21 Recipes That Prove Greek Yogurt Is Our Cooking MVP (2024)

The delicious lunch and picnic staple expertly combines well-seasoned chicken, a rich mayo dressing, plenty of fresh celery, and a touch of acid. It's then chilled until cold, giving the flavors time to meld and saturate the chicken, resulting in a refreshing, creamy, and super-satisfying snack. While, mayonnaise is king for creamy salads, it needs a little help to keep it from weighing everything down. Adding acid in the form of full-fat Greek yogurt, lemon, and Dijon mustard will help keep things rich yet light and bright.

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This no-bake cheesecake gets a stunning, swirly topping of blackberries that looks more like art than dessert. The cheesecake is tart and fluffy with the creamiest texture. You may not use all of the blackberry topping for the swirling, but save it; you can serve the cheesecake with the extra sauce to get more of that blackberry flavor.

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When two cravings strike simultaneously—one for a weeknight pasta draped in a rich, savory sauce, and another for a meal that will leave you feeling full but not sluggish—make this recipe. The secret to this pasta’s success? A tangy “cream” sauce made with rich Greek yogurt and salty feta that provides a bright contrast for the earthy, vegetal flavors of pan-fried asparagus. With a stacked cast of flavor heavy-hitters like sweet, lightly caramelized shallots, fresh dill, and toasty walnuts, this dish is every bit as satisfying as your other favorite creamy pastas.

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Tzatziki is a simple sauce that goes well on chicken shawarma, served with more cucumbers and pita, and everything else you want it on. It's the condiment we always keep in our fridge—just in case.

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This lamb sandwich is found in casual shops and restaurants all around Greece. Pronounced YEE-roh or ZHEE-roh (it rhymes with hero), gyro sandwiches are packed with delicious spiced lamb, crunchy fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and a tangy herb-and-cucumber yogurt sauce called tzatziki.

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Panera’s Cobb salad is like no other Cobb salad. Their creamy green goddess dressing is what makes it so popular. It’s bright and fresh with a little nuttiness from the Parmesan that sets it apart. It’s a great dressing to keep on hand to add to other salads or to serve over chicken. The rest of the salad has all of your classic Cobb toppings, like, hard-boiled eggs and crispy bacon. This salad always hits the spots when you need something hearty and filling, but still want to get your greens in.

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If mimosas are your thing, stop here! If they aren’t, you should still stick around. Cranberries, oranges, and bubbly Prosecco incorporated into a tender cake? And for breakfast too? This is exactly what cranberry-mimosa breakfast cake dreams are made of. Because we love our mimosas and our breakfast cakes, such as this blueberry-lemon one, we decided the world needed a fall-forward rendition.

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A large cast-iron skillet is the perfect cooking vessel for this recipe—we highly recommend using one. Make sure to heat your skillet in the oven while it preheats to create a searing hot surface to crisp the potatoes before adding the salmon. While the potatoes cook, the salmon takes a quick bath in an easy marinade of garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, coriander, cumin, paprika, oil, and salt. Not only will this help flavor our salmon as a marinade, but it also doubles as a cooking fat.

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We’re no strangers to a great chickpea salad, so coming up with a Greek-inspired one was a no-brainer. It’s got all the flavors you love from Greek salad, turned into something more substantial and filling that pairs well with almost anything. It’s wonderful on its own, or served alongside chicken, seafood, or steak for a complete meal. You could even stir in sliced salami or chopped boiled eggs to boost it up. Trust us—you’re going to want to keep a few cans of chickpeas in your pantry so you’ll always be ready to make this. (Hot tip: It’s great for bringing to last-minute potlucks too!)

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If spinach-artichoke dip is one of those things you get really excited about at a party but you feel like it takes too much effort, this slow-cooker version is for you. Don’t bother turning on the oven (especially when you have other appetizers to bake—cranberry brie bites, perhaps?).

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Few types of meat scream “special occasion” like lamb. So whether it's a dainty and delicious rib chop, a slow-cooked shank, or a centerpiece-worthy leg of lamb, this marinade will make it even more special. To get the most irresistible flavor possible, we blended tangy Greek yogurt, olive oil, earthy herbs and spices, and a few cloves of grated garlic for a spicy punch.

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This recipe marries two of our favorite creamy comfort foods, spicy chicken tikka masala and rich, garlicky fettuccine alfredo. We marinate boneless skinless chicken thighs in yogurt, before whipping up the flavorful sauce and broil the chicken until perfectly charred and tender. Toss with a long pasta (we love bucatini) and that's it: an amazing, unique dinner on your table in just over an hour!

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Egg salad is wonderful as is. But add bacon, blue cheese, avocado, and tomatoes, and you've got a lunch that you'll be dreaming about for days. The red wine vinegar–yogurt dressing is amazing and works well in regular Cobb salad, too. Our advice? Eat this over toasted sourdough or in a sandwich. Yes, it's delicious on its own, but it's SO damn good with bread.

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Traditional naan is a South Asian flatbread that is usually cooked in a tandoor oven. The bread quickly bubbles up when being baked and yields a soft texture with slightly crisp edges. Made with yogurt to keep it soft, naan has a very slight tang making it extra flavorful and perfect for soaking up all of that extra sauce from chicken tikka masala or served as an appetizer along with garlic hummus.

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We're always on the hunt for dinner ideas that can do double-duty as a weeknight wonder and a dinner party stunner, and this stuffed salmon does just that. Oven-roasted salmon is already delicious on its own, but adding a filling made of briny feta cheese, earthy cooked spinach, and savory-sweet cherry tomatoes will take your favorite fish up a few notches. To finish it off, the salmon gets topped with a mix of scallions, crushed red pepper, and yep—extra feta.

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Butter chicken is one of the most popular dishes at most Indian restaurants, and for good reason. This chicken dinner uses deeply flavored chicken thighs, simmered in an ultra-silky and aromatic sauce of tomatoes, cream, and cashews. The cashews lend a buttery nuttiness and great texture to the sauce in this recipe, but blanched almonds would also work well. For the ultimate weeknight dinner, spoon this dish over steamed rice or serve with warm naan.

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This luxuriously creamy street food rock star has just the right amount of tang. Drizzle on beef, lamb, chicken, or grains or serve as a dip with crudités.

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We’re huge fans of salad year-round, but when the temperatures drop, all we want is a big, comforting bowl of soup. For this recipe, we took inspiration from one of our favorite salad dressings, green goddess. The creamy dressing is wholesome, herbaceous, and can improve even the most lackluster of salads, so we knew it had potential to be an incredible soup. Eating our greens just got a whole lot easier and tastier!

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Labneh is a Middle Eastern strained yogurt that’s creamy, tangy, and thicker than Greek yogurt (although in a cinch, the perfect substitute—just make sure it’s the full-fat version). It’s rich and luscious, so it takes kindly to basically anything grilled and charred, like ahi tuna and broccolini. The lemony labneh can be made a day ahead, though the lemon will mellow. If that’s the case, add more lemon juice to taste right before serving.

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With roots in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and England, there are endless iterations of Mulligatawny soup, a brightly colored blended lentil soup with the perfect balance of spicy, creamy and sour with a hint of sweetness. The most crucial elements of Mulligatawny are a blend of south Indian spices, creamy lentils, and a subtle sour punch from Granny Smith apples and lemon (or tamarind if you have it!).

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