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    Home » Recipes » Main Dishes » Beef » Arabic Pasta with Easy Yogurt Sauce (30 Minutes!)

    Arabic Pasta with Easy Yogurt Sauce (30 Minutes!)

    5 from 11 votes
    January 19, 2021 by Amina Al-Saigh

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This post may contain affiliate links.

    Arabic Pasta. Ever heard of it? It's your perfect solution to a lighter "white sauce" pasta, because the sauce is a yogurt, tahini and garlic sauce. It's layered with ground beef spiced with warm middle eastern spices, and it's just so good. The perfect weeknight meal!

    Arabic pasta served on a plate garnished with nuts and fresh herbs
    Table of Contents show
    1 What is Arabic Pasta?
    2 Ingredients you'll need for this recipe
    3 How to make Arabic Pasta, step by step
    4 FAQs and storage instructions
    5 Other pasta recipes you'll love
    6 30-Minute Arabic Pasta with Yogurt Sauce

    What is Arabic Pasta?

    So a lot of Arabs have grown up eating pasta with yogurt sauce. Not just plain yogurt, but mixed with some garlic, sometimes tahini, and sometimes I add a lot of herbs like mint or parsley. I only found out about this amazingness in recent years through my friends, and since then, I always make it. It's the best quick pasta sauce - it takes 5 minutes.

    But I recently saw one of my good friends Dena make this "yogurt pasta" but add beef to it, and I was so intrigued. My husband loves ground beef and I knew he'd love this dish. It uses the typical Arabic "Hashweh" that's used for many ground beef dishes, including this bechamel pasta casserole. I highly suggest you try this Arabic pasta because... it's just too good.

    By the way, a lot of people may also call this Bechamel Pasta Bake "Arabic pasta" but we actually call that "Macarona Bechamel".

    If you love quick pasta recipes as much as I do, you should also make this one pot pink pasta. It's honestly such a life saver for me on super busy nights, along with this recipe!

    Ingredients you'll need for this recipe

    You'll need your basic pasta ingredients, but with some middle eastern additions. For the pasta, I used a beautiful mafalda corta but you can use any pasta you like. For the meat mixture, you need the ground beef (I use extra lean), onions and spices. If you can't find allspice, you can replace it with "seven spice" which is an Arabic spice mixture.

    Ingredient list for Arabic pasta which is pasta, ground beef, yogurt, onions, pine nuts, tahini paste, olive oil, dry mint, tomato sauce, garlic, lemon, allspice, salt, cinnamon, black pepper

    How to make Arabic Pasta, step by step

    This recipe comes together so quickly - you'll have dinner ready in 30 minutes.

    • First, start by getting the pasta boiling in salted water and cooking until al dente
    • Then work on the ground beef mixture by cooking the onions until softened, then adding the beef and breaking it up, browning it until all the liquid has evaporated
    • Add all the spices, mix well and taste and adjust
    Cooked ground beef with onions in a large skillet with a wooden spoon and a towel underneath
    • Meanwhile, the pasta should be done cooking. Drain it and drizzle it with olive oil for some extra flavour, and set aside
    Cooked and drained pasta in a black pot with handles
    • To make the sauce, mix together the yogurt, tahini, garlic, mint, and lemon juice using a fork until smooth. Don't be tempted to use a blender here, it will make the sauce turn into liquid
    • You can adjust the amount of garlic to your taste, but keep in mind that raw garlic is quite strong
    Yogurt, tahini and mint sauce in a white bowl
    • Finally, prepare the pine nuts by toasting them for a few minutes on a pan until lightly golden - I use a bit of olive oil to toast them in
    • Assemble the dish by adding a layer of pasta, then the meat mixture, then the sauce, and finally the pine nuts and fresh herbs of your choice
    Arabic pasta served on a plate garnished with nuts and fresh herbs. A clear glass and jug is in the background and foreground

    FAQs and storage instructions

    Can I make this pasta head of time?

    Yes! You can prepare the meat mixture ahead of time and store it in the fridge. The day you want to make it, just boil the pasta, mix together the sauce, heat the meat and assemble.

    How do I store this Arabic pasta?

    If you have leftovers, either mix everything together or keep it layered in an air tight container and store it in the fridge. You can include the sauce too, you don't need to store it separately. To serve, re-heat in the microwave or stove top.

    Can I add vegetables to this dish?

