Greek Yogurt Pasta Sauce
This Garlicky Greek Yogurt Pasta Sauce is a healthier alternative to Alfredo sauce that pairs with just about any noodle, protein or veggie you can think of.
“Easy, delicious, affordable, and healthy. I found this while looking for vegetarian recipes that are high in protein and low in fat. It checks those boxes while tasting awesome. I personally like to really pack on the red pepper flakes. Great recipe! Love this dish!”
—Maddie
Did you know you can make a creamy pasta sauce with Greek yogurt? If you’re somebody who loves alfredo sauce but also likes sticking to a healthful meal plan, this recipe is for you.
In this case, “healthy” doesn’t mean lacking flavor, because we’re still using a bit of butter and Parmesan cheese in this sauce. Everything can be part of a balanced diet in moderation, including these things.
We’re also throwing a ton of garlic at the situation, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. The end result is a healthy pasta sauce that will simply blow your mind.
“I made this the other day, and we both loved it. It was a real hit, even with my husband, who is not quick to compliment anything. Because I have to eat low carb I used spaghetti squash instead of regular spaghetti. That worked well. Thank you for a great recipe that I will make pretty regularly.”
—Susan
Why you’ll love this healthy and Light Pasta Sauce
I was pretty quick to jump on the Greek yogurt bandwagon when it started gaining popularity in the United States years ago, and I’m STILL on that bandwagon. It’s always in my fridge.
The #1 reason I love it so much is its versatility. You can eat it plain, with yogurt bar ideas, or as savory yogurt. It’s also high in protein and has beneficial probiotics for our gut health.
I also love it as a condiment for Greek chicken meatballs, and I use it almost everywhere that sour cream would generally be appropriate, such as dolloped on top of chicken burrito bowls, or used as an ingredient for Greek yogurt mashed potatoes, crockpot beef stroganoff, and healthy buffalo chicken dip.
The tanginess of Greek yogurt has a way of cutting through the richness in an otherwise heavy dish, while the creaminess makes anything more satisfying.
If you’ve only experienced Greek yogurt on the sweeter side of the spectrum, I encourage you to try it in a savory Greek yogurt recipe!
Ingredients for Healthy Pasta Sauce
- unsalted butter – this is how we’ll saute all the garlic. You can use olive oil instead, but I like the flavor that butter adds.
- garlic – I usually use eight fairly large cloves. Measure with your heart.
- full fat Greek yogurt – I cannot stress enough, it MUST be full fat or your sauce will curdle. I RECOMMEND FAGE TOTAL 5% MILKFAT YOGURT FOR THIS RECIPE.
- grated Parmesan cheese – this adds a salty and nutty depth of flavor to this Greek yogurt Alfredo sauce (also great in potato cakes from mashed potatoes).
- whole milk – this helps thin out the healthy pasta sauce and adds creaminess.
- salt and pepper – don’t forget the seasoning.
- chopped fresh parsley and red pepper flakes – these are optional, but I like to add them just before serving for color and extra flavor and spice.
Can I substitute other yogurt in Yogurt Pasta Sauce?
Without getting too technical (I took a food chemistry class in culinary school so that you don’t have to), you need to have a certain fat to protein ratio in your yogurt if you’re going to cook with it, like with this Greek yogurt pasta sauce.
If there’s not enough fat, your Greek yogurt Alfredo is probably going to curdle when you heat it up. If you want to learn more, Food52 has a great article on cooking with yogurt (without fear) that explains it all.
But long story short, to prevent a grainy or separated texture for your healthy pasta sauce, use full fat Greek yogurt for this Greek yogurt sauce recipe (and Greek lasagna). I have not tested this recipe with regular yogurt, only the Greek variety.
I RECOMMEND FAGE TOTAL 5% MILKFAT YOGURT FOR THIS GREEK YOGURT PASTA SAUCE RECIPE.
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email below and we'll send it to your inbox.
Save the lowfat or nonfat Greek yogurt for acini de pepe pasta and gyro pizza.
How to make a Light Pasta Sauce
This basic Greek yogurt pasta sauce comes together in less than five minutes. It will take you longer to cook the pasta then it will to make the sauce!
First, you’ll heat a bit of butter in a skillet. Add a hefty amount of minced garlic, and sauté it briefly just to perfume the oil (you don’t want it brown, just soften slightly).
Then, you’ll whisk in the Greek yogurt, Parmesan cheese, some milk, and salt and pepper.
You only need to cook it 2 minutes or until the sauce is just warmed through. Then, add cooked pasta, a splash of pasta water, toss, and serve!
