5 Minute Tomato Appetizer With Feta

There is no shortage of ways to use up fresh tomatoes, but this simple fresh tomato appetizer, topped with crumbles of creamy feta is the easiest fresh tomato recipe you’ll find. And it’s a personal favorite of mine because it tastes so much like my childhood home! Like watermelon and feta, tomatoes and feta is another genius snack I grew up with in Port Said, Egypt. And I can’t even tell you how often I had pita pockets with feta and tomatoes for lunch (and sometimes for dinner too). It was a regular thing, particularly during the hot summer months.
This easy tomato appetizer is a grown-up version of my childhood snack. And I made a couple of simple additions that make it an elegant mezze for when I need something quick to serve company. It comes together in less than 5 minutes!

4 Ingredients to make this tomato and feta appetizer

This fresh tomato recipe is made up four simple ingredients: fresh tomatoes, feta, extra virgin olive oil, and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes or Aleppo-style pepper, which is not as hot. A few ingredient notes and tips:

For a perfect hand-held tomato appetizer, I like to use campari tomatoes. Campari tomatoes are slightly larger than a cherry tomato, but smaller and rounder than a regular plum tomato. Camparis are also some of the sweetest and most flavorful tomatoes out there. If you can’t find them, you can use a smaller plum tomato or Roma tomatoes, and you’ll just need to slice them differently, since they’re not round. Use a block of creamy feta rather than already crumbled feta. I’ve mentioned this several times before, but whether you need a big block to make baked feta or just a few crumbles on a salad or your sliced tomatoes like in this appetizer, it’s best to begin with a block of feta stored in the brine. It’s easy enough to break the cheese with a fork, but feta in the brine is more creamy. Already crumbled feta is dry and often too salty. Choose a quality extra virgin olive oil that will enhance the flavor of this simple appetizer. I used our fruity Spanish Hojblanca olive oil for this recipe, but equally delicious here is Italian Nocellara Extra Virgin Olive Oil which boasts notes of freshly-picked tomatoes. Red pepper flakes or Aleppo-style pepper are optional. If you want just enough of a kick without making it too spicy, go with the Aleppo-style pepper.

How to make this fresh tomato appetizer

This easy recipe is fairly obvious to make just by looking at the photos. You’ll start by slicing the Campari tomatoes in half horizontally (through the equator), this will give you the best round shape. Arrange the tomato halves on a platter, flesh side up, then add the feta on top. Drizzle with the olive oil and finish with a pinch of red pepper flakes. That’s it!

Serve it with

Serve these tomatoes as an appetizer, and you can add fresh sliced French baguette, if you like. You can also serve them as a cold side for a summery brunch next to an herby potato omelet or a chicken salad sandwich (oh, and you can certainly start with a refreshing apperol sprtiz). To serve them hot, bake the tomatoes for a few minutes just until the feta is warmed through and somewhat softened and serve as a side next to your favorite grilled meats or things like chicken schnitzel or seared fish.