Lebanese Pasta in Yogurt Sauce is one of those dishes that sounds too simple to be this good and then immediately becomes one of your most requested recipes. Medium pasta shells cooked in chicken bouillon, tossed in a cool, tangy yogurt sauce with crushed garlic, dried mint, and pasta water to loosen it into the silkiest coating. I topped mine with crispy za'atar chicken cutlets and golden toasted pine nuts.
A Quick Look at the Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Lebanese Pasta in Yogurt Sauce
🕒 Ready In: ~ 20 minutes
👪 Serves: 6 servings
🍽 Calories: ~ 421 per serving (estimated)
🥣 Main Ingredients: Yogurt, garlic, shell pasta, mint, pine nuts
👌 Difficulty: Easy
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This is my version of macarona bi laban, a beloved Lebanese dish of pasta tossed in a garlicky yogurt sauce that appears on tables across Lebanon and the broader Levantine world. My husband grew up eating it, and the combination of garlic, dried mint, and yogurt together is one of those deeply specific flavor memories that belongs entirely to Lebanese cooking. I added my za'atar chicken cutlets on top because a crispy golden cutlet draped over cool creamy yogurt pasta is a combination that needed to exist and now cannot be undone
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
No cooking the sauce. The yogurt sauce is room temperature and tossed with the hot pasta straight from the pot. Simple, fast, and exactly right.
Toasted pine nuts finish it. Golden, buttery, and slightly crunchy. They add the textural contrast that makes every bite more interesting.
One of those dinners that looks impressive and takes 30 minutes. Your family will think you spent much longer than you did.
Lebanese Pasta in Yogurt Sauce Video
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Ingredient Notes
Medium Pasta Shells: Their curved interior traps the yogurt sauce inside each piece so every bite has sauce in the center and coating on the outside. The chicken bouillon in the cooking water seasons every shell from the inside out before the yogurt sauce even goes on. The same technique I use in my Tomato Orzo Pasta Salad and it makes a noticeable difference every single time.
Greek or Balkan Yogurt: Greek yogurt gives you a thicker, creamier sauce that clings heavily to the pasta. Balkan yogurt gives you a slightly looser, tangier sauce with a more pronounced sour note that is closer to the traditional Lebanese version. Both are delicious. Use whichever you can find and whichever you prefer. Full-fat is non-negotiable in either case. Low-fat yogurt will make a thin, watery sauce that does not coat the pasta properly.
Dried Mint: Dried mint has a completely different character from fresh mint in a cooked or warm context. It is more concentrated, slightly earthy, and has a warmth that fresh mint does not have. It is the defining flavor of macarona bi laban. Do not substitute fresh mint here.
Crushed Garlic: Raw crushed garlic in yogurt is a very specific combination that appears across Lebanese and broader Levantine cooking. From toum to garlic yogurt dips to this pasta sauce. It adds a sharp, pungent depth that mellows slightly when it hits the warm pasta but never disappears entirely.
Za'atar Chicken Cutlets: Totally optional but highly recommended. The crispy za'atar breaded chicken cutlets from my Za'atar Chicken Cutlet with Lebanese Cabbage Salad sliced on a diagonal and laid over the top of the finished pasta. The crunch of the za'atar panko crust against the cool creamy yogurt pasta is one of those combinations that just works on every level.
Toasted Pine Nuts: They add a buttery, slightly sweet crunch that is very much at home in Lebanese cooking and ties the whole dish together beautifully.
Pro tip
The Secret to Perfect Pasta
Toss the pasta in the yogurt sauce immediately after draining while the pasta is still very hot. The heat from the pasta warms the yogurt slightly and helps it coat every shell evenly. Pasta that has cooled before the sauce goes on will not absorb the yogurt the same way.
Substitutions & Variations
No Balkan yogurt? Full fat Greek yogurt works perfectly and gives you a slightly thicker, creamier sauce. Both are delicious and either works in the same quantity.
No medium shells? Traditionally, spaghetti is used and is a great option!
Want to keep it vegetarian? Skip the chicken cutlets and top with extra toasted pine nuts, a drizzle of good olive oil, and a sprinkle of sumac. The yogurt pasta on its own is a complete and beautiful dish without the chicken.
Want to add more vegetables? Roasted zucchini or cherry tomatoes added to the pasta before the sauce goes on add color and a sweetness that works beautifully against the tangy yogurt and garlic.
FAQ
Either the yogurt was low-fat or the pasta-to-water ratio was too high. Make sure you use full-fat yogurt and start with less pasta water, adding more gradually until the sauce reaches a coating consistency. Different yogurt brands have varying water content, so adjust as needed.
This is the most common concern and the answer is no, as long as you follow two rules. First, use full-fat yogurt. Low-fat yogurt has a higher water content and is more likely to separate when it hits heat. Second, do not add the pasta while it is boiling straight from the pot. Drain it, let it sit for 30 seconds, then toss. The pasta should be very hot but not scalding. The starchy pasta water already mixed into the sauce also helps stabilize the yogurt and keeps it smooth and cohesive rather than grainy or watery.
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⭐️ Recipe
Lebanese Pasta in Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
Pasta
- 1 lb medium pasta shells
- 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon
Yogurt sauce
- 3 cups full fat Greek or Balkan yogurt
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried mint must use dried
- ⅓ cup reserved pasta water add a little at a time to loosen sauce
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Pine nuts
- ½ cup pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
For Serving
- Za'atar Cutlets optional and linked in ingredients notes in post
Instructions
Cook the pasta
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Dissolve the chicken bouillon in the water before the pasta goes in. Add the medium shells and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Before draining, reserve half a cup of the starchy pasta water in a measuring cup. Do not forget this step. Drain the pasta and set aside.1 lb medium pasta shells, 1 tbsp chicken bouillon
Make the yogurt sauce
- In a large bowl whisk together the Greek or Balkan yogurt, crushed garlic, dried mint, reserved pasta water, salt, and black pepper until completely smooth and pourable. The pasta water loosens the thick yogurt into a sauce that will coat every shell evenly. Taste and adjust salt and garlic as needed. The sauce should be tangy, garlicky, and have a distinct dried mint note.3 cups full fat Greek or Balkan yogurt, 3 garlic cloves, 1 tsp dried mint, ⅓ cup reserved pasta water, ¼ tsp black pepper, ¼ tsp salt
Toss the pasta
- Add the hot drained pasta directly to the yogurt sauce bowl. Toss immediately and thoroughly until every shell is evenly coated in the yogurt sauce. The heat from the pasta warms the sauce slightly and helps it cling properly. Work quickly so the pasta does not cool before the sauce coats it.
Toast the pine nuts
- Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and cook stirring constantly for 2 to 3 minutes until evenly golden all over. Watch them extremely closely. Pine nuts go from golden to burnt in under a minute. Remove immediately from the heat and transfer to a plate to stop the cooking.1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, ½ cup pine nuts
Make and slice the cutlets (optional)
- Prepare the za'atar chicken cutlets per the linked recipe while the pasta cooks. Slice each cutlet on a diagonal into strips right before serving so they are still hot and crispy when they go on top of the pasta.Za'atar Cutlets
Assemble and serve
- Transfer the yogurt pasta to a large serving bowl or platter. Lay the sliced za'atar cutlets over the top of the pasta. Scatter the golden toasted pine nuts generously over everything. Serve immediately while the cutlets are still hot and crispy against the cool creamy pasta.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!