three easy sauces made with chobani

chobani greek yogurt can make these three easy sauces

We eat a lot of yogurt over here at Chopsticks Palace (incidentally, that’s what I’m going to call my food truck one day too). My real love of yogurt started back in the days when I studied in London as a graduate student. It was 2001, I was broke as all get-out, and in the post-9/11 world I was living in, I missed the United States, my family and friends and sour cream. In that order, of course.

My student budget meant that I survived on heaping bowls of chili in London. It kept my belly warm and full (whenever wine wasn’t in there), but what I really loved were the toppings we Americans associated with chili — corn chips, green onions, shredded cheese, and, of course, my beloved, my one and only sour cream. But sour cream wasn’t readily found back then in the market near my dorm, so I figured out pretty early on that yogurt could be a good substitute.


creamy garlic and sesame dressing made with chobani

Last month, a representative from Chobani Greek yogurt reached out to me and asked me if I’d share a few recipes using their brand, and so today I’m showing you three yogurt-based sauces that we eat almost weekly in our home. The first, a creamy sesame-garlic dressing, is our favorite to eat with kale-based salads. It’s absolutely killer with denser greens like kale, bringing out their bitter, crisp flavor and standing up to kale’s intensity. I love to top our kale salads with dried cranberries, sliced almonds and super ripe avocados for extra tartness and to up the crunch factor.

coconut and meyer lemon labneh made with chobani

The second sauce I made with Chobani is this coconut labneh scented with Meyer lemon zest.  The kids love dipping sauces, so based on a recipe I learned from chef Bryan Breland at The Coastal Cupboard in Charleston, South Carolina, I started making this very easy coconut milk-based labneh, which strains overnight with Chobani to make this smooth, refreshing topping for fresh fruit. If you use fresh grated coconut, the intense coconut flavor comes out even more, and it’s an irresistible way to punch up a breakfast serving of berries or slices of melon.

carrot raita made with chobani

The third way I used Chobani yogurt was on our regular Indian dinner night. I usually make this chickpea curry from the One Ingredient Chef (omitting the cayenne pepper for my little ones) along with some version of a butter chicken (if I’m feeling lazy, this butter chicken paste from Kitchens of India is a really good shortcut way to make some delicious chicken makhani). The carrot raita is fun for my littles because they love swirling the yogurt in with the curries and making this mellow, spiced mess of food. Since I load my version up with shredded carrots, the kids also get an extra boost of veggies. We eat everything with Trader Joe’s naan, too, so having a raita is another good medium to soften up the naan and add flavor.

creamy garlic sesame dressing made with chobani
Creamy garlic-sesame dressing made with Chobani goes great on top of kale salad

Making each of these sauces takes just a few minutes (although the labneh has to strain overnight), and I really liked using Chobani in particular because of its mouth-pleasing texture and relative lack of tartness. Most Greek yogurts I’ve tried tend to have a pucker to them that makes it hard to add acidic ingredients to (like lemon juice or vinegar), but I found that the subtle tartness in Chobani complemented each of these sauces really nicely without overpowering the flavors I was trying to impart.

Although I guess if you wanted to go really simple, you could just slap a dollop of Chobani on top of a nice, steaming bowl of chili and call it a day. That’s what graduate student me would’ve done, and it certainly would’ve taken the edge off my sour cream heartbreak homesickness.

creamy garlic-sesame salad dressing

Time5 mins
CourseSalad, Side Dish
CuisineAsian
Servings1 cup
A super easy creamy salad dressing that pairs well with kale salads

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons organic tahini
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • juice from a freshly squeezed lemon (approximately 2 tablespoons)
  • 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
  • 1-2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt (preferably Chobani)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh minced chives
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and stir well.
  • Serve immediately.
  • Salad dressing will keep for up to 1 week covered & refrigerated.

 

coconut and meyer lemon labneh
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1 cup
This labneh is made with coconut milk and an absolute delight over fresh fruit
Ingredients
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt (preferably Chobani)
  • 2 tablespoons grated unsweetened coconut (preferably fresh)
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • juice and zest from 1 Meyer lemon
  • juice and zest from 1 Clementine orange (optional)
  • cheesecloth (for straining)
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
  2. Drape cheesecloth over a medium-sized bowl. Slowly pour in yogurt mixture and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  3. In the morning, remove cheesecloth from bowl and twist to secure top so that cheesecloth forms a ball around the yogurt mixture. Squeeze the ball a few times to remove any excess liquid.
  4. Unfold cheesecloth and serve immediately.

 

carrot raita

Time5 mins
CourseSide Dish
CuisineAsian
Servings1 cup
This cooling Indian dip is a great side dish for curries

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Greek yogurt (preferably Chobani)
  • 2/3 rds cup grated fresh carrots
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • freshly ground pepper (to taste)

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and serve immediately.

Note: the folks at Chobani contacted me and asked me to participate in their #MadeWithChobani campaign, but I was not compensated for this post, nor did I receive any free products.

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About me

I’m Ann, a mom / wife / lawyer / certified culinary enthusiast. I share recipes, travel guides and home life tips while living overseas. Currently based in São Paulo, Brazil.

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