Quick Summary
Make your own Tzatziki with this simple recipe! Tzatziki is made with creamy yogurt, cucumber, dill, garlic, and lemon for a really bright and refreshing taste. It’s a great dip for vegetables and the perfect sauce to serve with any Greek meal.
Today, we are talking about Tzatziki! If you aren’t sure how to pronounce tzatziki, let me help you out, all of those Zs are a little tricky. Tzatziki is pronounced tuh-zee-kee. It comes from a Persian word that means “herb mixture.”
Tzatziki is a dip (sauce) that originated in the Middle East. It has a light, fresh flavor that brightens up savory dishes! Tzatziki is made with creamy yogurt, cucumber, dill, garlic, olive oil, and lemon for a really refreshing taste.
It is one of my all time favorite sauces. I always order extra tzatziki at my favorite Greek restaurant because you can never have too much.
Did you know it’s easy to make at home? Yep! It only requires a couple ingredients and a couple minutes of prep. I love having it in the fridge for an easy veggie dip or to serve with our favorite Greek and Middle Eastern dishes.
Grating the Cucumber
The most important thing to remember about preparing cucumber for mixing into tzatziki is getting all the moisture out! This will keep your dip thick and creamy rather than loose and watery.
I recommend using an English cucumber because you don’t notice the seeds. The skin is also pretty thin so you don’t have to peel it. If the skin still bothers you, you can peel it first.
Grate fresh cucumber (I use the larger holes on a box grater), then place it on paper towels and squeeze out the excess water. You might want to repeat this a second time with fresh paper towels to get out as much as possible!
Alternatively, you can place the grated cucumber in a small strainer over a bowl. Sprinkle each layer with a little kosher salt cover and refrigerate overnight to remove the water. This obviously takes longer, so I always use the quick squeezing method. I think it works well and it’s super quick!
How to Make Tzatziki Sauce
Once your cucumber is prepared, making tzatziki is as simple as measuring out ingredients and mixing!
- In a bowl, combine plain Greek yogurt, the grated cucumber, garlic, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, fresh dill, salt and pepper. It’s really that simple.
- It’s traditionally made with sheep or goat yogurt, but I use plain Greek yogurt because it is easy to find and we always have it in the fridge.
- I recommend using a good quality plain Greek yogurt. You can use whole milk, low fat, or fat-free yogurt. Obviously, the higher the fat content, the creamier your tzatziki will be. Use your favorite!
- If you want to add more herbs, fresh mint and/or parsley can be stirred in as well.
- I recommend giving your tzatziki around 20 minutes to chill in the refrigerator before serving to let the flavors meld and come to life.
- You can store the tzatziki sauce in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
What to Serve with Tzatziki
There are so many ways to use a fresh batch of tzatziki, you just might find yourself wanting a batch on hand all the time! We drizzle it over our favorite Greek meals or use it as a dip. Here are a few ideas for serving:
- Pita bread or Homemade Pita Chips
- Sliced vegetables, grilled vegetables, or Roasted Vegetables
- Chopped Greek Salad
- Grilled meats or fish
- Gyros
- Falafel
- Chickpea Shawarma Bowls
- Greek Grilled Vegetable Bowls
- Greek Chicken Bowls
- Greek Turkey Meatballs
- Greek Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Roasted Vegetable Pita Sandwich
More Dip Recipes
Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 medium English cucumber (I don’t peel it, but you can)
- 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced or pressed
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pita bread, pita chips, or cut up vegetables, for serving
Instructions
- Grate the cucumber, using the large holes of a box grater.
- Place the grated cucumber on a paper towel or clean towel and squeeze out the excess water. Squeeze as much liquid out as you can. Alternatively, you can place the grated cucumber in a small strainer over a bowl. Sprinkle each layer with a little kosher salt cover and refrigerate overnight to remove the water. This obviously takes longer, so I always use the quick squeezing method. I think it works well.
- In a medium bowl, combine the grated cucumber, Greek yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, fresh dill, salt, and pepper. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 to 30 minutes so the flavors can meld.
- When ready to serve, stir and taste. Season with additional salt, pepper, lemon, or dill, if necessary. You can also drizzle a little olive oil on top and garnish with fresh dill. Serve with pita bread, pita chips, or cut up vegetables.
- Store the tzatziki in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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Photos by Laura from Growing Up in Cali
I just made falafel yesterday and this will go with it perfectly!
i ADORE tzatziki, but have never made it from scratch at home! this sounds so amazing…and it also sounds like i need to start cooking Greek more often 😉
what a gorgeous dish!
