Turkish Pasta (Yalancı Mantı)
This delicious Turkish pasta recipe (often referred to as Yalancı Mantı) is perfect for the pasta lover who is craving something a little different. Pasta of your choice is topped with a delicious yogurt based garlic sauce, chopped tomatoes, seasoned ground beef, and a hefty drizzle of paprika butter. The result is a protein packed pasta dish with a creamy, light sauce seasoned to perfection in the form of Turkish comfort food!
I’ll be honest.. When I first saw the viral Anna Paul Tik Tok video of Turkish pasta, I questioned using yogurt as a sauce. The only sauces I knew to be paired with pasta were Italian. You know, a classic pesto, cheesy cream based sauce, or a marinara are the only acceptable forms of sauce for pasta – or so I thought.
I decided to give this Turkish pasta recipe a try with a bit of my own flair and I was impressed! The sauce has a lighter flavor than the bold qualities of an italian sauce and admittedly, I kind of loved it! The added tomatoes and paprika butter are the perfect addition to add flavor that blend so well into this recipe.
Why You’ll Love Turkish Pasta
Limited Ingredients: There isn’t a wide array of seasonings/ingredients that go into this dish which makes it so easy to make at home without needing to make a trip to the grocery store.
Healthy Alternative: Yogurt is the main ingredient of Turkish Pasta and it’s such a healthy alternative to heavy cream, oil, or cheese based pasta sauces.
Comfort Food: Although the sauce is thick and creamy due to the yogurt, it’s a good type of thick and creamy! The richness of the yogurt infused with paprika butter and topped with ground beef and tomatoes offers a heart meal for a hungry stomach.
Turkish Pasta Ingredients
Pasta – I used cavatappi for this recipe as it has hollow curves that are great for grabbing the creamy sauce in this pasta recipe. Other great options are rotini and farfalle.
Ground Beef – 90% lean and 10% fat is the perfect ratio for ground beef. The 10% adds flavor without being overwhelmed with greasy fat. You can go to 95% lean 5% fat to cut back on calories.
Onion – Spanish or yellow will work just fine but I opted for yellow in this recipe in order to add a touch of sweetness.
Whole Milk Yogurt – the main star of our sauce for Turkish Pasta. NOT Greek yogurt as it is too sour!
Cherry Tomatoes – These can be substituted for grape tomatoes, but cherry tomatoes have a thinner flesh and more juice making them ideal for eating raw. Grape tomatoes are better for cooking. The tomatoes in this recipe are not cooked but only used as a topping.
Tomato Paste – to be authentic you should use Turkish red pepper paste but here in the US, that’s hard to come across! Tomato paste is the perfect replacement that adds just a hint of zesty tomato flavor.
Garlic – freshly minced and cooked garlic adds so much flavor to the meat!
Butter – salted Kerrygold butter is the way to go.
Seasonings – Paprika is to be added to the butter drizzle. Garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper is added to the ground beef. Mint and salt to be added to the yogurt sauce.
Lemon – adds zest to the yogurt sauce.
Parsley – fresh parsley adds a bit of color and aroma to the dish. Use for garnish.
How to Make Turkish Pasta
Step 1 is cooking your pasta. Begin by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil and adding in 16 oz of cavatappi pasta. Pasta cooking times can vary so refer to the pasta box for length of time (normally this takes about 10 minutes).
While the water boils and the pasta cooks, move on to the ground beef. Season roughly 1 lb of ground beef to preference (normally just a little salt and pepper) and cook in a large frying pan on medium-high heat. I find it easiest to mashed it up with a mashing tool to avoid it being too chunky.
After about 1 minute, add 1 cup of diced yellow onion, 5 cloves of minced garlic, 1 ½ tsp paprika, 2 tsp ground cumin, and 3 tbsp tomato paste to the ground beef. Cook for an additional 5 minutes until the ground beef is no longer pink and the onions are translucent. Set aside to cool.
Butter time! Melt 5 tbsp of salted butter in a small pot or pan and add 1 ½ tsp of paprika.
The last step is to make the yogurt sauce. In a medium bowl, add 2 cups of whole milk yogurt, 2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp dried mint.
Assemble the Turkish pasta. Place a serving of pasta in a bowl or on a plate followed by the yogurt sauce and ground beef mixture. Drizzle with paprika butter and top with fresh parsley. Enjoy!
How to Store Leftovers
All leftover Turkish Pasta can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days refrigerated. I use the Rubbermaid glass containers (I’m not a fan of plastic as it’s poor for the environment and tends to warp and crack in the dishwasher).The sauce does not freeze well and is not recommended.
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Turkish Pasta (Yalancı Mantı)
Ingredients
Beef
- 1 lb Ground Beef 90% lean 10% fat
- 1 cup Yellow Onion diced
- 5 cloves Garlic minced
- 1½ tsp Paprika
- 2 tsp Cumin ground
- 3 tbsp Tomato Paste Cento brand
Paprika Butter
- 5 tbsp Salted Butter Kerrygold brand
- 1½ tsp Paprika
Yogurt Sauce
- 2 cups Whole Milk Plain Yogurt
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Dried Mint
Pasta
- 16 oz Cavatappi Pasta or pasta of your choice
- 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Begin by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil and adding in a 16 oz of cavatappi pasta. Pasta cooking times can vary so refer to the pasta box for length of time (normally this takes about 10 minutes).
- While the water boils and the pasta cooks, move on to the ground beef. Salt roughly 1 lb of ground beef to preference and cook in a large frying pan on medium-high heat.
- After about 1 minute, add 1 cup of diced yellow onion, 5 cloves of minced garlic, 1 ½ tsp paprika, 2 tsp ground cumin, and 3 tbsp tomato paste to the ground beef. Cook for an additional 5 minutes until the ground beef is no longer pink and the onions are translucent. Set aside to cool.
- Make the paprika butter. Melt 5 tbsp of salted butter in a small pot or pan and add 1½ tsp paprika.
- Make the yogurt sauce. In a medium bowl, add 2 cups of whole milk yogurt, 2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp dried mint.
- Assemble the Turkish pasta. Place a serving of pasta in a bowl or on a plate followed by the yogurt sauce and ground beef mixture. Drizzle with paprika butter and top with fresh parsley. Enjoy!