Learn to make this simple Yogurt Pasta sauce, a staple in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine. Pasta with yogurt sauce is a cold or room temperature dish, typically served in the summer, with a flavorful, creamy, tangy sauce, featuring garlic, fresh cilantro, dried mint, and toasted nuts.
Are you looking for a different type of cold pasta dish to make on a hot day? Pasta salads like Tuna Pasta Salad or Tortellini Salad are common in the west, but in the Middle East, this yogurt pasta recipe, called “macarona bil laban”, is a go-to summer meal.
Use spaghetti, or your favorite pasta shape, and stir it into this luscious, creamy sauce made with plain yogurt, plenty of garlic, and herbs.
Top your dish with toasted pine nuts and/or almonds, and serve cold or at room temperature with a tasty Fattoush Salad and grilled Shish Tawook. It’s the perfect meal for a warm summer night!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s Simple– You would believe how these common, simple ingredients come together to make such a flavorful pasta dish! It’s ready in the amount of time that it takes to cook pasta too.
- Healthy and Nourishing – Yogurt is high in calcium and protein, so this vegetarian meal is filling and satisfying. Yogurt cream sauce is more nutritious than alfredo sauce or white sauces made with heavy cream.
- Creamy, Bright, and Tangy– These are the words I would use to describe this dish. If you’ve never had pasta with yogurt sauce, you are in for a real treat today!
Key Ingredients In Yogurt Pasta
Here’s what you need to make this classic Middle Eastern pasta dish:
- Pasta: Any type of pasta will do! I prefer to use spaghetti with this recipe, but try it with linguini, or your favorite short pasta like penne or farfalle.
- Pine Nuts and Blanched Almonds: You can make this dish with just pine nuts, just almonds, or no nuts at all if you like. I think the toasted nuts add a lot of flavor and texture to the dish, so I never skip them.
- Yogurt: Plain, unflavored yogurt is the tangy base for this creamy pasta sauce. Greek yogurt can also be used. I suggest using whole milk yogurt rather than fat-free.
- Garlic
- Dried Mint: You’ll find this ingredient in many Middle Eastern dishes. Buy mint this way at the grocery store. If you have fresh mint growing at home, you can dry it yourself and store it for recipes later!
- Cilantro: You can use fresh parsley if you aren’t a fan of cilantro.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make Yogurt Pasta Sauce
- Boil the Pasta: Boil water in a medium-sized saucepan, salt it after it starts boiling, then add your pasta and cook it according to the package directions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta
- Toast the Nuts: While the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a skillet over low heat and toast the pine nuts, stirring constantly, until golden brown. Remove them from the pan, and do the same with the blanched almonds. Set the nuts aside.
Tip!
Don’t forget to save some of the pasta water! This starchy liquid will help to create a yogurt sauce with the perfect consistency later.
- Cook Garlic and Cilantro: Use the same skillet (there should still be some oil left in the pan) to saute the garlic with the cilantro for just 30 seconds, until you can smell the garlic. Then, remove the pan from the heat, and add in the yogurt, dried mint, salt, pepper, and ¼ cup of reserved pasta water.
- Finish the Pasta: Whisk the sauce together, and add more pasta water if needed to make a silky yogurt sauce. Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat. Serve, topped with fried nuts.
Recipe Tips
- Use any pasta shape that you like with this creamy sauce.
- Nuts are optional, but I never skip them! They make this dish especially delicious.
- Instead of mint and cilantro, you can use other herbs that you enjoy! Try parsley, or basil instead.
- Fry the nuts separately. If you decide to use two different types of nuts, you’ll want to fry them separately, as each type/size of nut will cook at a different rate.
- Don’t burn the garlic! This sauce only needs about 30 seconds on the stove. After the garlic is lightly sauteed, remove the pan from the heat to finish adding the other ingredients. Too much heat can also cause the yogurt to curdle, so you definitely want to add that in after the flame is off.
- Add some protein, and top your yogurt pasta with seasoned ground beef or ground lamb.
Storing Tips
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days without a problem.
This pasta is best reheated over low heat on the stove, just until it’s warm. Add a bit of water to thin out the sauce if needed.
What To Serve With Pasta with Yogurt
Try this creamy yogurt pasta with Beef Kafta, Lamb Kofta, Instant Pot Chicken Schwarma, or Grilled Veggie Kabobs.
It’s truly delicious with anything that you want to make on the grill for dinner! See how I make the best Grilled Salmon and Grilled Steaks if you need some ideas.
Recipe FAQs
You can, although dried mint is traditional. In place of the 1 teaspoon of dried mint called for, use the same amount of finely chopped fresh mint leaves.
Traditionally, this recipe is made with regular, plain yogurt. If you decide to make it with greek yogurt, the sauce will be thicker, but still amazing! Use what you have.
The way I make this dish, the yogurt isn’t cooked. It is added to a warm pan, and mixed in with the other ingredients to create a lukewarm yogurt sauce. Yogurt will curdle if it’s heated too much, and I enjoy yogurt pasta on the cold side!
More Traditional Middle Eastern Recipes
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Pasta with Yogurt Sauce is so easy to make, and such a refreshing dish to make on a summer evening! Be sure to Pin this recipe so more people can enjoy this traditional Lebanese yogurt pasta recipe too.
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Yogurt Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (225 grams) dried pasta such as spaghetti, linguine, or any other long or short pasta
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
- ¼ cup (36 grams) pine nuts
- ¼ cup (36 grams) blanched almonds sliced or silvered
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 ½ cups (220 grams) yogurt natural plain or Greek
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepan, boil water and add salt after it starts boiling. Add your pasta, and cook according to the package instructions to al dente for about 10 minutes. When the pasta is cooked, reserve ½ cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.
- In a skillet, heat olive oil over low heat and toast the pine nuts until golden while stirring constantly (2-3 minutes). Remove onto a paper towel-lined plate, and repeat with the almonds.
- To the same skillet, add the garlic and cilantro and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and add in the yogurt, dried mint, salt, pepper, and ¼ cup of reserved pasta water.
- Whisk everything until combined (add more pasta water if needed), then add the cooked pasta to the yogurt mixture and toss to coat.
- Serve in a large bowl or platter, and top with the fried nuts. Or divide between plates, and top each with fried nuts.
Notes:
- Use any pasta shape that you like with this creamy sauce.
- If you aren’t a fan of cilantro, substitute with fresh parsley instead.
- Nuts are optional, but I never skip them! They make this dish especially delicious.
- If you decide to use two different types of nuts, you’ll want to fry them separately, as each type/size of nut will cook at a different rate.
- Add some protein, and top your yogurt pasta with seasoned ground beef or ground lamb.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Sharina says
Kids enjoyed our pasta night with this yogurt pasta sauce. It was so tangy and rich in flavors.
Little Sunny Kitchen says
I’m so glad to hear that, Sharina! Thank you for the kind review.
Paige D says
YUM! We used spaghetti and my whole family loved it. This sauce is SO good!
Little Sunny Kitchen says
Thank you, Paige! I’m glad everyone enjoyed this recipe!