We love tzatiki. Especially during the summer with grilled chicken and other meats and vegetables. Yours looks so good.
LOVE tzatiki! i just made some yesterday! my kids can’t get enough of it either. in addition to the above things you mentioned we dip our french fries in it also. YUM YUM!
So I’ve never had this! I know- I’m greek yogurt obsessed and have no idea how I haven’t tried it. I’m nervous my Josh won’t like it…maybe I’ll throw it in our Easter spread so he can test it out!
This looks delicious, Maria, and I love that ingredients list … bookmarking now!
This is one of my favorite things to make in Spring and Summer. It’s perfect to dipping veggies, smearing on sandwiches, or pairing with anything grilled: veggies, meats, etc.
Love the simplicity & flavor of a great tzaziki sauce!
What a beautiful picture! And you’re right, tzatziki has SUCH a refreshing flavor. Oo, I love this stuff! Might have to try my hand at whipping some up, thanks for the recipe!
I was planning to make Tzatziki sauce this weekend to go with Chicken Souvlaki pita sandwiches. I’ll remember to add dill to the recipe I was going to use!
Some recipes use dill and mint, but I just like to use fresh dill:) Enjoy!
I’m SO glad you posted a recipe for this because it’s always been one of those things I love and want to make, but didn’t know a good recipe. Thanks, Maria!
This recipe is so easy and so good! Enjoy Jenna!
LOVE this sauce! Good enough to eat with a spoon 🙂 Have a great day maria!!
ooh i love tzatziki…we make it frequently and Ryan just ordered a Greek turkey burger at a restaurant the other night that came topped with tzatziki. Can’t wait to make at home 🙂
I love, love, love tzatziki sauce – yours looks perfect.
I’ve been wanting to try gyros for the longest time, and your sauce would be perfect with them!
I’m a huge Tzatziki fan!
i LOVE tzatziki!
Love this with homemade wheat-thins!!! So delicious! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Mmm tzatziki is the best! Especially when made with Chobani 🙂 Such beautiful photos, too!
Tzatziki is one fantastic condiment! It’s one of the few that’s actually good for you…which makes it a real winner in my book!
all time favorite sauce! it’s great on so many things! why I haven’t made it at home yet, I have no idea!
I love this on Gyro’s! have never made it myself…however I think I just might do it!
I would like to invite you to link up on “Made it on Monday”….it is a WEEKLY RECIPE LINK PARTY.
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I hope to see some of your recipes soon. 🙂
beautiful pictures! I know how hard it can be to take pictures of a dip like that. This looks great! 🙂
I have to try this. I love it with some pita chips.
I can’t believe I haven’t made this before!! Weird, I love it so much.
That looks great! I’ll have to make it when I have falafel Sunshine burgers. 🙂
This is one of my favorite condiments! I love seeing a blog post featuring it!
Tzatziki is one of my favorite ways to dress up a salad or sandwich. This simple recipe is one any cook should have in their repertoire.
We’ve been looking for a good Tzatziki recipe- thanks for posting!
You are welcome:)
Love this stuff! I’ve never made it, but my friend gave me some leftover from a party, so good.
I’ve never even heard of Tzatziki sauce. Definitley sounds delish! I’ll have to give it a shot!
I’ve never made tzatziki before, but I love it and I think I need to try to make it now!
Looks delicious!
Mmm, love tzatziki. Love falafel–makes me want to make some.
Tzatziki is one of our favorite condiments. It’s fantastic with pita, gyros, souvlaki and also really good on homemade fries. Love it!
We just had chicken souvlaki wraps for dinner tonight – I wish I would have seen this recipe first as I bought the tzatziki since I did not have a good recipe. I guess there is always next time 😉
I’ve never heard of this, but the ingredients sound wonderful! Will be trying this ASAP! Thanks.
I love Tzatziki sauce, but have never added dill before. It sounds like a delicious flavor element, and I plan to use it the next time I make a Greek-inspired meal!
This goes so well will grilled meats, so light and fresh!
Love tzatziki! Reminds me of summer holidays in Greece where they would always bring out yummy tzatziki and bread before every meal!
This is definitely one of my favourite sauces. I love it on almost everything from chicken to pitas.
I always have greek yogurt in my fridge. I should make this!
Greek food is hands down my most fave food ever!! This recipe looks easy and delish ~I can’t wait to give it a try!
