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My Take on the Viral Turkish Pasta
I first saw this recipe on TikTok! I was immediately intrigued by the yogurt used with the pasta because it reminded me of my Pasta in Yogurt Sauce, which is a nostalgic Lebanese recipe made with warmed yogurt and garlic tossed with spaghetti. This Turkish pasta with yogurt and tomatoes is similar to me but also has a meat sauce. I tried to keep it similar to the original source but made some swaps like skipping the curry for more paprika and simplifying the butter sauce by just melting it in the microwave.
This recipe is inspired by the traditional Turkish Manti which are dumplings stuffed with ground beef or lamb and served with a garlicky yogurt sauce and a spicy red butter sauce (again very similar to another Lebanese dish, Shish Barak). I love that this pasta essentially has all the Manti flavors but in a much more simplified version. I have to say that this viral Turkish pasta is definitely worth the hype and I would recommend it as a fun way to switch up your pasta recipe night. It’s hearty and easy, and has so many delicious layers of yumminess!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Pasta: You want a pasta shape that catches all of the yogurt sauce! I like to use orecchiette or shells.
- Olive oil: If you don’t have olive oil, you could use avocado.
- Beef: I’ve been wanting to try this recipe with ground chicken or turkey. Go with lean ground beef (85 to 90%) so it’s not too fatty!
- Onion: You can use a white or yellow onion here.
- Spices: I use paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper to flavor the ground beef mixture. Paprika also goes in the butter sauce!
- Greek yogurt: I think full-fat Greek yogurt tastes way better, but you could use 2% or low-fat.
- Garlic: Mincing the garlic flavors every bit of the yogurt sauce! You could also substitute 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter since the rest of the recipe has plenty of salt!
- Tomatoes: Sometimes I chop up whole tomatoes and other times I just slice cherry or grape tomatoes in half.
- Parsley: I prefer flat-leaf parsley, which I think is easier to mince. You could also use fresh cilantro!
Popular Additions
- Olives or pickled red onions: Anything briny works well with the rich butter sauce and ground beef.
- Toasted nuts: I like topping the Turkish pasta with yogurt and chopped, toasted walnuts or toasted pine nuts for extra crunch!
- Chile: If you like things on the spicy side, add a pinch of two of red chili flakes to the butter sauce.
- More veggies: Add chopped zucchini or spinach along with the tomatoes!
How to Make Turkish Pasta
Assemble
My Best Turkish Pasta Recipes Easy Tips
- Keep everything separated for serving. This way everyone can add as much meat sauce, yogurt, butter sauce, and fresh veggies as they’d like and it keeps it fresh for leftovers.
- Use short cut pasta. I think that it works better to use mini shells, elbow pasta, or orecchiette pasta with the meat sauce because their shape creates small pockets to hold the chunky sauce.
- Cook the pasta so it has some bite. I like to boil pasta until it’s al dente, which means it still has a little bite to it and isn’t too soft! I start checking the pasta for doneness a minute or two before the box says it’ll be ready.
- Heat the butter sauce in intervals. If butter gets too hot in the microwave, it can explode (super messy!). That’s why I recommend heating it in intervals and giving it a stir mid-way through. You can also melt the butter on the stovetop!
What to Serve
Recipe Help & FAQs
Kept in an airtight container in the fridge, leftovers will last for up to 3 days. I like to reheat Turkish pasta in the microwave! You can start at a minute or so, adding 30-second increments as necessary.
There are two potential answers for this! One: It just needs to cook longer. Two: You chose a skillet that’s too small, so the beef is crowding and steaming rather than browning. (In this case, I’d recommend removing some of the ground beef, browning the beef in the pan, and then scraping that out and browning the rest.)
If you’re worried about the pasta sticking together, you can give it a quick rinse after cooking it to remove the excess starch! You could also try tossing it with a little olive oil.
More Pasta Recipes:
- Baked Feta Pasta
- Pasta in Yogurt Sauce
- Macarona Bechamel
- Lemony Hummus Pasta
- Creamy Cashew Tomato Pasta
- Pasta with Roasted Cherry Tomato
- Ground Turkey Pasta
If you try this Turkish Pasta recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Turkish Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta of choice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound 85% lean ground beef
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the Yogurt Sauce
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves finely minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Butter Sauce
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons paprika
To Garnish:
- ½ cup chopped tomatoes
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta al dente according to package instructions.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef, onions, paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper, and cook until the beef is browned, 8-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile make the yogurt sauce by whisking together the greek yogurt with the garlic and salt.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter and paprika and heat in 2 30-second intervals until melted, set aside.
- To assemble, place the cooked pasta on a serving dish or individual plate. Add the yogurt sauce on top, followed by the cooked beef and the butter sauce. Garnish with tomatoes and parsley.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Absolutely delish! I added a squeeze of lemon juice to the yoghurt sauce.
Yum, that sounds so good! I will have to add lemon too; thanks for the inspiration!
This recipe was good. However I feel there was too much paprika in the butter. I think just 1-2 teaspoons would’ve been enough.
Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks for the feedback, Hanan! So glad you liked it. And absolutely feel free to adjust spices to your preferences in any of my recipes!!
This was quick to make. It was a good mix of flavors. Next time, I’ll leave out the parsley. I am just not a fan of parsley. I served it over hearts of palm “noodles” so it was lower carb.
Love that!! So happy you like the pasta, Sherry. Thank you so much!
I made this last night for dinner and it was so good. I did sub ground chicken for beef and didn’t add tomatoes. This time of year, tomatoes (if you can find them) are not good. I can’t wait to try this again when tomatoes are in season. The butter paprika drizzle made it scrumptious. It was wonderful. Thank you
Yay!! So happy you loved it, Rebecca! I love the paprika butter sauce too—so good!! Can’t wait for you to try it with tomatoes in the spring/summer!
Good
Thank you!! Glad you liked it!
Husband and I both loved this! The recipe reel popped up on my Instagram and I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, so I whipped it up for a quick and delicious lunch. So good!
Aww, so happy you both loved it!! Yay! Thanks, Anne!