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    Home » Recipes » Condiments & Sauces

    Published: Jun 26, 2019 · Modified: Jun 11, 2021 by Paula Montenegro · Income from ads and affiliate links 42 Comments

    Easy Tzatziki Sauce

    Jump to Recipe

    Tzatziki is hard to pronounce but so easy to put together! Fresh and delicious, it's one of the best summer sauces to have around. It will upgrade any grilled meat, not to mention tacos, salads or as a dip for your next barbecue or pool party.

    Bowl of cucumber yogurt sauce on bowl
    Table of Contents Hide
    What is tzatziki?
    How to make tzatziki.
    What to eat with tzatziki
    Greek or natural yogurt
    Related recipes you might like:
    Easy Tzatziki

    What is tzatziki?

    It's a Greek word for a sauce or dip (depending on what you use it for) made with yogurt, cucumber, fresh herbs (dill and mint in this case), garlic, and lemon.

    It's eaten cold and is very popular in Middle Eastern cuisines and parts of Europe.

    Ingredients on wooden table including garlic, herbs, lemon, bowl with yogurt

    How to make tzatziki.

    The only more elaborate part of this wonderful sauce involves grating and salting the cucumber to rid them of extra liquid (image below, left). They have a large amount of water that needs to be discarded before being mixed with the rest of the ingredients (image below, right).

    Otherwise, that liquid would go into the dip and it would become watery and not good at all.

    • Herbs: do use fresh herbs for this recipe, dried ones will not achieve the result we want.
    • Cucumber: I like to grate it with a large hole Microplane grater, but you can also dice it small.
    • Keeping: this sauce/dip keeps for about 2-3 days in the fridge. The cucumber will still release some water, so after a few days, it turns watery and weird. I don't recommend freezing tzatziki, though you technically can. But the cucumbers and herbs won't be the same.
    Process shots with grated cucumber on bowl on wooden board, and herbs, yogurt on green bowl

    What to eat with tzatziki

    Meats: as I mentioned before, this yogurt-based sauce is amazing with grilled meats - lamb and beef are my top choices, but chicken gets a mention too - especially in the form of shawarmas, tacos, gyros, or any type of wrap. I like to use it as a spread in sandwiches with leftover meats.

    Salads: if you use a thinner yogurt (dilute store-bought Greek yogurt with some milk), and add more olive oil you have a great salad dressing. I like to adjust the amount of chopped herbs and lemon juice too. You can tailor it to your personal taste.

    Dip: use it as a dip and eat it with cucumber and carrot sticks, crackers or pita chips.

    Close up of green bowl with yogurt cucumber sauce on wooden table

    Greek or natural yogurt

    How do you like this yogurt-based cucumber herb dip? I tend to like it firmer. And with a lot of fresh herbs, in addition to the garlic, lemon, and cucumber.

    But you can make it thinner if using it as a dressing for example, or a dipping sauce.

    The yogurt should be natural, Greek-style. I sometimes let it drain for a day - put a bowl with a colander on top, cover with a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth and put the yogurt; let it drain covered in the fridge until you have the consistency you want - to have a thicker yogurt.

    You can also make your own homemade yogurt. Good sources for this are Serious Eats and Daring Gourmet.

    Top view of bowl of yogurt cucumber sauce on wooden tables

    Related recipes you might like:

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      Chimichurri Sauce (authentic recipe)
    • Dripping glass jar of barbecue sauce on wooden table, a spoon beside
      Bourbon Barbecue Sauce (two recipes!)
    • Close up of reddish orange romesco sauce in a white bowl on a white background.
      Romesco Sauce
    • Jar, white bowl and wooden spoon with pesto on gold rimmed white plate, grey background with text
      Super Easy Cilantro Pesto

    Let me know in the comments below if you made this recipe and loved it and if you had issues so we can troubleshoot together. I love to hear what you think, always. Thanks for being here. It's much appreciated.
    You might also consider subscribing to our FREE email series to Boost your Home Baking Skills! And our regular newsletter.
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    tzatziki

    Easy Tzatziki

    ★★★★★

    5 from 11 reviews

    Print Recipe
    Save Recipe Recipe Saved

    Fresh and delicious, it's one of the best summer sauces to have around. It will upgrade any grilled meat, not to mention tacos, salads or as a dip for your next barbecue or pool party.

    • Total Time: 40 minutes
    • Yield: 3 cups

    Ingredients

    Units
    • 2 cups greek yogurt
    • 1 cup coarsely grated cucumber (seedless)
    • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
    • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    • 2-3 garlic cloves (split, germ removed and minced)
    • 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
    • 2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
    • Salt and pepper to taste

    Instructions

    1. If you have regular yogurt, let it drain for a day to thicken it. Simply put a cloth lined colander over a bowl, and let it sit in the fridge. When ready to use, discard the water that will have collected in the bottom of the bowl.
    2. Grate cucumber, add ½ teaspoon salt and let it sit for 30 minutes. It will loose a lot of water. Drain it well and add it to a bowl together with the yogurt.
    3. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well, check for seasonings and serve cold.

    Notes

    Keeping: this sauce/dip keeps for about 2-3 days in the fridge. The cucumber will still release some water, so after a few days, it turns watery and weird. I don't recommend freezing tzatziki, though you technically can. But the cucumbers and herbs won't be the same.

    Herbs: do use fresh herbs for this recipe, dried ones will not achieve the result we want.

    Cucumber: I like to grate it with a large hole Microplane grater, but you can also dice it small.

    The yogurt should be natural, Greek-style. I sometimes let it drain for a day - put a bowl with a colander on top, cover with a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth and put the yogurt; let it drain covered in the fridge until you have the consistency you want - to have a thicker yogurt.

    You can also make your own homemade yogurt. Good sources for this are Serious Eats and Daring Gourmet.

    • Author: Paula Montenegro
    • Prep Time: 40
    • Category: Sauces, dips
    • Method: Mixing
    • Cuisine: Middle Eastern

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: ⅛
    • Calories: 89
    • Sugar: 3.2 g
    • Sodium: 316.6 mg
    • Fat: 5.4 g
    • Carbohydrates: 4 g
    • Protein: 6.6 g
    • Cholesterol: 9.3 mg

    Keywords: tzatziki, cucumber yogurt sauce

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @vintagekitchenblog on Instagram and hashtag it #vintagekitchenblog

    from Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan

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    About Paula Montenegro

    I'm Paula, a baker for more than 30 years and your designated recipe developer, sharing the best ones here with simple ingredients + easy-to-follow instructions.

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    1. Tatiana says

      August 19, 2019 at 5:34 am

      Tzatziki is my favorite condiment! I’ve never made it before but now I want to try. Thanks! Pinned!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    2. Karyl Henry says

      August 18, 2019 at 8:04 pm

      I love a good tzatziki sauce! It has so much wonderful flavor from just a few ingredients. I put it on all kinds of dishes, and use it as a dip all the time

      ★★★★★

      Reply
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    Hi, I'm Paula!

    A baker for more than 30 years and your designated recipe finder, sharing the best ones on this blog, with simple ingredients + easy-to-follow instructions.

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