosemary works but is noticeably less aromatic in a dish where the herb does real work.
- White beans: Drained and stirred in at the end, they add creaminess, protein, and a neutral base that stretches the dish without diluting the sauce. Navy, cannellini, or butter beans all work.
Best Pasta
Long pasta is your best bet. Linguine and bucatini both work almost identically to spaghetti, with the sauce wrapping around each strand evenly. Short tubes like penne and rigatoni work too but the sauce pools inside rather than coating evenly. Avoid anything very small or delicate — orzo gets lost in the chunky sauce and angel hair turns mushy when stirred in.
Pair it with…
This pasta is rich and briny enough to carry a meal on its own, but it pairs well with something fresh and simple alongside. A vegetarian Caesar salad or tomato burrata salad both work well as a starter. For a full spread, add a side of Mediterranean roasted vegetables!
Dirty Martini Spaghetti (Dump & Bake)
Ingredients
- 1 8-oz block feta cheese
- 12 pitted Castelvetrano olives
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, skins removed*
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz spaghetti
- ½ cup pasta water, reserved from cooking the spaghetti
- 1 15-oz can white beans, such as navy, cannellini, or butter beans, drained
- To serve: fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° (204°C).
- Dump: To a large casserole dish, add 1 8-oz block feta cheese, 12 pitted Castelvetrano olives (pitted and halved), 1 lemon (halved), 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary (finely chopped), and 3 cloves garlic (skins removed). Drizzle 4 Tbsp olive oil evenly over everything.
- Bake: Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes, or until feta is soft.
- Spaghetti: While everything bakes, cook 8 oz spaghetti according to package instructions until al dente (it should be mostly tender with a little firmness when you bite into it).When finished cooking spaghetti, reserve ½ cup pasta water that the spaghetti cooked in.
- Stir: Remove casserole dish from the oven and use a fork to mash the garlic until smooth and mash feta and olives into chunks. Remove the lemon halves and juice one of the halves into the dish.Stir in reserved pasta water to create a loose sauce, then stir in cooked spaghetti and 1 15-oz can white beans (drained).
- Serve warm, topped with fresh cracked black pepper and drizzled with remaining lemon juice (from remaining lemon half) if desired.
Notes
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
