Dinner

Creamy Cheese Pasta

Name: Creamy Cheese Pasta
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 100 g spaghetti; 2 garlic cloves; 1 tbsp olive oil; 140 g whole Greek yogurt; 40 g part-skim mozzarella; 1 tsp dried Italian herbs; 1 pinch salt; 1 pinch black pepper; 2 spring onions

A 20-minute single-serving spaghetti with a Greek yogurt and mozzarella sauce, fried garlic, and dried Italian herbs.

Servings

Prep

5 min

Cook

15 min

Total

20 min

Plate of creamy spaghetti topped with sliced spring onions and a spoon resting in the bowl

Ingredients

100 g spaghetti (dry)
2 (6 g) garlic cloves (minced)
1 tbsp (13.5 g) olive oil
140 g whole Greek yogurt
40 g part-skim mozzarella (shredded)
1 tsp (1.3 g) dried Italian herbs
1 pinch (0.5 g) salt
1 pinch (0.5 g) black pepper
2 (30 g) spring onions (green parts sliced)

Equipment

Medium saucepan
Colander
Large frying pan
Knife and cutting board
Kitchen scale

Method

Cook the spaghetti

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente, following the time on the packet. Keep a few tablespoons of the cooking water before you drain it.

Prepare the garlic and spring onions

While the pasta cooks, mince the garlic and slice the green parts of the spring onions for the topping.

Fry the garlic

Warm the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat and add the garlic. Fry for about two minutes, until it turns light golden. Take it further than pale but stop before it browns, since burnt garlic turns bitter.

Make the sauce

Reduce the heat to its lowest setting. Stir in the Greek yogurt and the shredded mozzarella and keep stirring until the cheese has melted into a smooth sauce.

Season the sauce

Stir in the Italian herbs, salt, and black pepper. Taste and adjust before the pasta goes in.

Combine and serve

Add the drained spaghetti to the pan and toss until every strand is coated, loosening the sauce with the reserved pasta water if it looks tight. Plate it and scatter the spring onions over the top.

Nutrition

Per serving (the whole recipe), calculated from the listed ingredient quantities

Calories

761

Protein

35.7 g

Carbs

88.3 g

Fat

29.4 g

Fiber

5.3 g

Pasta at a glance

This makes one serving in 20 minutes. It provides 761 calories, 35.7 g protein, 88.3 g carbohydrates, 29.4 g fat, and 5.3 g fiber, calculated from the listed ingredient quantities.

The protein comes from the pasta, the Greek yogurt, and the mozzarella rather than from meat, so the dish works as a vegetarian main.

Keeping the yogurt sauce smooth

Yogurt splits if you heat it too fast. Take the pan down to its lowest setting before the yogurt goes in, and stir constantly until the mozzarella has melted through it. If the sauce does look grainy, pull the pan off the heat and keep stirring; it usually comes back together.

Whole Greek yogurt is more stable than a low-fat one because the extra fat protects the proteins. If you only have low-fat yogurt, take the pan off the heat entirely and let the residual warmth melt the cheese.

Keep a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water. Stirring it in loosens a sauce that has tightened up, and the starch helps it cling to the spaghetti.

Adjusting the portion

At 761 calories this is a full meal rather than a side. To bring it down, drop the pasta to 75 g and the olive oil to 2 teaspoons, which removes about 130 calories. To turn it into two smaller servings, cook 150 g of pasta and increase the yogurt to 200 g.

Serving and storage

Serve it immediately; a yogurt sauce is at its best straight from the pan. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and use them within three to four days. Reheat gently over low heat with a splash of milk or water, since a hard reheat will split the sauce.

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container within two hours and use them within three to four days. Reheat gently over low heat with a splash of milk or water so the yogurt sauce does not split.