Thick cut pappardelle noodles are tossed in a creamy tomato ranch sauce made with Sabra’s Farmer’s ranch Greek yogurt dip for a healthier version of a decadent dish.
This dish epitomizes everything I want out of a pasta dish in the colder months. I have a love/hate relationship with ordering pasta at a restaurant. Thing is, for the most part, if we’re out to eat, it’s at a pretty nice place. I don’t want to waste my money on chains and mediocre restaurants (god, that sounds uber obnoxious doesn’t it?) and nice places tend to have super appealing pasta courses that, come October-March, sound like the most perfect thing ever. However, paying like $20-$30 for a serving of pasta when I can buy a pound of it in the store for $2, drives me nuts.
Therein lies the love/hate.
The second I see pappardelle though, my decision is made, it’s the one pasta I can’t pass up.
My obsession with this thick flat noodle of deliciousness started when I was 20, living in Spain and visiting family in Italy with my mom and grandma. We took a trip to see my grandma’s aunt in her tiny apartment in Cicagna, Italy and she made us homemade pappardelle with wild boar sauce.
It was quite possibly the most memorable meal of the entire 4 months I spent living abroad and ever since, pappardelle has had my heart.
Be sure to try this creamy lemon lobster pappardelle if you love this pasta too. It makes a great “special occasion” meal!
Seeing a huge imported bag of it at the store the other day, I didn’t even think twice and in my cart it went.
Pappardelle has no place being served as anything but comforting. Don’t try to primavera this pasta up or dress it lightly, it wants creaminess, heartiness and soul warming accompaniments.
Only issue is, that usually comes at a caloric price.
With a constant supply of Sabra’s Greek Yogurt Dips in my refrigerator, I got the idea to use one as the base for the sauce in this pasta. Creaminess without being a calorie bomb!
Their newer flavor, Farmer’s Ranch, is one of my favorites because it’s filled with real vegetables (and an ingredient list you can feel good about) yet still has that comforting ranch flavor we all love. Blended with some peeled San Marzano tomatoes, I made a creamy pink ranch sauce that coats every inch of the pappardelle.
The majority of the time in this recipe is spent making the caramelized onions, but I refuse to let you skip them. The saying good things come to those who wait couldn’t be truer than when it comes to caramelized onions. They’ll test your patience and make you smell like you might’ve forgotten your deodorant that morning, but they’re worth every single minute.
Same thing applies in this pumpkin goat cheese dip with caramelized onions – don’t skip them!
The sweetness they bring to each bite perfectly complements the creamy tomato ranch flavor of the pasta and something you’ll definitely regret skipping out on.
Creamy Tomato Ranch Pappardelle with Caramelized Onions
Ingredients
- 1 pound pappardelle
- 4 medium yellow onions, sliced
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 10 ounce container Sabra Farmer's Ranch Greek Yogurt Dip
- 7 ounces canned peeled tomatoes
- parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Place olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, reduce heat to medium and cook until caramelized, about 45 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Place Greek yogurt dip and tomatoes in a food processor and process until fully incorporated. Set aside.
- During the last 10 minutes of the onions cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pappardelle and cook until al dente according to package directions (about 8-9 minutes).
- Drain the pasta then place back into the pot. Immediately add the Greek yogurt dip and tomato sauce mixture to the pot and toss until all the pasta is coated in the sauce.
- Transfer to a serving dish, top with the caramelized onions and garnish with parsley.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
*Thanks to Sabra for sponsoring this post. All content and opinions are my own.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I can usually look past pasta. The guilt. Oh good god, the guilt. But good pasta. Like. perfect delicious pasta ( you know, the picture of perfection you have here) that I could never ever possibly pass up. This meal looks absolutely stellar.
So i just looked up random recipes and I found this site, I was taken by the sweet potato cream cheese ice cream, but this papperdalre pasta takes the cake! I will have to invest in a hefty supply because this is now on my favorite foods list!
Pasta and caramelized onions? You just called me to the table! I will definitely make this. I can taste it already!
What is it about papperdalre pasta? I can’t pass it up either! This looks like the best pasta dish ever. So creamy!
Those creamy noodles look absolutely amazing. I can’t wait to make this dish!
You and me both!
papperdale is one of my fav pastas! I love how you used the greek yogurt dip for a creamy sauce! YUM!
Gina, these pictures are amazing!! I love everything about this!
Thanks, lady! :)
Pappardelle is my favorite pasta by far! I love the idea of the ranch flavor with this, totally trying it out!
So pasta isn’t usually my thing, but pappardelle is in a world of it’s own. Those wide ribbony noodles are amazing! I love the way you used the ranch Greek yogurt dip as the sauce, so much flavor!
Holy smokes, this is the stuff dreams are made of! I’m head-over-heels with anything that involves caramelized onions and this has so many other great things going on too!