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.
If you use the seedless cucumbers (the long skinny ones called English) you don’t need to worry about seeds or getting rid of excess water. I make tzatziki all the time and it’s so easy if you use the right cukes. And so delicious and good for you! Making some today.
Thank you for sharing your tip with other readers Linda! 🙂
Another way to reduce the moisture of the cucumber is to clean the seedy area out first. Nothing good comes from this part and it’s mostly water and seeds. Second, put a light dusting of salt on the diced cucumber and put it on a paper towel. This draws out a lot of moisture. Most of the salt also goes with the water, so the remaining product has very little sodium in it. But if you want to make it even more so, you can rinse the cucumber in a strainer, then let it drain again. Rinsing it does not make the cucumber reabsorb the water any more than rinsing a piece of jerky would turn it back into steak.
I love your tips and thank you for sharing! That is similar to my method with zucchini fritters but I hadn’t considered it here.
Nice! Like your use of ‘tsp’ & ‘Tbps’ I also Capitalize the ingredient names to make it easier to follow on my Tablet. Save my recipes as Txt files on Dropbox, so that comments / changes are easy to do. Ciao, Grumpie
Hi Nik, thank you! I’m glad you like that. We started doing that awhile back to reduce the chance of errors when readers are making recipes. 🙂
instead of ranch dressing
i would use it with pizza
Yum! Great suggestion Sue!
Is there a way to thicken it up if it goes to watery. I guess I could use it as a salad dressing. I will follow the recipe a little better my second time. It tastes awesome.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the flavor!! The best way to prevent it from being watery is to squeeze the cucumber thoroughly. It’s difficult to remove liquid once it is all mixed together…
While you are correct that getting the water out first is ideal, there are several ways to remove it if it goes watery. The best way in my opinion is to add a little chia seed to it. Chis will absorb the water and take on a very similar texture so nothing changes very much. 10 minutes and it’s fixed. It’s also a nice super food additive. Second, there are some modified tapioca starches that will assist and will work in cold sauces. Ultratex 8 is my preference when going the starch route. It’s a great “fix” on anything too watery.
Thank you so much for sharing – those tips are brilliant and I always have chia on hand. Thanks Steve! 🙂
Thanks Natasha,
Your Tzatziki Sauce was great over Basmati Rice, Chicken and Dill Souvlaki. Served with flatbread. I’m learning how to cook. My wife says I’m much more adventurous than her. I cut my middle finger slicing the cucumber. But it was worth it. I wish I’d read Dimitris’ cheese grater suggestion. I’ll keep coming back. Jack
You’re welcome Jack! I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for following and sharing your awesome review!
Roughly how many cups did the half cucumber make? All I have are mini cucumbers. Thanks
Hi Camyl, I didn’t measure it that way so I can’t say for sure but probably about 1 1/2 cups before it was squeezed. I think 3 mini cucumbers would do well 🙂
Love the stuff.
Tip for the cucumber – try using a cheese grater (large holes) and grate it from end to end. Easier than chopping, slices it thin so it’s easy to strain and also gives it a bit of a different texture.
I also like to top it with a splash of olive oil.
That’s a great suggestion! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Fabulous. My first attempt at homemade tzatziki. Instead of squeezing the cukes, I just carefully scooped out all the seeds and diced very finely–no wateriness so far! This is so much easier–is there a reason you don’t do it that way? Curious. (Maybe I’ll find out.) 🙂
It’s the way I learned how to do it, so I didn’t question it. lol. 🙂 Thank you for sharing!! 🙂 I’ll have to try your method also 😉
Fantastic sauce! I’m on an anti-inflammatory diet and this sauce is the perfect compliment to hummus, pita, olives and tomatoes for lunch.
I’m so glad you love the taste and the benefits of this recipe! Thank you for sharing Ray 🙂
I bought a presidents choice brand tzatziki and not very thrilled with it…. am thinking of adding some frozen (thawed and drained) spinach to it. any other suggestions.
Hi Jane, I’ve never tried that brand of tzatziki and have never added spinach to it. Sorry, I can’t really recommend something I’ve never tried. I wish I could be more helpful with that.
If you are using lemon squeezer to get the lemon juice do it before the cucumber.
Save the rind (important). Place the cucumber in the squeezer in batches and for each batch place the rind on top,then squeeze. It really does a nice job of removing the juice from the cucumber, but if you try this without the rind it will not work. (the squeezers are built to allow for the thickness of the rind)
Thank you for the tip 😁.
Since my favorite Greek yogurt (Fage 2%) comes in a 32 oz container, I doubled the recipe, and even added a little more garlic, dill and salt than called for. Took me back to the summer of 2013 in Athens, when I literally lived on this stuff. Simply divine.
Jennifer, I’m so glad you liked the recipe 😀. Thank you for sharing that with us.
Initially i googled the recipe
I was pleasantly surprised.
Taste is fabulous.
The family devoured it.
I have now printed to save and keep for the future.
I give it 10 out of 10
Helen, thank you for such a nice review, I’m so glad you liked it 😀.
How long will the dip last? 5 days?
Hi 🙂 I think you could stretch it to 5 days. It depends on how fresh your cucumber and dill are when you make it.
I also like a smoother consistency, so put it all in the food processor and then also added 2 tablespoons of sour cream… a bit more calories, but worth it.
I love your idea of adding sour cream. I will have to try it that way!
Hi Taylor, I have found that it mellows out as it stands.
Absolutely delicious recipe, just made it for the second time. (No dill in the house this time so tried substituting with some dried tarragon, seems to have worked out pretty well.)
We’ve found that grating the cucumber rather than chopping it results in a really nice texture when it’s been squeezed out and mixed in.
Hi Hector, I’m so glad you liked the recipe and thank you for sharing your tip! 🙂
I agree! I always grate the cucumber. Also, I thoroughly mix in a bit of salt and let it stand for 10-15 minutes before squeezing out the liquid using a clean cloth napkin. It’s amazing how much liquid drains away!
Just made this today. It turned out great. I followed the recipe at first, but it was a little too “lumpy” for me. I threw it all in my ninja and smoothed it out, and it’s just the way I like it. Thank you for the delicious recipe.
Hi Eddy! I’m so glad you liked it! Yes, it does depend how small you dice up those cucumbers. Thanks for sharing the blender tip! 🙂
Holy dill Batman!!! the first time I make any recipe I always follow it exactly. I used one third cup of dill. It was way too much!!! I had to take half of my yogurt out in order for me to make the ratio to taste more than just DILL. Next time I’ll cut the portion in half
Hi Amelia, are you sensitive to the flavor of dill? 1/3 cup chopped dill should not be overwhelming to this sauce and is pretty normal for tzatziki.