Anna Paul's Viral Turkish Pasta

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I made the Viral Turkish Pasta, also called a Manti, and wow, was it good! It is an easy, simple, and delicious pasta recipe that’s packed with flavor and makes for a perfect weeknight dinner that the whole family will love.

You may also like my Gigi Hadid Pasta or my Chicken Enchilada Pasta.

A white dish with pasts topped with seasoned beef and garnished with chopped tomatoes and parsley.

If you have been on TikTok, you probably know this viral Manti turkish pasta. It is also referred to as Anna Paul’s Turkish Pasta. In a viral video on TikTok she shows how her mom makes Turkish pasta and everyone has been recreating it. This Turkish pasta is also known as Manti or deconstructed Manti! It is a well-known Turkish dish that we all just learned about and I am here for it!

Turkish Pasta: Deconstructed Manti

I altered the recipe a bit. I have seen some add cumin powder to the seasoned meat but I personally don’t like cumin much so I decided to skip it. The ground beef is sauteed with some chopped onions and seasoned with onion powder, a small amount of tomato paste, paprika, salt, and pepper.

The idea is to serve with seasoned beef over cooked pasta, with a garlic yogurt sauce, and a drizzle of seasoned butter. It’s such a delicious dish and I will be serving this for my family for years to come. Yay.

A spoon in a pasta dish with meat sauce topped with chopped tomatoes and parsley.

Ingredients for the Turkish pasta

Below is a quick list of ingredients you will need. Hopefully, you have these all handy, and you can make it asap. Full measurements are listed further down below in the recipe card.

Pasta: Use any pasta of your choice. Short Pasta works best like shells, elbows, bow ties, and so on.
Lean ground beef: I used 90% Lean but you may use 80-85%
Seasonings: onion powder, sweet paprika, dried mint, Salt and Pepper to taste
Tomato paste: some recipes didn’t call for tomato paste, but I loved the addition.
Yellow or white sweet onions
Unsalted butter: The original recipe for the sauce to be drizzled over the pasta is made with butter. I assume you can make it with just olive oil.
Mild pepper paste: This is found at almost every Middle Eastern market, and I use it a lot in my cooking. Whether you use a Turkish pepper paste or any pepper paste at the store, it should yield the same great flavor.
Turkish chili flakes, or regular chili flakes: I used normal chili flakes and wasn’t going to go hunting for Turkish chili. Lol.
Greek yogurt or plain yogurt: You can use plain or Greek.
Garlic cloves, minced
Minced parsley
Cherry Tomatoes

How to make “Manti” Turkish Pasta

process of cooking pasta and making the meat sauce for Turkish pasta.

Cook the pasta according to package directions. (Step 1).
In a large skillet over medium heat, sear the ground beef until almost cooked through. about 2-3 minutes. Add in the chopped onions. Season with salt and pepper. The meat should release its natural oils, and no need to add oil. (Step 2)
Next, add paprika, onion powder, and tomato paste. Mix again to combine (Step 3)
Sear everything until the onions are translucent and cooked through. About 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. (step 4)

steps to make the butter sauce and garlic yogurt sauce.

To make the butter sauce, melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Add the olive oil, pepper paste, dried mint, paprika, and chili flakes. (step 5)
Mix with a spatula to combine. About 1 minute. Set aside. (step 6)
Next, Make the garlic yogurt sauce. In a bowl, add the yogurt, garlic, salt, pepper, and a bit of water (about 2-3 tablespoons) to thin it down if it is too thick. (step 7)
Mix well to combine and set aside. (step 8)

Process shots showing how to assemble the pasta dish.

To assemble, place cooked pasta on a deep dish or plate. Then add 1/4th of the yogurt sauce. (Step 9)– you will be making 3-4 servings
Top with seasoned beef (step 10)
Drizzle some of the seasoned butter sauce over the seasoned beef. (step 11)
Garnish with chopped tomatoes and parsley. Enjoy. (step 12)

hand holding a plate of Turkish pasta topped with chopped tomatoes and parsley.

Recipe Notes

You can use any pasta of your choice. Consider using high protein pasta to cut down on the carbs.
The recipe for Turkish pasta is made with ground beef. You could try ground turkey if you prefer.
Turkish Mild pepper paste is easily found in Michigan at many Middle Eastern grocery stores. If this is something you can’t get your hands on, you can use any pepper paste. It will be almost the same flavor. You can also skip it for the butter sauce and add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste instead.
I used Greek yogurt to make the yogurt sauce. To thin it down a bit, you can add about 2-4 tablespoons of water. If you are using plain yogurt, you will most likely not need to add water to thin it down.
If you do not like a lot of garlic flavor, I suggest you use only one garlic clove. A couple of my kids said it was too much garlic, but I find that they just complain about everything 😁

Two plates full of Turkish pasta with two small bowls that have tomatoes and parsley in them.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use ground turkey?

Yes, You can use ground turkey if you prefer that over ground beef. The classic dish calls for ground beef, but use what you like.

What Can I use in place of turkish red pepper paste?

If you can’t find Turkish red pepper paste, you can use any red pepper paste you can get your hands on. If you can’t find any at all, replace it with tomato paste.

What type of pasta to use for turkish pasta?

Short pasta works best for this dish, like bowtie, shells, elbows, Farfalle, penne, rigatoni, rotini, and so on.

How to store leftover turkish pasta?

If you have leftovers, place them in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can reheat when ready to serve. If you plan on making extra, I recommend you store the garlic yogurt sauce separately.