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,
Do you have a recipe for chicken gyros?
Hi Tammy. At this time we do not. But definitely a great idea!
Is the goal to reduce the cuke to pulp? What should the texture be after draining and sqeezing. Don’t want my masterpiece tzatziki ruined by too much juice, or too little. Thanks for helping.
Hi Shar, we love to have some texture in it still which is why we finely dice rather than putting it through a food processor which would turn it into pulp. The more juice you can get out, the better and it will keep better in the fridge.
The recipe is great, however, I think there is a typo with the amount of dill you are supposed to use. 1/3 of a cup is A LOT of dill, especially for a tzatziki sauce.
Hi Juliana, we do use this amount. You could add it to taste and would definitely want to scale it back if using dried dill.
How long does this keep in the refrigerator?
Hi Dawn, you could keep the tzatziki sauce covered and refrigerated 3-5 days, depending on freshness of cucumber and dill.
never lasts that long 🙂 gets eaten!
Looks like a double batch is in order!
This was delicious! I found your recipes not to long ago, and currently get new recipes by email alerts. They are always so good. You are right up there with my other favorite chefs, Ree Drummond and Ina Garten.
I’m happy to hear how much you’re enjoying the recipes Lauren! Thanks for following and sharing your excellent review!
Too much garlic. Overwhelmed other flavors.
Also Greek chef I studied under added 1/4 cup of sour cream. Smoothed out the flavors.
Hi Mary, if you let it rest a little bit, the garlic does mellow out so if your garlic was more potent, refrigerate for a few hours and that should tone it down. We do love garlic though! 😉
“strained of its* juices” (“it’s” is a contraction for “it is,” whereas “its” is the possessive. Just FYI.
Thanks for catching that Ann, it’s been corrected! 🙂
OH for cryin’ out loud.
Just finished making your Tzatziki sauce…..a home run ! I like mine spicy so I used some homemade cucumber (spicy) chutney mixed into a small portion of your finished product . Another home run ! I can’t wait for dinner tonight , I’m sure glade I found your sight .
I’m glad you found my site too Mark! I hope you enjoy my other recipes as much as you like this one. Thanks for following and sharing your great review!
I used this recipe to compliment a lamb leg roast. I doubled the lemon juice to make it more tart. Fantastic recipe.
Yum, I bet that was delicious! Thanks for sharing your great review Jeff!
How long does this sauce last for? If put in a tubber ware?
Hi Ella, I think you could keep covered and refrigerated 3-5 days, depending on freshness of cucumber and dill.
I think it was the yogurt and lemon that made me not care so much for this recipe. The tzatziki sauce I usually get on gyros does not taste like this. My sister liked it though. It is not that it is a bad recipe, because it is not, lots of people like it. It just does not taste similar to the sauce you get on gyros when you go out to eat. Keep that in mind before trying the recipe
Hi Darla, this is the more classic way to make tzatziki sauce from my research, but tzatziki is definitely made a variety of different ways 🙂
The difference between this recipe and store bought stuff is that this is *fresh* and the store bought stuff is full of chemicals and preservatives. It’s like trying to compare apples and oranges. It’s like saying that a homemade fresh hamburger doesn’t taste like a Big Mac. Absurd!
This was the first recipe that came up and it looks like a great one! Headed to the farmers market now. Thanks! It has been a few years since I made this. Hope they have fresh dill! When I made it before I salted the cucumber and let it drain with a coffee filter, I was surprised at how much liquid drained out!
Please let me know what you think of the recipe Linda!
I made this today and the mash potatoes pancakes and we put the tzatziki on top and it was sooo amazing 😋 thank you for sharing I’m so excited I found your recipes I wanna try every thing on your web site your so talented. 😊
My pleasure! I’m happy to hear how much you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for following and sharing your excellent review with other readers!
how serves are there
i love it!!
Hi Shalond, it makes about 3 cups (I usually share the serving size in the print-friendly recipe towards the bottom of the post).
Chicken,veggies and sauce sound delicious! Could you please tell me the pronunciation of”Tzatziki”?
Hi Elizabeth, type “pronounce tzatziki” into google and you should have an audio link in the top results.
perhaps if you seeded it which I what I do, then you won’t have so much juice and you get a meatier tzatziki. Also, why would frozen dill (ew) be okay but you ask to use a fresh lemon…. I don’t use lemon that much so if I can’t use the whole thing I don’t buy them, they are expensive and I use the organic lemon juice….. Just a suggestion
Hi Roberta, it can be difficult to get fresh dill year round in some areas and it does work well. Have you tried freezing dill? It freezes really well. We always grow tons of it and use it in recipes and especially soups all winter long.
Really Roberta??
Lmao 😂 really??
can I substitute dried dill?
Marjorie, it’s best to use fresh or frozen dill. Parsley would work great as well 😀
How long will this sauce last in the refrigerator? Excited to try it!
Hi Morgan, I really haven’t tested the limits on this because it typically disappears by day 2 :), but generally, if your cucumbers are in good shape, you can store up to a week.
I love this recipe, although I personally use less dill. Thanks!
Thank you for the nice review Mike 😬
Thank you for sharing this recipe, it was delicious!
My pleasure Nancy! I’m glad you like it! 🙂
I love this Tzatziki recipe. It’s better than store bought and as good as the great Greek restaurant we frequent. Thank you for publishing it.
My pleasure Denise! I’m glad you like it so much! Thanks for sharing your great review!