Manti Turkish Dumplings with Garlicky Yogurt and Spiced Oil

Mantı, often spelled “Manti,” are tender Turkish Dumplings filled with ground beef or lamb and topped with garlicky yogurt. Everything is finished with olive oil warmed and infused with red pepper paste, mint, sumac, and Aleppo pepper. Learn how to make this traditional Turkish Manti recipe today.

Manti is one of my all-time favorite dishes from my homeland, Turkey. The marriage of the melt-in-the-mouth dumplings, filled with onion-scented ground beef, and served with creamy garlicky yogurt and spicy olive oil is simply irresistible. This rich, comforting, and unique Turkish specialty makes a fantastic main course for entertaining and sharing with family and friends.

Just as Italians have Potato Gnocchi and Ricotta Gnocchi, we Turks adore mantı and we have many regional varieties. It is a shared culinary heritage that the nomadic Turkish tribes brought with them when they traveled from Central Asia toward Anatolia in the 11th century. Many cultures throughout central and western Asia have versions of manti though they are shaped and served differently. This manti recipe is what I grew up with in Turkey.

The small handmade dumplings take time but it is worth all the effort, and it is a wonderful dish to make with friends and family. I have many fond memories of gathering around the table with my grandparents, mom and dad to enjoy the mantı-making ritual. Some would make the dough, some would prepare the filling and help fill the mantı dumplings, all with the constant flow of tea, coffee, and daily gossip. Happy memories! 

It’s a great make-ahead recipe as manti can be par-baked and then frozen to use at a later date.

Table of Contents

1. Ingredients for Making Manti
1. Dough Ingredients
2. Filling Ingredients
3. For the Garlic Yogurt
4. For the Spiced Oil 
2. How to Make Manti Turkish Dumplings
1. Make and Rest the Dough
2. Make The Filling and Garlic Yogurt 
3. Shape the Manti
4. Par-Bake, then Boil the Manti
5. Finish and Serve
3. How to Freeze and Store Turkish Manti Dumplings
4. Ways to Mix it Up
5. What to Serve with Turkish Manti Dumplings?
6. Turkish Recipes You’ll Love
7. More Mediterranean Dumpling Recipes
8. Manti (Turkish Dumplings) with Garlicky Yogurt and Spiced Oil Recipe

Ingredients for Making Manti

Though manti takes time and care to prepare, the ingredients are rather simple and easy to source. Here is what you’ll need to make this manti recipe:

Dough Ingredients

• Plain (all-purpose) flour: All-purpose plain flour is traditionally used in mantı dough.
• Sea salt: Brings out the flavor of the dough.
• Egg: Binds the dough and adds richness.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Olive oil is my choice of fat to achieve a nice, smooth dough, as it is both healthy and flavorful.

Filling Ingredients

• Ground meat: Ground beef or lean ground lamb (10% fat) is the traditional choice of meat. You can also use a mixture of your choice of ground meat.
• Onion: Medium yellow or white onion is the traditional choice but you can use red onion too, if you like. If grated, please include the onion juice into the filling, which adds oodles of flavor.
• Seasoning: Salt and freshly ground black pepper enhance the flavor. 

For the Garlic Yogurt

• Yogurt: Thick and creamy whole milk plain yogurt is the best option, though you can use skimmed yogurt if you like too. A good quality Greek or Icelandic skyr yogurt would work here.
• Garlic: A must in the yogurt sauce, adding savory, punchy flavor. 
• Salt: It is important to season the yogurt with natural sea salt or kosher salt. I recommend avoiding table salts as it tends to have a harsh almost bitter flavor.

For the Spiced Oil 

• Turkish Red Pepper Paste (Biber Salçası) or double concentrated tomato paste: Pepper paste is our flavor-packed southern Turkish-style condiment made from juicy, spicy peppers. I often make my own, or you can source it online. For milder flavor (or something you’re more likely to have on-hand), use double concentrated tomato paste.
• Olive oil: Healthy, flavorful olive oil is again my choice of fat here, Mediterranean style.
  • WE RECOMMEND: A high-quality extra virgin variety, like any of the curated Mediterranean-style oils at our shop.
• Dried mint: The refreshing taste of dried mint is essential and traditional in this sauce for Manti feast. 
• Ground sumac: Tangy, ground sumac, made from the dried, crushed sumac berries, add a lovely citrusy taste to the sauce.
• Aleppo pepper (pul biber): We like to add a moderate, flavorful heat by using Aleppo pepper. You can find Aleppo pepper at our shop, or substitute with standard red chili flakes, though keep in mind red chili flakes are spicier than Aleppo pepper.
  • READ MORE: Learn more about these Turkish pantry essentials in our spice guides: “What Is Sumac?” and “What is Aleppo Pepper?”
  • TRY IT: Find all-natural sumac and Aleppo pepper at our spice shop. 

