Learn how to make tzatziki sauce in 10 minutes or less! This authentic tzatziki recipe, made with cucumber, yogurt, and garlic, comes straight from the Greek island of Paros, and a few tips make all the difference.
Tzatziki Recipe That Will Make Yiayia Smile!
Of all the Greek recipes on this site, including Greek salad and the ever-so-comforting moussaka, tzatziki sauce is the one I go to most often.
A few years ago, I came across a real-deal, authentic tzatziki sauce recipe from the Greek island of Paros where Stella Leonetti served it regularly in her restaurant called Rafeletti. My friend Cheryl Sternman Rule featured it in her book Yogurt Culture, and I stayed pretty close to the original recipe, except I’ve pared it down for a smaller crowd.
Tzatziki is easy to make and incredibly versatile. I serve it as a snack with pita chips and fresh veggies or use it as a sauce to spoon over gyros, kebabs, or to jazz up dinner bowls! Really, it goes with almost anything. If you have not tried this creamy Greek yogurt sauce before, you are in for a treat!
What is Tzatziki?
Tzatziki is a creamy cucumber yogurt sauce made from simple ingredients, including strained yogurt (or Greek yogurt), cucumbers, olive oil, garlic, and sometimes fresh herbs such as dill or mint. Traditionally, it is made from strained sheep or goat’s milk yogurt, but a full-fat Greek yogurt works just fine.
This recipe takes about 10 minutes or less to make, and it starts with grated cucumbers, which you need to drain very well, and mix with the yogurt, garlic, and herbs, if using. Tzatziki tastes slightly tangy, garlicky, and cool due to the use of cucumber and fresh herbs.
Once you learn how to make it, you’ll be using it in all sorts of ways to elevate your meals or to simply serve as part of a mezze spread!
Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients
- English cucumber: I like to use English cucumbers here because they are seedless and tend to be sweeter, plus the skin is thin, so you don’t have to fully peel them. If you end up using regular cucumbers with the waxy skin, be sure to peel them completely, and you’ll want to scoop out and discard the large seeds, which would make the dip runny.
- Kosher salt enhances the flavors of the other ingredients to make them pop.
- Garlic: I like a garlicky dip. So I use 4 to 5 minced garlic cloves. If you want a milder-tasting cucumber yogurt sauce, start with 1 or 2 minced garlic cloves.
- Distilled white vinegar: You only need about 1 teaspoon here. It brightens the dip and adds a slight sharpness to cut through the creamy flavor.
- Extra virgin olive oil adds a rich savory note.
- Plain Greek Yogurt: This is the foundation of tzatziki. Use 2 cups plain full-fat or reduced-fat Greek yogurt. Do not use regular plain yogurt as the dip will be too runny. The yogurt you need here must be strained yogurt. Need to avoid dairy? Try this Vegan Tzatziki recipe, which is made with cashews.
- Ground white or black pepper (optional)
- Chopped fresh dill or mint (optional)
How to Make Tzatziki
Here’s the step-by-step tutorial for how to make this tzatziki recipe.
- Grate the cucumbers. Grate the cucumbers using a box grater or a food processor (my favorite way) for a shortcut. Add the cucumbers with a pinch of kosher salt to the food processor and run the processor until the cucumbers are finely grated.
- Drain the grated cucumbers (VERY IMPORTANT). Once grated, transfer the cucumbers to a clean cheesecloth or a flour sack towel, and squeeze out all the liquid.
- Mix the sauce. In a large bowl, combine the grated or minced garlic with the white vinegar and a little olive oil and mix. Add the drained cucumber mixture to a large bowl, Greek yogurt, kosher salt, a pinch of white or black pepper, and chopped dill or mint (if using). Stir to combine.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes and up to 2 hours before serving or serve immediately, if you can’t wait! Enjoy it with fresh veggies and pita or pita chips! Drizzle a little olive oil on top.
What to Serve With Tzatziki
Creamy cucumber tzatziki is one of the most versatile dips you can make! At the very least, serve it with some carrots, bell peppers, and other fresh veggies of your choice, but you can use it in many more ways.
In Greece, it’s commonly served with gyros, pork souvlaki, and chicken souvlaki. But it’s a wonderful and adaptable sauce for almost any dish.
Try it on pan-seared salmon, lamb rack, all sorts of kebabs, including vegetable skewers, or even to top your baked potato! I love adding it to dinner bowls with keftedes (meatballs) and a salad! I even use it to drizzle onto Greek Meatloaf wrapped in Grape Leaves! It also works as a sandwich spread. It’s great to pair with spicy recipes where you want a cooling counterpoint.
Hungry for more? Check out my Greek Recipes Collection.
How to Store Leftover Tzatziki
It’s best to store tzatziki in the fridge in a tightly covered glass container. Use it within 2 to 4 days.
More Greek Recipes to Love
Ingredients
- 3/4 English cucumber, partially peeled (striped)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 4 to 5 garlic cloves, peeled, finely grated or minced (you start with 1 to 2 garlic cloves if you don't want it to be too strong)
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Early Harvest Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
- Handful of chopped fresh dill or mint (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- Warm pita bread for serving
- Sliced vegetables for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the cucumbers. Manually grate the cucumbers with a box grater or use a small food processor to finely grate the cucumbers as I do in this recipe. Toss the grated cucumbers with 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Spoon the grated cucumber into a cheesecloth or a double thickness napkin and squeeze dry. There will be a lot of liquid.
