Yayla Corbasi (Easy Turkish yogurt soup with mint) (2024)

Time to face the facts. I’m gonna pick you up and run you straight into a giant, nourishing bowl of steaming Yayla Corbasi! This classic yoghurt-based soup from Turkey is all yours, gluten-free, vegan, in all of its comfort food glory. Simply follow this easy-as-heck recipe that requires so few ingredients, that you probably already have ‘em on hand.

Yayla Corbasi, aka ”Plateau Soup,”is said to have earned its name due to its popularity among shepherds who roamed Anatolia’s picturesque plateaus. With its hearty, simple ingredients and soul-warming essence, the soup provided sustenance and comfort to those traversing the highlands, earning its place as a culinary companion to the rugged terrain.

Much like Turkey’s revered Ezogelin Corbasi (Turkish red lentil soup), Yayla Corbasi is a soup that delivers deep soothing flavor and nourishment with very few ingredients, and like Lahana Sarma, one of those ingredients is dried mint. I like to garnish the soup with a little fresh mint too, so you get both dimensions of mint flavor.

Let Yayla Corbasi be your gateway to the flavors and food culture of Anatolia. My family and I spent time there years ago, and we still treasure the pottery and culinary ideas we picked up. Turkish cuisine for the win!

🥰Why you are going to adore the ever-loving heck outta this recipe

✊Vegan AF: Of course, you can use whatever kind of yogurt you like, but my goal in crafting recipes is to cause no harm to animals and to live a low-impact, healthy and sustainable life. I love almond milk yogurt, and use it in everything from Vegan Butter Chicken to Labneh!

🤌Tiny Number of Ingredients: Crafted with a handful of thoughtfully chosen ingredients, this recipe is a celebration of health and flavor. Not only is it gluten-free, but it also doubles as a comforting remedy soup to soothe you when under the weather.

😻Quick as a Cat From stove to table, the lightning-fast preparation ensures you’ll soon be savoring a warm bowl of soup, without having wrecked your kitchen and burnt down your entire house or whatever!

✅Tested and Approved Worldwide Like all of the recipes on my blog, this Yayla Corbasi recipe isn’t just another culinary experiment. Aside from my personal testing and tweaking, this recipe has undergone meticulous testing by a team of dedicated recipe testers from all around the world. It’s a recipe that has been fine-tuned to perfection and has been given the thumbs up by cooks all around Turkey, and the planet.

🍚 Notable ingredients and substitutions

Rice

Rice, or Pirinç in Turkish, is part of the reliable foundation of Yayla Corbasi. Opt for white rice for faster cooking time, or brown rice for more fiber, minerals, and satisfying chew. Quinoa, millet or bulgur work in place of rice if you don’t have any on hand.

Plant-Based Yogurt

Bitkisel Yoğurt (“vegetable” yogurt) imparts a slightly sour creaminess to this vegan Yayla Corbasi. I adore using unsweetened almond milk yogurt, particularly Kite Hill brand, if you can get your hands on it. It’s my suggestion to useKite Hill’s regular yogurt, not their vegan Greek Yogurt, which I find has a kind of gloopy consistency.However, feel free to embrace your yogurt of choice, just keep it unsweetened for sure!

Dried Mint

Dried mint, or Kurutulmuş Nane, graces Yayla Corbasi with its distinctive aroma and flavor. A pinch of dried mint transforms the soup into a fragrant masterpiece, infusing each spoonful with a burst of coolness. Substitutions: Fresh mint leaves, though different/less intense in flavor, can be used if you don’t have dried mint.

White Pepper

White pepper, or Beyaz Biber is EVEN BETTER than Justin Biber…. Unlike its black counterpart, white pepper won’t visually disrupt the soup’s pristine appearance. Its gentle kick amplifies the overall flavor profile, elevating the taste experience with a touch of sophistication. But yeah, if you don’t have it, you can totes use black pepper, if you don’t mind the speckled appearance.

📖Step-by-step instructions

I’m gonna save you the humiliation of having this dish not come out perfectly, forcing you to order delivery pizza for dinner in utter shame. Here are a ton of tips, showing you each step like a book of spells you found in your wizard uncle’s enchanted trailer park. Or you can totally just skip to the easy-to-print recipe card at the bottom of this blog post.

Step one

Give your rice a good rinse under cool running water until it’s clean and free of extra starch. This gives the soup a better texture.

Step two

Add the rinsed rice and 4 ¼ cups of water to a soup pot or dutch oven. Set the heat to high and let it come to a boil. Once boiling, decrease the heat to low, tuck a lid on top, and cook for 25 minutes. Your mission? Tender, fully cooked rice.

See Also

The Ultimate Guide to Heavy Cream SubstitutesMy Yogurt Is Watery. Should I Pour It Out or Stir It In? | America's Test KitchenHow is Yogurt Made?Substituting Whipping Cream in Soup | Blue Flame Kitchen

Step three

In a bowl, whisk together the plant-based yogurt, white rice flour, white pepper, lemon juice, and salt.

Step four

Gradually pour your creamy yogurt mixture into the pot of cooked rice. Let the soup simmer over low heat for about 12-15 minutes.

Step five

Meanwhile, melt the vegan butter in a small pan over low heat. When the butter is melted, stir in crushed dried mint and continue to cook for about a minute until fragrant.

Step 6

Portion the soup into individual bowls or cups.

Complete your feast with the fragrant elegance of Rosewater Pistachio Baklava or the comforting embrace of pine nut and semolina helvasi.

Drizzle with the mint-infused vegan butter, and garnish with fresh mint leaves and optionally dash of paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, or lemon zest. Serve with Turkish runner beans or soslu patlican!

🍽️Serving Ideas

This soup goes with tons of other Turkish, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes!

Enjoy your velvety Yayla Corbasi with Turkish grape leaves dipped in mutabal, Cig Kofte, or Mercimek Koftesi. A side of spicy kisir, or Acılı Ezme salad on grilled Ekmek? Oh word.

💪Add protein by serving it with Loubia (stewed white beans), Barbunya Pilaki (Turkish Borlotti beans).

Turkish Olive Oil Braised Celery Root, or Potato Stuffed Flat Bread could only be best friends with one soup - Lahana Sarma (pls. don’t tell all other soups they have to play second fiddle).

🥙Sandwich time? Oyster Mushroom Shawarma or Vegan Kofta with Tzatziki on freshly made pita bread drenched in tahini and shatta sauce with a bowl of Turkish yoghurt soup on the side, ya silly head, you!

🤷‍♀️FAQ

✌️You might really wanna make these too.

These are some of my favey dishes to serve with yalya corbasi:

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