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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.
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.
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
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
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 😁
Frequently asked questions
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.
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.
Short pasta works best for this dish, like bowtie, shells, elbows, Farfalle, penne, rigatoni, rotini, and so on.
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.
More pasta recipes
- Marry Me Chicken Pasta
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Broccoli Chicken Pasta Casserole
- Chicken and Kale Pasta
- Lemon Chicken Pasta
- Baked Chicken Alfredo
- Southwest Chicken Alfredo
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You may also like
- Beef Wellington
- Garlic Beef Tenderloin Roast
- Easy Beef Pot Roast
- Mongolian Beef Stir Fry
- Homemade Beef Stew
- Beef Bolognese Sauce
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Viral Anna Pauls Turkish Pasta
Video
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta of choice
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 2 medium yellow onions, diced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika powder
- Salt and Pepper to taste
For the Butter sauce:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried mint, or fresh
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika, not smoked
- 1 tablespoon mild pepper paste
- 1 teaspoon Turkish chili flakes, or regular chili flakes
For the yogurt sauce:
- 1 cup Greek yogurt, or plain yogurt
- 2-3 small garlic cloves, minced, you can use one for a lighter garlic flavor
- Salt and pepper
To Garnish:
- 1/4 cup minced parsley
- 1/2 cup Cherry tomatoes, diced
Instructions
- Cook the 8 ounces pasta of choice according to package directions.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, sear the 1 pound lean ground beef until almost cooked through. about 2-3 minutes. The beef should release its natural oils, and no need to add oil.
- Add in the diced 2 medium yellow onions, Salt and Pepper to taste, 2 teaspoons sweet paprika powder, 2 tablespoons onion powder, and 1 tablespoon tomato paste.
- Mix and sear everything until the onions are translucent and cooked through. About 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- To make the butter sauce, melt the 1/4 cup unsalted butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Add the 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon mild pepper paste, 1 teaspoon dried mint, 1 tablespoon sweet paprika, and 1 teaspoon Turkish chili flakes. Mix with a spatula to combine. About 1 minute. Set aside.
- Next, Make the garlic yogurt sauce. In a bowl add the 1 cup Greek yogurt, 2-3 small garlic cloves (minced), Salt and pepper, and a bit of water (about 2-3 tablespoons) to thin it down if it is too thick. Mix well to combine.
- To assemble, place cooked pasta on a deep dish or plate. Then add 1/4 th of the yogurt sauce, top with seasoned beef, drizzle some of the seasoned butter sauce, and garnish with chopped 1/4 cup minced parsley and 1/2 cup Cherry tomatoes (chopped). Enjoy.
Notes
-
- Garlic: Please note that some of you feel like to 2-3 small cloves of garlic is a bit intense. If you do not like the intense garlic flavor, please use only one garlic clove.
- You can use any pasta of your choice. Consider using high-protein pasta to cut down on the carbs.
- NOTE: Originally, Turkish pasta is made with some ground cumin to season the ground beef. I personally don’t like cumin much, so I left it out. You may add one teaspoon of cumin along with the paprika and onion powder to season the beef.
-
- The recipe for Turkish pasta is made with ground beef. You could try ground turkey if you prefer.
-
- Turkish Mild pepper paste can be easily found in Michigan at many Middle Eastern grocery stores. If you can’t find it, you can use any pepper paste. It will be almost the same flavor. You can also skip it for the butter sauce and add one 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
OMG! it is so good!!! Thank you!
Glad you loved it. Thanks for the feedback.
This was a delicious and easy take on pasta. Even my 91 year old mother loved it. As she said “this is keeper”. Thanks for the recipe.
Nice! Glad you loved it. Thanks for the feedback.