- Combine the garlic mixture. In one large mixing bowl, place the garlic with the remaining 1/2 tsp salt, white vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Mix to combine.
- Add the cucumber. Add the grated cucumber, yogurt, and a pinch of white or black pepper to the bowl with the garlic mixture, along with the fresh herbs, if using. Stir to combine. (I did not use fresh herbs in the video.)
- Refrigerate. Cover and refrigerate for a bit (anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours before serving). This will help thicken the sauce and give it the best texture, while allowing the flavors to meld.
- Serve. When ready to serve, stir the tzatziki sauce to refresh and transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil, if you like. Serve with your favorite veggies, pita chips, or wedges.
Video
Notes
- This recipe makes a generous 2 cups of sauce (or up to 32 tablespoons). The serving size is based on 1 tablespoon.
- This recipe is adapted from Yogurt Culture. It is my quick version, and it’s been cut down to suit a smaller family.
- This is a very garlicky dip; if you prefer, start with a smaller amount of garlic and incorporate more as needed.
- To Store: It’s best to store tzatziki in the fridge in a tightly covered glass container. Use within 4 days.
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and spices used in this recipe.
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*This post first appeared on The Mediterranean Dish in 2016 and has been updated with new information and media for readers’ benefit.
I can recommend the Cashew based Greek yogurts. Very similar to standard greek yogurt in flavour and consistency.
Thanks so much for sharing that!
I have a dairy allergy and can not use yogurt. What would be a good substitute for the yogurt?
Hi, Vickie. That is a tough question because the yogurt is a star ingredient here. I would recommend trying a plain dairy free yogurt made from coconut, soy, etc. We’ve never tested any of these alternatives with this recipe before, so hard to say how they would affect the flavor profile here, but I think they would be your best bet. If you give one a try, please stop back and share your thoughts.
I tried it with a hone made coconut yogurt, while it was a bit runny is was delicious.
Absolutely delicious. So simple and so fresh. We did reduce the garlic a tad. We used with the Chicken gyro recipe. My husband HATES yogurt, but LOVED this meal. We used fat free Fage yogurt and we purchased the Greek olive oil and spices from the Mediterranean Dish website.
Can’t to try other recipes from this site!
This is good. BUT best ever, and easier, is just minced cucumber (no seeds and water pressed out), plain greek yogurt and Kraft Greek dressing.
Delicious!! I used on my pork souvlaki’s. I will continue to do so!! I used the chicken marinate for my pork and devaited just a little bit from the recipe..SCRUMPCIOUS !!
Ummm I’m not at all good at making tzatziki what so ever, but my wife let me know that it was definitely missing something….
That something was sour cream.
Thanks for the starter though.
Tzatziki doesn’t have sour cream in it. This is the authentic stuff. And it slaps.
Thank you, Lisa!
I have tried multiple recipes and none ever tasted right to me. So I did a search on authentic Tzatziki and found why none of the others tasted right. The dill, The lemon, The mint…. none of them were in real Tzatziki that I had at restaurants and people’s homes.
Thank you so much or this recipe. Our Greek place shut down a few years back and I have been bereft at not having a great Tzatziki recipe.
On Farafel sandwich, this was FABULOUS! And I can’t wait to make Gyros, or just have it as a meal with some veggies and bits of flat bread or pita bread.
This made me so happy! YUM.
Thanks so much, Jesy!
That’s interesting, I love mezze but I generally swerve the tzatziki because I don’t like mint! It ALWAYS has mint in it over here.
Where’s “over here”?
Great
This was easy and so flavorful. I made it between work meetings!
I found your site a couple of weeks ago, and after unsuccessfully trying to maintain a keto diet I decided to give Mediterranean a go. I’ve always been attracted to the beautiful dishes and clean flavors. So far I’ve tried the eggplant pizzas, green goddess chicken, garlic mushroom pasta and now this sauce. Everything has been delicious, bursting with clean, bright flavor and easy to prepare. My new doctor is a huge proponent of this way of eating as well. Thank you for supporting all of us on our journeys to better health by sharing your wonderful recipes!
We are so honored to be part of your health journey, Belen! All the best to you!
I love this sauce. It is super easy to make and so yummy. I like to make a double batch and use it throughout the week to dip my veggies in and use it as a a dressing for my salad.
Glad you enjoyed it, Yurika!
Sooooo good! But it’s too thick for falafel, maybe I squeezed my cucumber to much? Next time, I’ll save some of the juice to amend if need be.
I just found this website this morning. I made the tzatziki to go with the chicken shawarma along with the homemade pita and Greek garden salad. I have been cooking for 50+ years and I am in love with this website and these recipes❣️
Awww! Thank you so much, Dana!
This is killer delish!!
Thank you!!
I like watching your cooking method
Your dishes are healthy and delicious
My go to for this sauce! So delicious and simple to make. Serving with a host of crudités and your recipe for pita chips and za’atar, hummus. I’m sure my guests will be pleased. Thanks as always. I am treasuring my cookbook as well!
Great recipe