Garnish with crunchy pepitas, fresh basil and mint for a vibrant, irresistible appetizer with maximum flavor!

While my Cranberry Whipped Feta Dip is great for the Fall and Winter, this whipped feta with hot honey and grilled corn is perfect for Summer!

Why you’ll love this whipped feta appetizer recipe

• Seasonal: Uses in-season corn, at it’s peak for flavour!
• Easy: All you need is a quick whipped feta and top with corn, pumpkin seeds and hot honey.
• Make ahead: You can make the whipped feta ahead of time, then grill the corn, cool and serve.

Ingredients needed for this whipped feta with hot honey

For the whipped feta dip:

• Feta cheese in brine, drained of the brine
• Plain Greek yogurt
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Lemon juice

For the corn:

• 2 cobs of corn
• Extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil
• Kosher salt and ground pepper

For the toppings:

• Pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted for best flavour
• Hot honey (or honey with a red chili flakes)
• Fresh basil leaves
• Fresh mint leaves

Key instructions to making this recipe

Blend: Whip the feta, blending in a food processor and then spread the mixture in a low serving bowl.

Grill: Grill the corn until charred and warmed through.

Cool and chill: Chill the whipped feta in the fridge while the corn cools.

Assemble:  Top the whipped feta with the grilled corn (off the cob), pepitas, a drizzle of hot honey and garnish with fresh herbs like basil and/or mint.

What’s the best feta to use for whipped feta?

Whipped feta works best with feta cheese in brine. The feta cheese in brine has a creamier texture and is the more traditional feta cheese. I do not recommend using pre-crumbled feta cheese as that cheese is much more dry and will not whip properly.

Tips and tricks

Blending: If the whipped feta isn’t smooth, keep blending! It usually needs 1 more minute of blending that you think to get the smooth texture you’re looking for. Or, you can add 1-2 more tablespoons of Greek yogurt to get it smoother.

Food processor: If you don’t have a food processor, you can still combine the feta using a hand blender (immersion blender) and it just might not be as smooth. BUT it will still taste good!

For dipping: I love to use plain, salty crackers for dipping! However, pita bread or pita chips, crostini, tortilla chips and even ruffled chips would be delish! You could even try fresh veggies like cucumbers and/or carrots.

Variations and substitutions

Crunchy toppings: A good substitute for pepitas are sunflower seeds or almonds. You could also try pistachios!

Hot honey: If you don’t have hot honey find my recipe to make your own below. Or, substitute with plain liquid honey and a few pinches of red pepper flakes.

Fresh dill: Fresh basil and/or fresh mint are my favourite garnishes. But, fresh dill could be a nice substitution if needed.

How to make hot honey

I make my own hot honey for many of my creamy dip recipes and it’s easy to do!

Make your own hot honey by mixing together 1/4 cup liquid honey, 1 teaspoon hot sauce and 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes. Store leftover hot honey in a clean glass jar in your cupboard or pantry for up to 3 months.

Make your own crostini for this whipped feta with hot honey

To make your own crostini: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Use a bread knife to slice a baguette into 1-inch thick slices. Brush the bread slices with olive oil on one side and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, then flip and bake for another 5 minutes until toasted.

How to store this whipped feta with hot honey

You can make the whipped feta ahead of time and store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a day.

FAQs

More feta appetizer recipes to love from the blog

• Baked Feta Appetizer with Dates, Pistachios & Honey
• Quick and Easy Baked Feta in Marinara Appetizer
• Phyllo-Wrapped Baked Feta Appetizer with Walnuts

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Whipped Feta With Hot Honey, Grilled Corn & Pepitas

Creamy whipped feta meets sweet, spicy hot honey, perfectly paired with smoky grilled corn and crunchy pepitas for a vibrant, irresistible appetizer.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine american-inspired

Keyword corn, grilling, whipped feta

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4 -6 people

Author Jess

Ingredients

For the whipped feta

• 200 grams 8oz) block of feta cheese in brine – drain from brine before using
• 2 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

For the corn

• 2 cobs of corn
• extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil
• Kosher salt and ground pepper

For the toppings

• 3 tbsp pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted
• 2-3 tbsp hot honey (my fav is Shorty's Hot Honey)
• Fresh basil leaves
• Fresh mint leaves

For serving

• crackers, ruffled chips, pita chips, tortilla chips or crostini

Instructions

Make the whipped feta

• Whip the feta by adding the feta cheese, greek yogurt, and olive oil to a food processor and blend on high until smooth and creamy. (You can also blend using an immersion blender). Spread the whipped feta in a low bowl and place in the fridge.

