There’s a reason why Greek Tzatziki is so popular. This creamy Tzatziki Sauce is great with chicken, grilled vegetables, in gyros with pita bread, or as a fresh veggie dip. It’s also delicious as a salad dressing.
Watch the video tutorial below and see how easy it is to make this authentic Tzatziki recipe.
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Tzatziki Sauce
Years ago, we took a trip to Seattle, Washington, where my cousin Alla served us a Mediterranean menu that we were all swooning over. This sauce tied everything together. I drowned my chicken and smothered everything on my plate with it.
I then proceeded to down everything way too fast because it all tasted so good! I fell in love with this tzatziki sauce and we’ve been making it ever since!
Did I also acquire the Moroccan Chicken and Grilled Veggie Skewers recipes? Do you even have to ask?
Tzatziki Sauce Video Tutorial
I hope this Greek Tzatziki Sauce recipe becomes your new favorite. If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to my Youtube Channel, and don’t forget to click the bell icon to be notified when we post a new video.
What is Tzatziki Sauce?
Tzatziki is pronounced “tuh·zee·kee” and it is a Greek cucumber yogurt dip. It’s a nutritious sauce you can serve with chicken, grilled veggies, pita chips, as a gyro sauce, and fresh veggie dip. My cousin Alla is a fabulous cook, and I’m so thankful to glean from her kitchen wisdom.
Homemade Tzatziki is also a healthy sauce with just 57 calories in a generous 1/4 cup serving (see the recipe card below for the full nutrition label). Try this sauce once, and you will quickly see why it’s one of the most popular Mediterranean sauces.
Ingredients for Tzatziki Sauce
- Cucumber – we used half of a peeled English cucumber, but 3-4 small Persian cucumbers will also work.
- Greek Yogurt – should be cold right out of the refrigerator, and you can use full-fat or fat-free.
- Garlic – Add garlic to taste, as it can get stronger as the flavors meld in the refrigerator. We love garlic, so we use 4 cloves. You can either grate it or use a garlic press.
- Dill – we have used fresh chopped dill or frozen dill for making tzatziki.
- Lemon juice – freshly squeezed is best. Do not use lemon juice from concentrate. Typically you can get about 1 1/2 Tbsp from half a lemon. If you need to substitute, you can use white vinegar and add it to taste (start with 1 tsp and go up from there).
- Salt and Pepper – add this to taste as a little goes a long way.
Pro Tip:
Several of our readers have reported that they prefer to grate the cucumber on the large holes of a box grater rather than dicing. Using a grater works ‘grate’ (did you see what I did there? 😅), but the sauce will have a different texture. We prefer the added texture of finely diced cucumber.
How to Make Tzatziki Sauce
- Cucumber Prep: Peel and finely dice the cucumber and set over a bowl lined with a cheesecloth or over a fine-mesh sieve. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt, stir, and set aside to soften and release juice.
- Make the Sauce: In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients: yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, dill, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Strain Cucumbers: Use the cheesecloth to squeeze out as much juice as you can from your chopped cucumber. Discard the liquid and add cucumber to the bowl mixing bowl.
Pro Tip:
Getting rid of excess cucumber juice is important so that your tzatziki sauce isn’t watery the next day. You’ll be amazed at how much liquid you can strain off. Cheesecloth is the most effective way, but you can also squeeze by the fistful over a strainer.
- Stir and Refrigerate: Stir all of the ingredients together then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. It stores well for 3-5 days in the fridge.
Serve Tzatziki Sauce With
Tzatziki is one of the most versatile sauces. It’s terrific as a dip, a spread on sandwiches, a topping, and even a salad dressing (try it on our Chicken Salad to make a Tzatziki Chicken Salad).
- Roast Chicken
- Moroccan Chicken
- Sauce Sandwiches
- Grilled Vegetables
- Pita Chips
- Gyros wrapped in Pita Bread
- Sauce for Souvlaki
- Fresh Vegetables (as a dip)
Can I add mint?
Mint is a traditional flavoring sometimes added to tzatziki. You can substitute the dill and add 1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint, or add it to taste.
Can I use less garlic?
Add the garlic to taste, keeping in mind that fresh homegrown garlic can taste much stronger and spicier than store-bought garlic. I love adding the full 4 cloves of garlic to give the sauce extra flavor.
Make-Ahead
Homemade tzatziki sauce can typically be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. If you notice any separation in the sauce, simply stir before serving. We do not recommend freezing tzatziki.
In the summer months. when our garden cucumbers are booming, we are all about our favorite cucumber recipes, like Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad and Creamy Cucumber Salad are on our regular rotation. Tzatziki is definitely on our ‘favorites’ list.
More Greek Recipes
Tzatziki Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 English cucumber
- 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
- 16 oz plain Greek yogurt, cold, (either full fat or fat-free will work)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, Juice of 1/2 lemon; please squeeze a real lemon
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
- 1/3 cup chopped dill
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle
- 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
Prep the Cucumber:
- Peel and finely dice the cucumber, or you can grate on the large holes of a box grater if preferred. Transfer to a bowl lined with a cheesecloth* and sprinkle cucumbers with 1/2 tsp salt and give them a light stir. Set aside for the cucumbers to release their juice while you prep the remaining ingredients.
How to Make Tzatziki Sauce:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine plain Greek yogurt, lemon juice, grated garlic cloves, chopped dill, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, or season to taste.
