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.
Delicious! I made it tonight for my family and they love it. 🙂
I’m so happy you and your family loved it! 🙂 That’s awesome and thanks for sharing that with me 🙂
I chop the cukes vs dice, put them in a fine strainer and lightly sprinkle salt. This draws out the moisture. I chop vs dice because I often use this as a cold salad vs a sauce. 🙂 Add just a smidge of finely diced mint and it is a refreshing side.
That sounds lovely. Thank you so much for sharing your method!
if i do not have dill, will it change the flavor a lot? i have mint and basil now.
Joey, I haven’t tried it with either one of those. Usually it’s made with dill. If you try making it without dill, let me know how it turns out.
Dear Natasha,
I end up not using either. I followed your recipe less the dill. Taste okay~ 🙂
Thanks!
I am going to be making this sauce to go with my oven baked falafel. I do not have any fresh lemons but I do have a bottle of lemon juice. I read the review and your comments from Raven, what amount would you suggest from the bottled lemon juice?
Can I use limes instead of lemon? I tend to have fresh limes over lemon, simply because they are cheaper.
Laura, I don’t think limes would work well in Tzatziki sauce or at least I haven’t seen it done before. I highly recommend using fresh lemon juice but if you must use it, start with half of the amount and add more to taste. Hope this helps 😃.
Made this and served with dinner. Turned out awesome!!!!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 😀
Just made this sauce and it is delish! Plan on making a lot more to put on my salads.
I’m so glad you liked it, thank you for writing in 😁.
I plan on trying this recipe tonight cause I love the one I get from the Greek International market in Boston when I visit. Im all out so I have to make my own and have not found a place in florida that does it as good as that one. I eat on pita but I have become obsessed with putting it on pretzels! Its the best!
Nicole, I would love to hear how it turns out😁.
Superb!!
Easy, fresh, testy and yummiii
Just made it and me and my wife love it!! Thank you Natasha <3!!
Thank you so much for the awesome review! 🙂
I followed the recipe to the T, and both my roommate and I loved it. It got better and better the next couple of days. We put it on just about everything we ate! Great recipe!
Ryan, thank you for such a great review, I’m glad that both of you loved it 😁.
There is WAYYY to much dill not 1/3 cup !!!! Like 3tsp. Then add if needed .. Maybe a little less lemon juice as well the 1/2 extra is too much I think.
Think this recipe needs to be fixed . was kinda upset making it.
You’re the first person that I recall to mention that about the dill. Are you using dried dill? If so, yes, you do want to reduce the amount. Also, regarding the lemon juice. If you are using fresh lemon juice rather than bottled, it shouldn’t be too much and I think it would be bland without it, but everyone has different tastes and that can easily be modified up or down.
Excellent recipe, followed completely and used as a burger topping. Everyone raved about it and plan to use again in the future.
Will, thank you for such a nice review and I really like your idea to use Tzatziki sauce as a burger topping. 😀
This was so good. The store was sold of fresh dill so i used dried and it was still delicious. Thank you.
That’s so great to know that it works with dried dill, especially in winter months. It also works with frozen dill. My mom grows alot of dill so we rinse, dry, chop and store it in the freezer loosely packed in ziploc bags or sour cream containers 🙂
Made this Tzatziki because I couldnt find ingredients for my Mom’s recipe. Have to admit that I LOVE this recipe. Thank you for sharing. Both me and my boyfriend are big doener fans and this sauce was perfect for it. I added a little milk to it… 😀
That’s quite a compliment! Thank you so much 🙂
Fantastic, easy recipe. I added a few shakes of paprika for a little heat.
Hmmmm anything to add a little heat sounds like a good idea to me! Thanks for sharing your awesome review! 🙂
Excellent sauce! Thanks for the recipe. Used it with chicken souvlakis tonight and it was tasty!
Debbie, thank you for the nice review and you are welcome 😁.
Very easy recipe and delicious!! First time making the sauce. Thank you.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! : )
Yummmmmyyyyyyyyyyy!! I love tzatziki and this one is just perfect!! It would be amazing in a gyro!
Viktoriya, thank you for such a great review. I’m glad you love the recipe :D.
Good stuff!!! I grate cucumbers instead of dicing. I’m a lazy cook. But works well and makes it easy to get rid of juice as well
Thanks for the tip Luda, I would like to try your version next time :).
how long does the tzatziki keep in the fridge?
I haven’t tested it longer than two days but I think it would be best within the first two days of making it.
I am definitely making this sauce to go with some lamb chop see made yesterday! This looks delicious!
Let me know how it turns out, it sounds delicious :).