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. (Head to my Instant Pot Baked Potatoes for a great recipe)
- 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.
Made this today and enjoyed it! Here are my thoughts 🙂
Pros:
-Healthy and protein rich alternative to traditional Alfredo sauce. Highly recommend pairing with protein pasta.
-MUCH better option than anything from a jar.
-I found this really filling. I prepared it with barilla protein spaghetti and also cooked up some broccoli for a more balanced meal.
Cons:
-The yogurt will want to separate in the saucepan. To help with this, I blended it 3 times in my nutribullet with 1/4 cup of the half & half while the other 1/4 cup was heating up in the saucepan with 2 minced garlic cloves. I found the sauce to still be a little lumpy… but much better than when it was not blended.
-this does not have the rich/savory flavor of true Alfredo. If you aren’t a fan of Greek yogurt – I’m not sure how you would feel about this sauce. It still has the sour hits that Greek yogurt is known for.
-the recipe calls for fat free half & half; I’d recommend against this. That type of product is made with corn syrup/added sugars. I’d recommend using whole milk, regular half & half, or even whipped cream cheese.
-use real garlic instead of the powder… the overall taste/flavor of the sauce is much brighter.
You can also cut cals/fat by using whipped butter instead of regular.
I’d make this again! And I added it to my recipe collection 🙂
Use freshly shredded cheese. I havent made this recipe a lot but there are a lot of pepple complaining that their sauce separated and then saying they used pre-shredded.
This should be added to the recipe too – intermediate and above cooks know never to use pre-shredded, but beginners don’t.
How long is it good in the fridge?
No more than a week
The cheese curdles the milk/yogurt
I just made the Greek yogurt alfredo sauce and it was delicious. However, does it matter if you use whole milk Greek yogurt? That’s all I had on hand. It started out great then when I added the pasta the cheese curdled. I am going to try making it again with plain “not plain whole milk” next time. 😊
This recipe hasn’t been tested with whole milk Greek yogurt so I cannot say for sure. But it sounds like it could have been, too much heat for too long!
Flavor was okay, but it didn’t stay together when I added it to the noodles. It separated immediately.
So easy, so delicious. Used almond milk
Winner Winner Alfredo Rotini Dinner!
Meatless Monday. Chickpea rotini. Broccoli, sundried tomatoes, wilted spinach, minced (not pressed) fresh garlic & lemon zest. Spooned the veggies in a bowl, set aside. Used the same sauce pan (ok, it was a wok) to fix up the sauce while the pasta cooked. I skipped the garlic powder since I used minced in the veggies, added the juice of 1/2 a small lemon cuz I love the brightness maybe even too much & a dash of red pepper flakes. Added the veggies back in the sauce on low for just a few minutes to warm through. Tossed it with the pasta, fresh basil & parsley to garnish. Voíla! Huge hit. Great recipe! Thank you!
Wow! Great job! Sounds delicious!
Thanks for posting
This reminds me of the DR Oz recipe when he used yogurt instead of heavy cream over a decade ago. This is one of the closest I could find
Haha, I’m so glad you’re able to enjoy this recipe!
that made a great, quick, dinner pasta with sauce for our children, thx for sharing the recipy
Thank you! I’m happy you were able to enjoy it 🙂
This had a really nice taste and texture! I was honestly surprised it was so good. It was so simple to make it will definitely be a part of my family meal rotation going forward.
How many calories for just the sauce without the noodles?
I made this tonight and put it over spinach ravioli. It was very good.
The nutrition stats on my recipes are not guaranteed to be 100 percent accurate and are based on the best tools we have at our disposal. For precise nutrition stats, use their preferred nutrition calculator.
Best Alfredo Sauce EVER. So smooth and creamy and tasted amazing. I struggle to find sauces I can have because I have a sensitive stomach, but I used dairy free milk and left out the pepper; this sauce was so delightful, the absolute best recipe I’ve tried. THANK YOU.
That’s great it turned out so well! 🙂 Thank you for your kind review!
We tried this for dinner tonight. The family loved it! My little one asked for another serving.
Wow the Parmesan did not melt evenly and the whole thing was a gloppy grainy mess. Had to throw it out. Then I googled and found Parmesan is very difficult to melt so no wonder!
Did you use powdered parmesan? Recipe worked perfectly for me!