Super creamy and rich, this protein-packed Greek Yogurt Alfredo Sauce is so amazing you’ll ditch store-bought versions for good!
Looking for more ways to use Greek yogurt in your favorite foods? Look no further! Try these recipes ASAP: Greek Yogurt Waffles, Greek Yogurt Banana Bread, and Greek Yogurt Banana Bread.
When I first posted this recipe, I was in school. As in, college. Can you believe that? It seems like 20 years ago. I can’t believe I was finishing up school AND keeping up with this blog. I’ve always been like that though, go, go, go!
I used to do upwards of 12 recipes a week and still go to school. I wish I had that energy now! Omg. Just thinking about it makes me want to take a nap.
But, looking back on that time is a good thing for me to do once in a while, as it makes me realize how much I loved putting together a simple recipe, even waaaaay back then. Like many of us back then (and, okay, now too), I lived on carbs. I always had a bowl full of cooked pasta in the fridge and some homemade sauce ready to add to it at a moment’s notice, like this Greek Yogurt Alfredo Sauce.
I just love cooking and baking with Greek yogurt — I think it tastes way better than sour cream and is healthier for you too! It’s a great substitute for heavy cream and milk in many recipes as well. It’s loaded with protein and it adds yummy flavor to your dishes — way better than sour cream if you ask me.
When I worked it into this alfredo sauce recipe, I was instantly hooked. So creamy, so much flavor, so much goodness on top of any pasta you desire. Stop buying the jarred stuff and make some of this gorgeous sauce at home. You. Will. Love. It.
WHAT INGREDIENTS DO YOU NEED TO MAKE ALFREDO SAUCE WITH GREEK YOGURT?
You only need 5 ingredients to make this sauce! 5! Amazing, right?
- Butter
- Garlic powder
- Milk or water (I used fat free half & half)
- Plain greek yogurt (I used 0% fat)
- Shredded parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper
- Dried or fresh parsley
- Cooked pasta noodles
HOW DO YOU MAKE ALFREDO SAUCE WITH GREEK YOGURT?
Making sauces with Greek yogurt is easier than you might think.
In a medium saucepan, first melt the butter over medium heat. Then stir in the garlic powder, then add milk or water and stir again. Take it off the heat and allow it to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then whisk in the Greek yogurt a little bit at a time until it’s fully incorporated.
Next, add the parmesan cheese into the sauce and stir until that’s all melted and the sauce if smooth and creamy. (If it needs to be heated up a bit for all the cheese to melt, it’s okay to put the pan back on the stove on low until it’s all melted.)
Add salt and pepper to taste and add on top of your favorite cooked pasta noodles. That’s really all there is to it!
HOW DO YOU STORE GREEK YOGURT ALFREDO SAUCE?
As I mentioned, I like to keep a jar of this sauce in the fridge just in case an alfredo craving hits. I store mine in an airtight jar, but any airtight container will do. The sauce will thicken as it sits in the fridge, but you can add a tablespoon of water or milk and microwave it to heat/thin it back out before pouring over pasta.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REGULAR AND GREEK YOGURT?
While both kinds of yogurt start out the same (using milk and bacteria cultures), there are a couple key differences between Greek yogurt and regular yogurt.
When making Greek yogurt, after the milk and bacteria ferment, the liquid whey is drained off the solid yogurt three times, which is why it’s so much thicker than regular yogurt.
The straining process for regular yogurt is much less frequent — only one or two strainings there which is why it’s more creamy and less thick. The more concentrated the yogurt is, the more protein it contains, which is why Greek yogurt is such a great source of protein.
IDEAS FOR USING ALFREDO SAUCE
Alfredo sauce goes great over pasta, and so many other things, too, like:
- Stuffed pasta like tortellini or ravioli.
- Cooked veggies like broccoli or cauliflower.
- As a base for pizza instead of pizza sauce.
- As a sauce in casseroles.
- Use it warm as a dip for chips.
- Add it to Italian soups to make it more creamy and rich.
- Top off baked potatoes with some of the garlicky sauce.
- Add it as a sauce in lasagne instead of (or in addition to) marinara.
Greek Yogurt Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- ½ cup milk or water - (I used fat free half & half)
- ¾ cup plain greek yogurt - (I used 0% fat)
- ½ – ⅔ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- optional: ½ teaspoon dried parsley - (or 1 teaspoon fresh)
- 8 ounces pasta noodles - cooked
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in garlic powder. Stir in milk (or water). Remove from heat and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes. Gradually whisk in greek yogurt.
- Add parmesan cheese to sauce and stir until melted. (If the cheese doesn’t melt completely because the sauce is too cool, return to stove on low for a couple of minutes) Add salt and pepper to taste and toss with your favorite cooked pasta noodles.
Absolutely delicious! Simple and easy. A lot of other recipes seemed complex, but this was fast and easy and it tasted delicious. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe!
So glad you liked it!!
I cut the recipe down to one serving since I usually only cook for myself, used Unsweetened Almond Milk and just Plain Yogurt, not Greek, and it was wonderful 😀 Probably my favorite pasta sauce to date.
Help me! I followed this recipe exactly and as soon as it hit the pasta it got all coagulated and chunky. Any reason you can thing of why this happened? I used 2% milk and chobani plain 0% yogurt. I liked the taste of the sauce but once it was with the noodles it was not good 🙁
Hi Emily! Wow that’s really strange that the consistency changed just when it hit the noodles… I haven’t ever had that happen before with any kind of pasta sauce!!
Hi Emily! The reason your sauce separated is because low / no fat dairy is extremely unstable when it’s introduced to heat — I’m guessing your noodles were still extremely hot when you added the cream? What happened was the protein separated from the whey because there was no fat to bind them. Basically, you made cheese. LOL!
There are 3 ways to avoid this:
1. Never overheat or boil cream sauces – if you have to warm the sauce, make sure to do it on low heat and wisk constantly. And make sure that whatever you’re adding the sauce to is cooled to under 75 degrees.
2. Use Plain Greek Yogurt instead of Fat Free (I recommend Cabot – I use it as a substitute for sour cream and cream cheese as well) – the milk fat will interfere with the protein’s ability to separate from the whey = no more instant cheese!
3. If you must go low fat then to each cup of yogurt, add either 1 tsp of cornstarch or 2 tsp of white flour. They acts much like the milk fat — this method is widely used in Indian Curries and creamy soups that use yogurt and also works when heating heavy cream and buttermilk.
I hope this helps!!
Thanks, Randi, for such a helpful post. And a science lesson to boot!
Thanks, Randi! I’m adding this to my recipe!
Same exact thing happened to me.
I had my doubts about this recipe. It’s delish! I had one problem. I reheated it too fast when I added the parmesan cheese. I will be patient and put on the simmer burner next time. I would say it is important to use a quality parmesan.
Will be trying more of your recipes.
Added sausage and SHRIMp, fresh garlic and Cajun seasoning(SORT of Cajun ALFREDO), IT was amazing.
I have made this sauce a couple times now, I must say that it’s really really delicious!
pro tip: if you find your sauce is a little on the watery side, add a little bit of flour (2 tsp at a time) and that will thicken it right up! add too much flour? add a bit of chicken stock, bam now your watering it down a bit. Play with those measurements until you get the consistency you desire!