Grill the corn

• Grill the corn: Set a barbecue to medium-high heat. Brush the cobs of corn with a bit of olive oil or avocado oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Grill the cobs of corn directly on the grill grates, turning occasionally, until slightly charred and cooked, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Assemble the appetizer

• After the corn has cooled, use a sharp knife to trim the corn off the cob.
• Then, remove the whipped feta from the fridge. Top the whipped feta with all of the grilled corn from the cobs, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons of hot honey and garnish with a handful of fresh basil leaves and fresh mint leaves.

Notes

• Make your own hot honey by mixing together 1/4 cup liquid honey, 1 teaspoon hot sauce and 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes. Store leftover hot honey in a clean glass jar in your cupboard or pantry for up to 3 months.
• A good substitute for pepitas are sunflower seeds or almonds. You could also try pistachios!
• If the feta is too stiff after whipping, add 1 tbsp of Greek yogurt at a time and blend again until you get a nice, smooth mixture. It will be a bit ‘stiff’ to ensure the dip is scoopable.

The post Whipped Feta With Hot Honey, Grilled Corn & Pepitas appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

Taking my cue from seasonal produce, I couldn’t resist roasting corn fresh off the cob for this salad as it adds such a wonderful sweet flavour that complements the rest of the vegetables.

So dive on into this refreshing summer salad, packed full of flavour and easy to make!

The caramelized flavour that come from roasting the fresh corn, zucchini, baby tomatoes, orange pepper and red onion with garlic and oregano are delightful.

And, this salad gets a big protein boost from the addition of chickpeas, making it perfect for a #meatlessMonday meal too!

This Roasted Summer Vegetable Salad also holds up really well in the fridge for a few days so it makes great summer lunches or easy dinners.

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Roasted Summer Vegetable Salad

Fresh corn, zucchini, baby tomatoes, orange pepper and red onion roasted with garlic and oregano bring an ultimate dose of flavour to this Roasted Summer Vegetable Salad. This salad gets a big protein boost from the addition of chickpeas, making it perfect for a summer picnic and a #meatlessMonday meal too!

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword vegetable salad

Author Jess

Ingredients

• 2 cobs of corn kernels cut off of the cob
• 1 small orange pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cups of baby tomatoes variety of colours if you can find, halved
• 1/2 red onion cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 small zucchini cut into halves
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1 x 540ml can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
• Optional: 1/4 cup feta cheese crumbled

Dressing:

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pinch of pepper

Instructions

• Pre-heat your oven to 425F.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Prep your vegetables and add into a mixing bowl.
• Then, add in the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano and toss with the vegetables until everything is coated.
• Pour your vegetables onto your baking sheet, spread out and then put in the oven to roast for 25-27 minutes, until slightly caramelized (some golden colour).
• While the vegetable are cooking, make your dressing by combining all of the ingredients and whisk together or shake in a jar until combined.
• Once your vegetables are done cooking, set them aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
• Then drain and rinse your chickpeas and add to a salad bowl.
• When your vegetables have cooled down, toss them with the chickpeas and all of the dressing. Then top the salad with the crumbled feta cheese (if you so choose).

The oregano gives this salad this addictive buttery flavour and the vegetables add a fresh component.

This Roasted Summer Vegetable Salad would be perfect as a side at a barbeque, enjoyed as a part of a picnic or even make it for lunch the next day!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post Roasted Summer Vegetable Salad appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.