    Absolutely! You can add things like spinach, mushrooms, peas, carrots, peppers, etc. Do this by cooking the vegetables you want to add with the meat and onions and then assembling everything the same way.

    Can I make the yogurt sauce using a blender?

    No! If you put the yogurt in a blender, it will liquify and you'll end up with a liquid. Always mix it together using a fork.

    Other pasta recipes you'll love

    • Bechamel Pasta Bake (Macarona Bechamel)
    • Tahini Pasta
    • Mediterranean Pasta Salad

    If you tried these recipes, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page - I'd love to hear from you! You can also hop on over to Instagram and say hello!

    Arabic pasta served on a plate garnished with nuts and fresh herbs

    30-Minute Arabic Pasta with Yogurt Sauce

    This Arabic pasta is the perfect solution to a lighter "white sauce" pasta. Its made with a yogurt, garlic and tahini sauce and layered with ground beef spiced with warm middle eastern spices. Top it with fresh herbs and crunch pine nuts, and you've got the perfect weeknight dinner.
    5 from 11 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Mains
    Cuisine: middle eastern
    Keyword: Arabic pasta, white sauce pasta
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 426kcal
    Author: Amina Al-Saigh

    Ingredients

    For the pasta:

    • 400 g pasta I used mafalda corta
    • Salt
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil

    For the meat:

    • 700 g extra lean ground beef
    • 2 cups chopped white onions roughly 2 medium onions
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 2 teaspoons allspice you can also use 7 spice
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • 2 teaspoons salt
    • 1 teaspoon black pepper
    • 5 tablespoons tomato sauce

    For the sauce:

    • 2.5 cups plain full fat yogurt 750g
    • ½ cup tahini paste
    • 1 large garlic clove crushed
    • 4 teaspoons dried mint more per preference
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • A squeeze of lemon

    For garnish:

    • Toasted pine nuts
    • Fresh herbs

    Instructions

    • Start by boiling the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain and then drizzle with olive oil and set aside
    • Meanwhile, make the meat mixture by firstly cooking the chopped onion with the olive oil on medium high heat until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes
    • Add the ground beef and break it up into small pieces and cook it for 5-7 minutes, until browned and most of the moisture has dried up
    • Add all the spices and the tomato sauce and mix well. Taste and adjust
    • To make the yogurt sauce, mix all the sauce ingredients together using a fork (do not use a blender)
    • Toast the pine nuts with half a tablespoon of olive oil on a pan until lightly golden
    • To serve, layer the pasta, add the ground beef mixture, then the yogurt sauce, and top with the pine nuts and any fresh herbs you like. Enjoy!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 200g | Calories: 426kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 1517mg | Potassium: 935mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 499IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 187mg | Iron: 5mg
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      Comments

    1. Jenn says

      November 11, 2022 at 12:59 am

      5 stars
      This was amazing!! I love beef with cinnamon/all spice from my Greek grandmother's recipes and I also love anything tahini. So easy to make and delicious! I did use fat free Fage Greek yogurt and it was still perfect. Thank you!

      Reply
    2. Umme Hamza says

      November 15, 2021 at 11:59 pm

      5 stars
      I tried this recipe and it was sooo delicious! I didn’t have ground beef so I made it with ground chicken and it was really tasty. Love the yogurt sauce!

      Reply
      • Amina Al-Saigh says

        December 13, 2021 at 8:58 am

        Awesome - great to hear 🙂

        Reply
    3. Juweria says

      April 19, 2021 at 5:55 pm

      5 stars
      This was one of the most delicious and easiest meals I've ever had! I never thought to mix yogurt and tahini together and I'm addicted to it for this pasta or even a dip! Highly recommend this pasta.

      Reply
      • Amina says

        April 22, 2021 at 2:29 am

        Right? It's such a great combo! It's a staple sauce over here too.

        Reply
    4. Fatimah says

      April 18, 2021 at 11:58 pm

      5 stars
      Really loved this recipe. Hasn’t tried anything like it before. The flavors were spot on!

      Reply
      • Amina says

        April 22, 2021 at 2:30 am

        I'm so glad you enjoyed it Fatimah! 🙂

        Reply
    5. Aida arthur says

      February 23, 2021 at 2:19 pm

      5 stars
      This was the easiest and tastiest quick meal! I have made it in the past with yogurt only, but adding the meat made it filling and delicious! Thank you Amina ! I look forward to making your recipes so much. They do give me so much joy!

      Reply

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    ABOUT ME

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