I catered a lunch last Friday and this was one of three dips I served. I love it so much and it just flew out of the bowl.
I love tzatziki with bread or as a dip for veggies.
I love tzatziki sauce. I serve it with grilled chicken souvlaki for my kids.
Maria, this looks delicious. Have a wonderful weekend. Blessings…Mary
This looks great, it will work great with strained yogurt too!
I live in india so we make dips with home made yogurt every day!! definitely giving this one a try too=)
Looks very ethnic…
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Oh I love tzatziki! Which reminds me, I am overdue for a gyro 🙂
Yogurt is a Turkish invention and it’s known as “Turkish Yogurt” all over the world. Even the word is Turkish. So, your naming it as “Greek yogurt” seems to me a little bit irrelevant.
See: http://foodjournal.typepad.com/.a/6a0134889995f0970c0147e36b50cf970b-500wi
It is sold in the stores as “Greek yogurt.” It is different from other yogurt in that much of the moisture has been drained out of it, so it is thicker.
Made this to accompany some baked falafel for a friend’s birthday dinner tonight – it was great! Instead of dicing the cucumbers, I salted them to draw out the water, then chopped them up in the food processor and squeezed out all the excess water by hand before adding them to the yogurt. I like my tzatziki super thick 🙂
I made this tonight with falafal. IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! I added a little feta into it as well. YUMMY! Thanks for a great easy recipe. Oh and I also grated the cucumber and then squeezed out the extra liquid.
You said I’d thank you later and now this is me thanking you later!
I didn’t have garlic and substituted the lemon juice with fresh tangerine juice, was awesome 😀
I use Tzatziki all the time but many have never heard of it. Thanks for this simple recipe!
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This is a great recipe. I did peel and grate the cucumber instead of dicing…just liked the texture, etc better. Still super simple and good!
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I started using this as a substitute for salad dressing because it has fewer calories than most. It’s delicious and keeps well! Use no fat or low fat yogurt and there are even less calories. I’m hooked!
Can’t wait to try this tonight. My boyfriend and I are hosting friends for a Greek dinner. ~Elexis
There is no lemon juice in this!!!! It has to have lemon juice
Actually, there is lemon juice! See the recipe!
Great recipe. I’m a Tzatziki lover and this one is delicious.
Delicious and Garlicky…
Thank you. Frankly, I just discovered Tzatziki and substite tofu as I am vegan. I didn’t have any dill the first time I made it, so I piled on garlic, black pepper and cayenne pepper. It was awesome. My family loved it. I don’t use a lot of tofu, so this dip is a special treat. I love using leftover for spreading over roasted summer vegetables as well as rotini pasta and pesto. MMMMmhh.
I want to get in my car right now, go to the store and make this bread. Yummm. I will make this weekend. Thanks for the great and well presented with humor website.
the real tzatziki…doesnt have fresh dill , fresh mint ,pepper and lemon juice.
Im Greek and the only ingredients we use is yogurt, cucumber, garlic and salt.
Thats all…nothing more nothing else.
Just for the decor we use mint and one olive.
Thank u.
oh, but it is soooo much more delicious with dill and lemon juice and fresh ground pepper. are greeks opposed to improvements???
Luv your recipes
I tried to make this and it just looks like soup. Very loose.
It helps if you squeeze the moisture out of the cucumber after grating or dicing. And make sure you are using Greek yogurt, not regular yogurt, as the Greek has less moisture in it.
Great recipe! Pro tip: add tablespoon white vinegar! Really brings out the tang:)
Made it with sour cream, since we had no yogurt. Came out great, I added a teaspoon of sugar to sweeten it slightly because of the Sour cream.
Easy and tasty
I add a pinch or 2 of mint. It will knock your socks off. Your recipe is the bomb. Thanks!
This is a simple and tasty sauce that is easily paired with several dishes. I recommend it!
I love tzatziki and could never find a recipe that captured the restaurant quality taste. This is amazing!
My favorite dip! I personally use vinegar instead of lemon juice, I think it tastes better, and that’s how Greeks make tzatziki.
Really wonderful authentic tasting Tzatziki sauce – highly recommend and super fresh. Will definitely make again. I would cut all ingredients by half because this made an abundance of sauce – over two cups which was waaayyy too much! But recipe is spot on! Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely delicious. Before using the paper towels, I put the cucumber in a strainer and pressed it with a wooden spoon. It worked great.
It is so good. I make it all of the time.