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Yogurt-Based Recipes from Around the World

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These yogurt-based recipes bring the beloved creamy tang of yogurt to lots of dishes. There are foods for all times of day that use yogurt in creative and tasty ways.

If you like to use yogurt in recipes, be sure to come back to this page regularly. I will continue to add dishes from all over the world so that your next dose of inspiration is only a click away.

Yogurt dishes (tzatziki and cilbir)

Turkish Poached Eggs with Yogurt Recipe (Çılbır)

Çılbır (poached eggs in yogurt with a paprika-butter sauce)

Çılbır is how many Turks have started their day for centuries. This simple Turkish dish consists of poached eggs served on a creamy bed of yogurt and garlic.

The eggs are then drizzled with a butter and herb sauce that traditionally uses Aleppo pepper to add heat. If you can’t source Aleppo pepper, you can use paprika instead. Serve it with warm pita or flatbread to mop up the creamy sauce.

Turkish Poached Eggs

Creamy Homemade Labneh Recipe

Labneh with oregano and labneh with fruit.

Super simple to make, labneh is made from plain yogurt and salt. While it can be referred to as a dip or spread, labneh is essentially strained yogurt.

It is made by straining the moisture from the yogurt and salt mixture with a strainer. Labneh is ever present in Middle Eastern meze platters. Enjoy a lusciously thick dollop with fresh pita, crunchy vegetables, and spicy meat kebabs. For breakfast, try it with a slice of juicy melon.

Labneh Recipe

Creamy Greek Tzatziki Recipe

Tzatziki with pita

Greek food simply isn’t complete without a side of creamy, herby, and refreshing tzatziki. This sauce is typically made from mixing Greek yogurt with grated cucumber, chopped garlic, and olive oil. Herbs like dill and mint are often added, and you can add vinegar or lemon juice for some acidity.

Order a meat platter at a Greek restaurant, and you’ll get a side of tzatziki with it. It is the ideal complimentary dip for sizzling hot meat and pita bread.

Tzatziki Recipe

Tarator Recipe

Tarator

Tarator is a cold soup eaten in the summer months in Balkan countries, especially Bulgaria and Albania. My recipe mixes creamy yogurt with grated cucumber, chopped walnuts, garlic, and dill. Adding water helps you get a thinner consistency so that it is more like a soup and less like a dipping sauce.

Every spoonful is nutty, herby, and creamy. It is so refreshing when eaten cold. You can pair it with fried fish, fresh bread, or a glass of white wine to enjoy on a hot summer’s afternoon.

Tarator Recipe

Lassi

Mango Lassi

A lassi is a super satisfying yogurt-based drink, popular in Asia, and especially India. In the searing heat, a drink like this is ideal for cooling down.

My recipe is for mango lassi, which is one of the most popular types in India. That is because, during the mango season, India is home to some of the sweetest, juiciest mangoes in the entire world.

This recipe blends yogurt with fresh mangoes, water, sugar, cardamom, and ice, for a thick, sweet, and creamy beverage. Make it in the summer for friends, or keep things traditional by serving it with Indian-inspired curries and dishes.

Mango Lassi

There is so much you can do with plain yogurt beyond putting it on a granola or fruit bowl. Yogurt is used in countries worldwide in sides, mains, and drinks.

I hope these delicious and creamy recipes give you some ideas for what to make next. Let me know below what your favorite yogurt-based dishes are, and if you have any creative ways you use it in your cooking.

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Save and Pin for Later

Got some yogurt in the refrigerator and need some inspiration? Keep this recipe roundup on-hand by pinning it to one of your boards. You can revisit it at any time and see what dishes inspire you.

5+ yogurt-based recipes (featuring four images of yogurt dishes from the article)
5+ yogurt-based recipes (featuring four images of yogurt dishes from the article)

Authors

  • Doina Johnson is a recipe developer and writer. Doina has been cooking for most of her life, and her style draws from many different influences. She cooked with her mother and grandma growing up in Eastern Europe, before adding modern, western influences to her style when living in the United States for about a decade. Then, she traveled full-time for several years, trying food in Europe, Asia, and South America, and bringing those influences into her own cooking. She strives to introduce passionate homecooks to world cuisine, generally by trying the food herself abroad and then recreating it at home and, at times, enlisting the help of local foodies and chefs.

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  • Hey there! We are Dale and Doina, the founders of Nomad Paradise. We traveled full-time for over three years, and while we now have a home base in the U.K., continue to take trips abroad to visit new places and try new cuisines and foods. Our food guides are curated with the guidance of local foodies, and their contribution is indicated under each article. We also cook the foods we try abroad, and you can discover how to make them in our 'recipes from around the world' category.

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