Turkish Pasta (Spiced Beef, Garlic Yogurt, Paprika Butter, 38g Protein)

Turkish pasta is the viral dinner that is all over my feed for a good reason: pasta shells tossed in cool, garlicky yogurt, piled with ground beef cooked with tomato paste, cumin and Aleppo pepper, and finished with a spoonful of sizzling red paprika butter. It takes 30 minutes and gives you 38 grams of protein a plate.

It is a shortcut version of Turkish manti, the tiny beef dumplings served in exactly the same yogurt and chili butter. I have made it a dozen times since it went viral and tweaked it along the way — thick Greek yogurt at room temperature, garlic grated to a paste, and a little pasta water so it turns creamy instead of cold and clumpy. If you liked the ease of my baked feta pasta, this is the next one to try.

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Why this Turkish pasta recipe works so well.

• Hot and cold on one plate. The magic of the dish is the contrast: warm, spiced beef and hot butter against cool, tangy garlic yogurt. Tossing the hot pasta in the yogurt with a splash of pasta water warms it just enough to become a creamy sauce without splitting.
• The beef is built on tomato paste and warm spices. Browning the tomato paste with the onion before the spices go in gives the beef a deep, almost sweet flavor, and cumin, paprika, Aleppo pepper and oregano make it taste like it came off a grill in Istanbul. It is the same spice logic I use in my Greek chicken bowls.
• Thirty-eight grams of protein from simple things. Lean ground beef and full-fat Greek yogurt are both protein-heavy, so a normal plate of pasta turns into a high protein dinner without protein pasta or powders. Check it against your target in the protein calculator.

Here's what you'll need.

Lean ground beef, a yellow onion, tomato paste, cumin, smoked paprika, Aleppo pepper (or a pinch of red pepper flakes), dried oregano, plain full-fat Greek yogurt, garlic, a lemon, pasta shells, butter, sweet paprika, chili flakes, parsley and a little sumac to finish.

Here's how it all comes together.

STEP 1 — BROWN THE BEEF WITH ONION AND TOMATO PASTE

Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes, then add the beef and cook, breaking it up, until browned, about 6 minutes. Push it aside, add the tomato paste to the bare spot and let it fry for a minute until it darkens, then stir it through the beef.

STEP 2 — SEASON WITH CUMIN, PAPRIKA AND ALEPPO

Sprinkle in the cumin, smoked paprika, Aleppo pepper, oregano, salt and pepper and stir for 1 minute until fragrant. Add ¼ cup of water and let it bubble for 2 minutes so the beef is saucy but not wet. Taste and add more salt if needed — the yogurt is mild, so the beef should be well seasoned.

STEP 3 — MIX THE GARLIC YOGURT

While the beef cooks, stir the Greek yogurt with the grated garlic, a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Leave it on the counter so it loses the fridge chill. Grating the garlic on a microplane gives a smooth yogurt with no raw chunks, and it spreads the flavor evenly.

STEP 4 — COOK AND DRAIN THE PASTA

Boil the pasta shells in well-salted water until just al dente. Scoop out a cup of pasta water before you drain. Let the shells steam in the colander for a minute — too much water on the pasta will thin the yogurt sauce, but a little starchy water is what makes it creamy.

STEP 5 — MAKE THE RED PAPRIKA BUTTER

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When it foams, take it off the heat and stir in the sweet paprika and chili flakes — the butter turns bright red in seconds. Do this off the heat; paprika burns fast and goes bitter.

STEP 6 — TOSS, TOP AND DRIZZLE

Toss the warm pasta into the garlic yogurt with 2 to 4 tablespoons of pasta water until it is creamy and glossy. Divide between plates, spoon the spiced beef over the top, then drizzle with the paprika butter. Finish with parsley and a pinch of sumac and serve right away.

If you love Mediterranean flavors like this — yogurt, warm spices, lemon and herbs — this book is full of them, most made hands-off in the slow cooker: the Ultimate Slow Cooker Mediterranean Diet Cookbook.

Things I learned while testing this recipe.

• Full-fat Greek yogurt, at room temperature. Nonfat yogurt is thinner and more likely to split when it meets hot pasta. Full-fat (5%) stays thick and creamy. Taking it out of the fridge while you cook means the pasta stays warm after tossing instead of turning cold.
• Grate the garlic, and be generous. Two to three cloves grated to a paste is the classic amount. Letting the garlic sit in the yogurt with the lemon for 10 minutes softens its raw bite. If you are sensitive to raw garlic, use one clove and a pinch of garlic powder.
• Aleppo pepper is the secret ingredient. It is a mild, fruity Turkish chili with a little oil and salt, and it tastes exactly right here. If you cannot find it, use half the amount of red pepper flakes plus an extra ½ teaspoon of sweet paprika.
• Choose a pasta that holds sauce. Shells, orecchiette, cavatappi or even egg noodles grab the yogurt and trap little bits of beef. I tested spaghetti and it was fine, but the sauce slides off and everything ends up at the bottom of the plate.

Why Turkish pasta is on repeat in my house.

• It is a real 30-minute dinner. The beef, pasta and butter cook at the same time, and the yogurt sauce takes two minutes to stir. One skillet, one pot, one small saucepan and a bowl.
• Thirty-eight grams of protein and big flavor. The yogurt doubles as sauce and protein source, so you get a creamy pasta that is lighter than a cream sauce and far more filling. My kids ask for it weekly.
• Everything is from the pantry. Ground beef, pasta, yogurt, garlic and spices — no specialty shopping beyond a jar of Aleppo pepper, which lasts for months and improves everything from eggs to roast chicken.

Here's what I'd serve with this.

• Mediterranean chickpea salad — a crisp, lemony salad that loves the same flavors.
• Roasted cauliflower — roast it with cumin and it tastes like part of the meal.
• Air fryer Brussels sprouts — crispy and charred against the creamy yogurt.
• Fried cabbage — a quick warm vegetable side for a hungry crowd.

Just in case you have leftovers.

Storing: Store the spiced beef, the pasta tossed with yogurt, and the paprika butter separately in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days. The yogurt pasta is best eaten fresh but keeps well enough for lunch the next day.

Reheating: Reheat the beef in a skillet or microwave until hot. Warm the yogurt pasta gently — 30 to 45 seconds in the microwave, stirring halfway — so the yogurt does not split, or just eat it at room temperature with hot beef on top. Rewarm the paprika butter for 15 seconds before drizzling.

More easy dinner recipes...

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For more pasta nights, my baked ziti and one pot chicken alfredo pasta are family favorites. And from today's new batch, my marry me chicken pasta is the creamy, sun-dried tomato version of a 30-minute pasta dinner.

More Mediterranean dinners with bold, simple flavor.

The Ultimate Slow Cooker Mediterranean Diet Cookbook is packed with dinners built on yogurt, spices, lemon and herbs — braised meats, stews and pasta dishes that taste like a vacation with almost no effort.

Get the cookbook on Amazon

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