With Greek Yogurt And Ground Beef, You Have The Start Of A Hearty, High-Protein Pasta Dish

If you love the taste of one-pot beef stroganoff but wish it kept you fuller for longer, skip the pricey sirloin, heavy cream, and sour cream and make a simplified variation with ground beef and Greek yogurt. This straightforward pasta dish has all the same flavors of classic stroganoff but with a lighter finish and more protein per serving.

Regarding yogurt's protein count, low-fat Greek-style yogurt has an impressive 20 grams in each 7-ounce serving. Meanwhile, a 3.5-ounce portion of 90/10 ground beef has 26 grams of protein. Both of these protein-rich ingredients are easy to combine and make a delicious, hearty stroganoff in no time. The key to using Greek yogurt in beef stroganoff is mixing it in with the beef broth at just the right time for an ultra-silky finish.

To make this high-protein meal, all you need to do is brown the ground beef over the stove, remove it from the pan, then build your sauce with a base of butter, flour, beef broth, and Dijon mustard. Once you have a flavorful sauce base, simmer it over the stove, add the beef back to the pot, and then remove it from the heat. Lastly, stir in some room temperature Greek yogurt and ladle this creamy, beefy sauce over your preferred variety of cooked pasta.

Start by building this recipe with 90% or 93% lean ground beef. If you're cooking with 80% or 85% lean ground beef, drain off any excess grease from the pan before building the sauce. Speaking of which, once you remove the beef from the skillet, feel free to sauté some sliced onions and mushrooms before adding in the base ingredients of the sauce. Aromatic ingredients like onions and garlic make this meal more flavorful.

To counteract the tang of Greek yogurt, add a bit of Worcestershire sauce or something similar. You can also reduce a small amount of white wine for added complexity. The fat content of the Greek yogurt is also important to take notice of. Use either full-fat or low-fat varieties for the best texture since non-fat Greek yogurt has a higher chance of curdling when mixed into hot liquid. 

Whether you choose the best high-protein yogurt at the grocery store (which is Fage) or some other brand you prefer, adding Greek yogurt into hot beef stroganoff isn't as simple and straightforward as using heavy cream and sour cream. Bring the Greek yogurt to room temperature before adding it in and stir it into the sauce away from the heat to avoid curdling. To ensure a creamy end result, you can also temper Greek yogurt by mixing it with a small amount of hot broth before adding it into the sauce.