Seriously, could this Greek yogurt alfredo be any easier?
Home chef tips for making the Healthiest Pasta Sauce
- I’ve mentioned it several times, but it’s so important that I’ll mention it here again: you MUST use full fat yogurt or your sauce will curdle. I RECOMMEND FAGE TOTAL 5% MILKFAT YOGURT FOR THIS RECIPE.
- Experiment with flavor! My favorite way to add even more flavor to this light pasta sauce is by stirring in 1 to 3 tablespoons of prepared basil pesto.
- For a restaurant-quality touch, drizzle a touch of balsamic vinegar reduction over your plated pasta for a sweet acidity that will complement the yogurt sauce.
Serving Suggestions for the Healthiest Pasta Sauce
The way I most often serve Greek yogurt spaghetti nowadays is as-is, with a side salad tossed with citrus salad dressing.
However, a previous version of this post had the Greek yogurt pasta topped with a mixture of onions, chickpeas, lentils and arugula. This is also good, just a little bit more involved.
If you’d like to serve it the old way, feel free to comment below or e-mail me, and I’ll send you the old recipe! It was basically caramelizing a yellow onion and adding it on top of the pasta, along with some chickpeas, cooked lentils and wilted arugula.
Healthy Pasta Recipe Variations
Since Greek yogurt is a high protein food, there’s a fair amount of protein in this Greek yogurt alfredo. But if you’re looking to add something a little, well, meatier, to this spaghetti with yogurt sauce without going all the way to lamb bolognese, I have some ideas.
- I highly recommend add some grilled chicken or a batch of turkey meatball recipe air fryer to this Greek yogurt pasta. Sliced chicken sausage would also be yummy.
- Sautéed shrimp would be tasty (like in my garlic lemon shrimp pasta), or chunks of roasted salmon, like I use in my salmon pasta.
- A meat-free option to add even more protein would be a fried or poached egg. And sometimes I’ll toss in some Parmesan roasted broccoli, too!
Storing leftover Light Pasta Sauce
Store any leftover Greek yogurt pasta sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
To reheat, gently warm on the stovetop over low heat, stirring frequently. Add a splash of water or milk to restore the smooth consistency.
More Foxes Love Lemons Favorites
Healthy Pasta Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti noodles
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 3 cups full fat Greek yogurt
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Chopped fresh parsley for serving (optional)
- Red pepper flakes for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Bring large pot of salted water to boiling over high heat. Add spaghetti and cook according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta.
- Meanwhile, in large high-sided skillet, heat butter over medium-low heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Whisk in yogurt, Parmesan cheese, milk, salt and black pepper. Cook 2 minutes or until warmed through, whisking constantly.
- Add drained pasta and 1/2 cup pasta water to yogurt mixture; toss to combine. If sauce is too thick, add additional pasta water a splash at a time until desired consistency is achieved. Serve pasta sprinkled with additional Parmesan cheese, and parsley and red pepper flakes, if desired.
Notes
- I’ve mentioned it several times, but it’s so important that I’ll mention it here again: you MUST use full fat yogurt or your sauce will curdle. I RECOMMEND FAGE TOTAL 5% MILKFAT YOGURT FOR THIS RECIPE.
- Experiment with flavor! My favorite way to add even more flavor to this light pasta sauce is by stirring in 1 to 3 tablespoons of prepared basil pesto.
- For a restaurant-quality touch, drizzle a touch of balsamic vinegar reduction over your plated pasta for a sweet acidity that will complement the yogurt sauce.
Hi! Stumbled on this recipe through Self magazine, but they had the picture of the old recipe, with lentils & chickpeas. Could you please send that recipe to me?
Thanks a bunch!
Hi Danielle – just e-mailed it to you!
Could you email me as well? My vegetarian needs more protein 🙂
E-mailed it to you, Amy!
This sauce is incredible! Made it twice now. The first time I had it just with the pasta and it was great. Second time I added cooked ground turkey, a shallot, and a bag of fresh spinach. I’ve been eating this thing all week! This will be my go-to pasta from here on out. Thank you so much!
I’m so glad this has become a go-to recipe for you, Tim. Love the additions you’ve made!
No, thank YOU! I’ve been trying to eat relatively healthy and outside of a little butter and milk this recipe is exactly that,
One quick question, and if it says in the article and I missed it, sorry. Do you happen to know if this sauce can freeze? It makes so much and I don’t want it to go to waste!
