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Home » Recipes » Sauces, Dips & Topping Recipes

Tzatziki- Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Published: Aug 19, 2022 · Modified: Sep 4, 2022 by Colleen 9 Comments

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Tzatziki sauce in a black bowl.
Tzatziki sauce in a black bowl.

Cool and creamy Tzatziki sauce is a summertime staple when cucumbers are at their best. It's super easy to make and goes with everything.

Creamy tzatziki sauce in a black dish, surrounded by vegetable slices.
Creamy and cool

What is Tzatziki?

Tzatziki is a yogurt, garlic and cucumber dip that goes well with Greek dishes, like souvlaki, or calamari. It's fresh, crisp, tart, and creamy all at once.

A staple at Greek restaurants, it brings a cucumber coolness to anything deep-fried or spicy, and it makes a lovely dip for bread, especially pita, crackers, or veggies.

It is also a delicious accompaniment to this yummy Turkey Souvlaki dish, spread on a warm pita and piled with roasted peppers.

What's To Love?

  • This creamy sauce is so quick and easy it is to put together. Tzatziki is one of the fastest and easiest sauces to make.
  • Creamy Greek yogurt, cucumber, lemon, fresh dill and garlic add freshness and cool to grilled meats, spicy foods, and so much more.
  • This delicious Greek sauce is so versatile. Of course it's great with Greek food like souvlaki and Greek Meatballs, but you can also use it as a dip for veggies or pita chips or bread, spread it on sandwiches, burgers, or tacos.
A cucumber slice being dipped into a bowl of tzatziki.
Perfect for dipping

Ingredients You Need

  • Greek Yogurt You can use either low-fat or full-fat Greek yogurt. Traditionally, tzatziki is made with strained goat's milk yogurt or sheep's milk yogurt. Here in North America, Greek yogurt is about as close as you can get, since it is already strained. For best results, don't use regular plain yogurt for this recipe; your sauce will be runny.
  • Cucumber Use a fresh, crisp cucumber. Long English cucumbers are best because they have fewer and smaller seeds than a standard pickling cucumber and there's no need to peel.
  • Garlic You can peel and mince the cloves, or buy already minced garlic in a jar.
  • Fresh Dill You can use fresh mint or any other fresh herbs instead if you prefer it.
  • Olive Oil Extra virgin olive oil is the best choice for this homemade tzatziki recipe.
  • Lemon Juice Freshly squeezed, of course. If you don't have a lemon, or prefer not to use fresh lemon juice, substitute white wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar in the same amount.
The ingredients needed to make tzatziki sauce.
Ingredients for Tzatziki

How to Make Tzatziki

It's so simple!

  1. Grate the cucumber and squeeze out as much water as you can.
Grated cucumber in a glass bowl.
Grated cucumber
  1. Add the remaining ingredients.
All of the recipe ingredients in a glass bowl.
The rest of the ingredients are added.
  1. Stir to combine.
The finished tzatziki sauce with all the ingredients stirred together in a glass bowl.

Helpful Tips

  • Grate cucumber using a box grater, or use a food processor.
  • To avoid a runny sauce, it's important to remove as much liquid as possible from the cucumber after it's grated. You can do this by grating over a sieve, then pressing the excess water out with a spoon. You can also wrap the grated cucumber in paper towels or cheesecloth, then gently squeeze over the sink until most of the excess moisture is removed.
  • Although English cucumbers are easy to use because you don't need to peel them, you can use garden cucumbers if that's what you have. Just be sure to peel them if the skin is tough.
  • You can enjoy your homemade tzatziki sauce right away, however, it does taste best after chilling in the fridge for at least an hour.
  • Store your delicious Greek yogurt sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Serving Suggestions

Use this homemade tzatziki sauce recipe as a dip for pita bread, fresh vegetables or crackers. It's great for dipping Air Fryer Rutabaga Fries or Baked Zucchini Fritters . You can also enjoy this yogurt sauce on souvlaki, or Greek Meatballs (Keftedes) Or replace the vinaigrette on this Greek Pasta Salad Recipe with tzatziki for a creamier version.