How to Make Manti Turkish Dumplings

This Manti recipe is ideal for a Sunday project, especially if you can recruit some friends or family members to help you with the folding. Here are the steps:

Make and Rest the Dough

• Make the dough. Sift scant 2 ½ cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon sea salt into a wide bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in 1 beaten egg, 1/2 cup (120 grams) water and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Use your hands to slowly draw the flour into the liquid until you have a dough. 
• Knead and rest. On a flour-dusted work surface, knead the dough for about 3–4 minutes until smooth and elastic. Manti dough needs to be quite firm to stretch well when rolling. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Make The Filling and Garlic Yogurt 

• Meanwhile, make the filling. In a large mixing bowl, stir together 8oz ground beef or lamb meat and 1 grated or finely minced onion. Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper and mix well. Cover and set aside.
• Make the garlic yogurt. In a medium bowl, whisk together 16 ounces plain yogurt and 2 or 3 minced or grated garlic cloves. Season with salt to taste. Cover and set aside to bring to room temperature.

Shape the Manti

• Get ready to bake. Grease a large sheet tray with a thin layer of olive oil. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Get ready to shape. Cut the dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into round dough balls. Keep the dough covered with a damp tea towel as you go to prevent it from drying. 
• Roll the dough. Lightly flour a clean work surface. Working one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough as thinly as you can into a sheet, about 12 x 10 inches. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into small even squares, about 1-inch each. 
• Add the filling. Add a small spoonful of filling to the middle of each square (about the size of a chickpea).
• Shape the Manti. Pinch the opposite corners together to form a little pouch and press the seams together to seal firmly. Lightly flour your fingers if handling the dough becomes too sticky. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, placing the shaped manti in a single layer in the prepared sheet tray. 

Par-Bake, then Boil the Manti

• Parbake the manti. Bake the dumplings in the hot oven for 8-10 minutes, until they start to become lightly golden. Set aside to cool before boiling or if you are making these for later you can freeze them at this stage once they’ve cooled. 
• Boil the manti. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, season the water well with salt and gently add the par-baked dumplings. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and simmer until the dumplings float, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and return the cooked manti to the pan off the heat. Toss with a light drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking. 

Finish and Serve

• While manti cooks, prepare the spiced oil. Heat 1/4 cup extra virgin oil in a wide pan until shimmering, then add 1 tablespoon pepper paste or tomato paste. Stir in 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper, 2 teaspoons dried mint, and 1 teaspoon sumac. Simmer, stirring, until fragrant, about one minute.
• Serve. Arrange the manti on a warm serving dish and spoon the garlic yogurt over the top. Drizzle with the spiced oil. Optionally, decorate with more mint and sumac. Afiyet Olsun! (It means “May you be happy and healthy with this delicious food you eat” in Turkish).

How to Freeze and Store Turkish Manti Dumplings

One of my favorite things about manti is how well they freeze and store, which means making a manti feast is possible on a busy weeknight with a little planning. To freeze them:

• Par-bake the dumplings for 8-10 minutes at 350°F, then set aside to cool.
• Once cool, freeze in a sealed bag for up to 3 weeks.
• When ready to eat, boil the frozen manti for 10-12 minutes and enjoy with the garlic yogurt and the spiced sauce, as per the recipe.

Ways to Mix it Up

Meat-filled manti are most common, but we also make vegetarian versions. For instance, we have a boat-shaped variety from northwestern Anatolia, a region in Turkey, with a delicious spiced chickpea (garbanzo bean) filling. Here are some more ideas to make this manti recipe your own:

• Use ground meat of your choice for the filling: Try it with ground turkey or chicken. They’re not traditional but the manti will still be delicious. 
• Make it vegetarian: Use cooked smashed garbanzo beans, combined with sautéed onions, cumin, and herbs, for a vegetarian option, as we do at home.
• Make it dairy-free: You can use an unflavored plant-based option for the yogurt if you prefer.
• Use other spices or crushed chili flakes: Use up spices that you enjoy in the sauce; be mindful though, as chili flakes can be spicier.

What to Serve with Turkish Manti Dumplings?

Manti is a special and impressive dish that we tend to serve on its own with garlicky yogurt and spiced oil sauce, as a main course. You may like to add a refreshing green salad dressed simply with Lemon Vinaigrette when serving.

Turkish Recipes You’ll Love

The world of Turkish cuisine is vast and filled with rich flavors, salads, stews, sweets and more. Once you’ve tried and mastered making this manti recipe experiment with some of my favorite Turkish recipes below:

• Kisir (Turkish Bulgur Salad)
• Pide (This version is vegetarian but is often made with ground meat)
• Cilbir (Turkish Eggs)
• Turkish Gozleme
• Lokum also known as Turkish Delight

More Mediterranean Dumpling Recipes

Italian

How to Make Potato Gnocchi

Entree

Pesto Gnocchi with Summer Veggies

Italian

How to Make Ricotta Gnocchi

Italian

Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Roasted Vegetables

Browse all Mediterranean recipes.

Visit Our Shop.