Unfortunately, creamy sauces usually don’t freeze all that well. They’re prone to breaking when they thaw and are re-warmed. So for best results, I’d recommend making a half batch and eating it fresh!
I made this for the first time last night! I subbed Protein+ rotini for the spaghetti for some added protein and upped the garlic in place of the onion because my husband doesn’t eat onions. Also subbed oregano for mint because we have a TON of it growing in the backyard and wanted a more savory flavor. I found it a smidge underseasoned (maybe lacking the onion? but I don’t usually miss it much in recipes as long as I add additional garlic). BUT! I just ate the leftovers cold over a bed of arugula as a pasta salad (I knew the sauce would break if I tried to reheat) and it makes a wonderful pasta salad! With the additional time in the fridge for the flavors to more fully infuse and the creamy cool texture, it was really really tasty!
So glad you liked it, Ashley! Love the repurposing leftovers idea, too.
Hi Laurel – oh no! This is never what I want to happen to anybody. Can I ask what kind of yogurt you used?
Used full Greek yogurt- full fat and it curdled!!! Had to throw the whole thing out.
What a bummer! Did you make any ingredient substitutions? Was the heat on medium-low when you added the yogurt?
I thought long and hard about it. I might have gotten some lemon juice in it when I zested it and that might have caused the problem
Thanks for responding
For those of us who are trying to keep our carb consumption down, this would be wonderful without the spaghetti, and add in some Greek chicken… I’m like you. I keep Greek yogurt in the house always – either 2% or full fat (I prefer the latter) – and use it in place of sour cream. I’ve gotten so used to it that I don’t even like sour cream much any more. And thank you for the lesson on how to keep yogurt from curdling.
I feel the same way! Once I started using Greek yogurt almost everywhere that I used to use sour cream, I like it even better than sour cream.
Love the sauce, low fat and tasty. Thank you!
So glad to hear that, Sharon!
Can you use almond milk instead of whole milk?
Hi Ruth! I haven’t tried it with almond milk, and can’t promise it will turn out. This sauce is susceptible to breaking if substitute ingredients like low fat yogurt are used, so I’m just not sure how it will turn out with almond milk. If you do end up trying it, please let me know how it turns out 🙂
Sigh…I was so excited for this recipe but the sauce broke. Fat-free greek yogurt fail 🙁
How do you think ricotta cheese would work instead of yogurt? I keep thinking that’s what it is when I look at the pictures. Might try that next time!
Hi Melanie! Sorry to hear about your recipe fail. This recipe was developed specifically for full-fat Greek yogurt, as the fat is what keeps the sauce from breaking. I’ve never tried it with ricotta so I can’t vouch for that, but if you’d like to try that, I would recommend full-fat ricotta as well. The nonfat/lowfat stuff will almost always break when you heat it this way 🙁
LOVE this idea. Was looking for an alternative to my go-to garlic butter sauce, and this is it! Love the addition of lentils too <3
Thanks so much for stopping by, Meredith!
I love everything in this! Also: So happy someone else calls for full fat dairy. I can’t stand the fat free stuff. I just wanna stick my face in that bowl of delicious carbs on carbs 😀
Thanks Amanda! Full fat Greek yogurt is definitely my favorite for cooking.
I made this for dinner and it was SO flavorful and delicious! We squeezed a bit of lemon juice on top, too. The only hiccup was that I failed to notice that you said *full fat* Greek yogurt and used non fat instead. I’m guessing that the higher fat content is what prevents curdling? The non fat Greek yogurt did curdle a bit when I heated it, but even so, it was mighty tasty! I’ll post a photo on Instagram later 🙂
I am so glad to hear that! To be honest, I was battling a sinus infection when I made this, so even though it tasted pretty good to me, I was just hoping others would feel the same way 🙂 You’re absolutely right on the full fat yogurt – that’s what prevents the curdling, but oh well! Glad it was still delicious!
I love LOVE the use of Greek yogurt to make the pasta sauce seem creamy! Such a healthy option and love all the flavors too! <3
Thanks so much, Samina!
Would regular yogurt work?
Hi Kristy, thanks for stopping by! I’m honestly not sure – I’ve only tested it with Greek yogurt. The thing about Greek yogurt is that it is nice and thick, which helps it cling to the pasta. Regular yogurt could work, but the pasta may just have a thinner “sauce.” Hope that helps!
Not only is this dish absolutely beautiful, but it sounds SO delicious! Love!!
Thanks Lucia, I really appreciate it!
Thank you for the nice recipe and have a great week.
Thank you, Liz. You too!