But don't stop with traditional uses! Tzatziki is delicious with grilled chicken. It perfectly compliments Grilled Boneless Chicken Thighs, and is a delicious balance on spicier chicken dishes like Buffalo Chicken Thighs, Grilled Harissa Chicken Drumsticks, or Grilled Jerk Chicken Drumsticks.

Try tzatziki on tacos like Coconut Shrimp Tacos, or fish (we love it with Blackened Cod).

Common Questions

Can I use Sour Cream instead of Greek Yogurt for tzatziki?

An authentic tzatziki recipe is made with strained yogurt. However, you can use sour cream instead for a lower carb sauce. It will still be delicious!

Can I make this cucumber sauce vegan?

Yes, you can replace the Greek yogurt with plant based yogurt for a vegan tzatziki. Avoid using coconut yogurt for this Greek tzatziki sauce recipe, though. The coconut flavor is not what we are looking for in this sauce.

A close up of tzatziki sauce in a dish.

More Homemade Sauces to Try

  • Honey Teriyaki Sauce
  • Homemade Tartar Sauce Recipe
  • Chimichurri Sauce
  • Harissa Paste - Moroccan Hot Sauce
  • Sweet and Smoky Barbecue Sauce
  • Asian Plum Sauce

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a rating in the comments below and let us know how it turned out. Did you make any changes? We would love for you to share and your feedback is important! Thank you for visiting The Food Blog!

Recipe

A black dish filled with tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki

Tzatziki is a creamy Greek yogurt and cucumber sauce that's easy to make and delicious as a dip or a condiment for grilled meats and fish.
5 from 16 votes
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Course: Sauces, Dips & Toppings
Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Prep Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes
Total Time: 9 minutes minutes
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 40kcal
Author: Colleen Milne

Ingredients

  • 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 long English cucumber
  • 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
  • 2 tablespoon finely chopped dill
  • 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • Kosher salt to taste
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Grate cucumber coarsely over a strainer and large bowl. Squeeze and press out as much water as you can.
  • In a bowl, combine grated cucumber with yogurt, garlic, dill, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, and salt.
  • Refrigerate for at least an hour to chill and allow the flavours to meld.

Notes

  • Grate cucumber using a box grater, or use a food processor.
  • To avoid a runny sauce, it's important to remove as much liquid as possible from the cucumber after it's grated. You can do this by grating over a sieve, then pressing the excess water out with a spoon. You can also wrap the grated cucumber in paper towels or cheesecloth, then gently squeeze over the sink until most of the excess moisture is removed.
  • Although English cucumbers are easy to use because you don't need to peel them, you can use garden cucumbers if that's what you have. Just be sure to peel them if the skin is tough.
  • You can enjoy your homemade tzatziki sauce right away, however, it does taste best after chilling in the fridge for at least an hour.
  • Store your delicious Greek yogurt sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tablespoon | Calories: 40kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 27mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 40IU | Vitamin C: 1.6mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 0.1mg
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Reader Interactions

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  1. Nancy

    August 22, 2022 at 5:57 pm

    Easy to make appy dip. So refreshing and tasty

    Reply
    • Colleen

      September 01, 2022 at 9:44 am

      Your feedback is appreciated, Nancy!

      Reply
  2. Helen at the Lazy Gastronome

    August 22, 2022 at 4:22 pm

    Delicious recipe - perfect with spicy food!

    Reply
    • Colleen

      September 01, 2022 at 9:45 am

      So happy you loved it, Helen. We love it with spicy food, too!

      Reply
  3. Jere Cassidy

    August 22, 2022 at 3:47 pm

    How can it be that I never made this sauce before, it's so easy and was perfect with the kabobs we had. The fresh dill and lemon juice just made this so tasty.

    Reply
    • Colleen

      September 01, 2022 at 9:46 am

      I'm so glad to hear that this tzatziki was perfect for your kabobs, Jere! Thanks for commenting!

      Reply
  4. Erin

    August 22, 2022 at 3:05 pm

    Yum!

    Reply
    • Amy Liu Dong

      August 22, 2022 at 5:49 pm

      Such an easy and delicious, and I am so excited to make this sauce at home. Yum!

      Reply
      • Colleen

        September 01, 2022 at 9:44 am

        I would love to hear how it turns out for you, Amy!

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