- Use the cheesecloth to squeeze out as much juice as you can from your chopped cucumber. You'll be surprised how much juice comes out. Discard the juice and add squeezed cucumber to your mixing bowl.
- Stir everything to combine and season to taste with more salt and pepper if desired. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until ready to serve. I love serving drizzled with a little more extra virgin olive oil.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Good Things
It’s early in the season, but my parents already have ripe fresh cucumbers because they plant them in their backyard greenhouse. I can’t put into words how much I love the garden-grown variety. They have an irresistible crunch and sweetness that puts all store-bought cucumbers to shame.
Thankfully, for this recipe, you won’t tell much of a difference so don’t worry if you can only get them from the grocery store. People always ask what kinds of cucumbers my Mom grows so if you’re curious, they are called Amur. The seeds were gifted to her from a relative in Ukraine, but you can source Amur seeds online.
Hi Natasha, I have been following you for some time, and I enjoy your recipes. I often save them, and I share my recipes with friends and family. I always include the URL in the recipe so that they know the original source and can check for videos, comments etc. I notice that your URLs are very long, while others, such as Sally’s Baking Addiction are short. It seems that you can use a service for creating shorter URLs. There appear to be several free services. I found them by searching for “create short URLs” Otherwise, keep up the good work!
Hi Sora, First, thank you for following and enjoying my recipes. That means so much to me! I looked at the structure of both of our URLS (I love Sally by the way – she is a friend of mine and I’ve had the opportunity to meet her in person), anyway, our url structure is the same. Is she using short links on social media maybe?
I would love to make this sauce, but I don’t have 12 people to serve, only need 4 serving.
Hello Sue! You can cut the ingredients in half or click the serving size to adjust the ingredients.
Excellent!!!!!! This is the best Tzatziki I’ve ever tasted. I usually don’t like tzatziki – but it must be because the store brands have all those nasty seed oils in them.
Great recipe. It also works with lamb or pork rolled into a pita bread with tomatoes and onions!
This Turkish girl approves of this recipe. So good! Restaurant quality! We call it Cacık in Turkish, pronounced juhjik.
This recipe has amazing flavor and is so easy to make at home. I made a smoked Lamb gyro sandwich out of it! Thank you for all you do and I have your new cookbook which inspires new and creative ideas! Keep up the great work!
That’s so awesome! I’m so happy you enjoyed that, MJ!
“What a fantastic recipe! As a restaurant owner, I’m always excited to see new and creative dishes like this. Can’t wait to try it out!”
You are very sweet I love your personality
You are very talented and beautiful mom.🙏💕
I’m so glad I decided to try this recipe!! It was so much better than the one I usually buy at the store! Thanks!
Love this with chicken!! It has great flavor & we love it with veggies too! It’s easy to make & tasty!
Wow, don’t even know where to begin with how amazing this was! Perfect in every way!
Perfect. My sister-in-law calls Tzatziki another food group. 😊
Made homemade gyros and of course your Tzatziki Sauce. Let me just say, The sauce…. THE SAUCE!!!!! It was delicious! Thank you Natasha 😊
So glad to hear that, Brenda! Thank you for sharing.
if you deseed the cucumber it gets rid of the watery mess that happens. I do this with my cucumber salads too. Just cut long ways and scoop out seeds. Great recipe and I love your blog and food ideas/recipes!!
Thanks for your good comments and for sharing that with us!
This is by far the best I have ever had. I’ve made it 2 weeks in a row. Everyone loved it! Your recipes are always my go too.
Thank you so much for your great comment and feedback!
You can add 1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint or half teaspoon dried mint.
It’s heaven🙂
Ooh interesting! Thank you for sharing.
Mint makes this just wild’ Thank you for adding this for us to try.
Can you tell me if this could be frozen? I have so many cucumbers I am picking that I know I will be making lots of sauce. Don’t want a drop to go to waste! Thanks
Hi Kathy, I have not tested that to advise but it may work. If you do freeze it, it will more than likely not have the same consistency as when you first made it.
I wouldn’t freeze. It will become very watery
Hi Natasha! This recipe is yummy, too!
But I also want to request a recipe for Avocado Toast. I made this one for brunch today: 2 slices marble rye (or pumpernickel( bread toasted. 2 ripe avocado chopped. 1 small cucumber diced. Red onion to taste. 1 cup chopped tomato. 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice. Very good quality Feta cheese crumbled. Kalamata olives to taste. Good quality olive oil to drizzle. Chop avocado. tomato, cucumber and red onion. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and oregano. Add lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil and toss to coat. Toast bread. Spoon avocado mixture generously over toast Add Feta cheese and kalamata olives (or black olives). Drizzle with olive oil. Yum!
Hi Sharon. Thank you for sharing. I have a recipe for open faced avocado sandwiches, HERE. They are versatile and can be made with different toppings.
Hello Natasha…from Greece.. 🙏🇬🇷😊 Well… Your recipe is right on… but.. Vinegar is what many of us use instead of fresh lemon juice… Just sayin’.. 😉😁😁😁😎
Thank u for u. And for oozIng with love and talent for what you do here.
Thanks for sharing, Anna. Feel free to substitute with vinegar if that’s what you like. I think both versions are good!
I haven’t tried this recipe yet. I’m Greek and have been eating tzatziki my entire life but we make it with sour cream and few different ingredients. I will definitely try it this way, it a more healthier recipe.
I hope you love this recipe, Katerina. 🙂