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Basil and Greek Yogurt Pasta Sauce

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This Basil and Greek Yogurt Pasta Sauce is pure genius! Luscious and creamy, this “no butter and no cream” basil infused sauce is tossed with tender shell pasta and can be on the table in 15 minutes – less if you make the sauce ahead!

Close up overhead photo of a bowl of creamy basil pasta.
Last Updated: 23 May 19

About this Greek Yogurt Pasta Sauce recipe:

In the “favorite dinner category,” pasta ranks right up there! From my mom’s Spaghetti Meat Sauce to this Pork Ragu or this pasta frittata, I’ve rarely met a pasta recipe I didn’t love.

But this yogurt pasta sauce is in a class all by itself. Made without any cream or butter, it’s luscious – creamy and a bit tangy, and not too rich!

If you’ve been reading ACT for a while, you KNOW I love yogurt! From Lemon and Mint Marinated Chicken to these Yogurt Flatbreads, I keep finding new ways to use this “must have” refrigerator staple !!

Overhead shot of thi

What you’ll need:

  • A full fat greek yogurt works beautifully in this pasta sauce but if you can’t find any (yeah, that would be me!) low- fat or even non-fat works well!
  • Use a good quality parmesan cheese here – the intense flavor of a good parm is worth the splurge!
  • Fresh basil – if I don’t have any basil growing in my yard, my favorite trick is to buy a basil plant instead of cut stems. After plucking off the leaves for the sauce, I just plop the plant into my herb pot and viola! I have basil leaves for my next recipe!
  • I love this pasta with yogurt sauce served warm – but it’s also fabulous cold! If you happen to have any sauce leftover – save it! It makes a fantastic salad dressing (thinned with a bit of water) or a terrific dip for veggies!
  • Pasta – I used medium shells (“conchiglie”) to go with this pasta yogurt sauce, but any medium sized tubular pasta like rigatoni works! Ridged is better – since it really holds the yogurt sauce!

Tips on How to make this Greek Yogurt Pasta Sauce:

  1. Gather your ingredients!
  2. Blend the sauce ingredients: I used a food processor, but you could also use a blender. In a pinch, you could chop the basil and garlic by hand, but the sauce won’t be quite as smooth.
  3. Set aside 1/2 of the sauce: You need to gradually add the sauce to the pasta so it doesn’t break.
  4. Cook the pasta: I used a medium shell pasta for this. While you don’t need a shell pasta, you do want a ridged pasta to hold all that luscious sauce!
  5. Add the sauce: If you’ve made the yogurt sauce ahead of time (which you totally can do – make sure it’s at room temperature. If the sauce is cold, it’s will (a) chill down the hot pasta, and (b) increases the chance the sauce will break.
  6. Serve! If you have leftover sauce, pass that along with extra parmesan. Garnish with fresh basil if you like.
  7. Leftovers – any leftovers are great refrigerated and served as a pasta salad! Just don’t try and re heat the sauce!
Step by step photo tutorial for how to make greek yogurt pasta sauce.

If you loved this basil infused greek yogurt sauce, I would love for you to leave me a comment and rate it! Cheers! Nancy

Close up shot of the pasta with yogurt sauce garnished with a sprig of basil.

Pasta with Basil Yogurt Sauce

A dreamy, creamy basil pasta sauce you’ll make all summer long! The ideal “make ahead” sauce you can toss with pasta and serve warm or cold – or thin the sauce and use as a dressing for salads or as a dip for vegetables 
4.58 from 7 votes
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Course: pasta, vegetarian
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: basil, pasta, sauce
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 705kcal
Author: Nancy Buchanan

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. rigatoni or medium shell pasta
  • 1 cup 2% greek yogurt
  • 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil packed
  • 2 cloves garlic chopped
  • 3/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chopped tomatoes optional
  • 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts optional

Instructions

  • In the bowl of a food processor combine the yogurt, olive oil, basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, pepper and salt. 
  • Process until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Taste and adjust seasonings.
  • Measure 1/2 of the sauce into a large bowl and set aside
  •  Bring a large pot of water to boil. Season water with salt.
  • Add the pasta and cook until al dente – about 12 minutes. Drain.
  •  Add the pasta GRADUALLY to the yogurt sauce. If you add it too quickly the sauce will break.
  • Add more of the yogurt sauce if needed.
  • Garnish with the chopped tomatoes and pine nuts if desired.
  • Extra sauce can be passed separately or refrigerated for 2 days.

Notes

This basil sauce has so many usees!! It’s delicious as a salad dressing (you can thin it out a bit by adding a bit of water) or served “as is” as a dip for vegetables!
Although I love this pasta served warm, it’s also delicious served cold as a pasta salad.

Nutrition

Calories: 705kcal | Carbohydrates: 91g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 562mg | Potassium: 442mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 8.2% | Vitamin C: 8% | Calcium: 33.9% | Iron: 15.7%
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Comments

  1. Lana @ Never Enough Thyme says

    August 2, 2013 at 5:47 pm

    Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever combined pasta with yogurt, but I can totally see this working. And I mean really working well. Delicious and so much better for you than the usual heavy cream. Great recipe, Nancy!

    Reply

  3. Val says

    August 18, 2013 at 9:17 am

    Did this recipe exactly! Okay, well not exactly, we’re vegan so we substituted nutritional yeast for parmesan and used coconut yogurt turned out fabulous!!!!
    Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply

  4. Robert says

    August 27, 2013 at 10:42 am

    sounds great! But I’m not clear on steps on the 2 halves of sauce. Set one aside, put the pasta on one and then stir in the other?

    Reply

    • Nancy says

      September 2, 2013 at 10:35 am

      Hi Robert!!!
      Sorry about that! The sauce recipe makes a fair amount so since some people like it with less sauce than others, I suggest using about 1/2 of the recipe to start. If it isn’t “saucy” enough you can always add more of the sauce!!!

      Reply

    • Nancy says

      September 23, 2015 at 8:21 am

      Hi Sarah! Great question – I didn’t heat the sauce because yogurt can break. The pasta is hot enough to heat the sauce so I didn’t have to risk it breaking!!!

      Reply

  8. Donna Sherwood says

    January 22, 2016 at 8:21 am


    Hi Nancy and Readers:

    I just happened upon this site and found it very interesting. Reading the other posts has been helpful too. I am getting ready for the blizzard coming to MD 22 JAN 16. So, this recipe is on the list to try. We have been told to MDFEMA to do grocery shopping for a week!

    Reply

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