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.
How much cucumber would you recommend using in terms of cups?
Hi, Stephanie. We’ve never actually measured that before, so I had to do a bit of research :). I think about 2 cups for grated cucumber would work here! Enjoy!
My wife mentioned she would like me to make tzatziki so we can use some of the cucumbers from the garden. So glad to have found your website. Your instructions are well written and easy to follow. You also have a so many other recipes starting with hummus and falafal that we enjoy and are simple to make using your guidance. Thanks.
This is so delicious! I only had dried dill, but it was still amazing! My husband is Greek and very particular about authentic Greek food. He couldn’t get enough! Thank you!
We love hearing this! Thanks, Laura!
Excellent recipe
Excellent recipe! We had this sauce tonight with marinated chicken thighs braised with carrots, garlic, and onions, roasted potatoes, and pita. It was the perfect complement to the meal. I’ll be making this again for sure.
Very good, well balanced flavour with the herbs. The white vinegar brought a sharpness. The mint added sweetness, lemon juice not needed.
Hi Suzy.made this dip today and I had to add some garlic powder because it was so bland.also I put in more salt. Good recipe.
I love me some garlic (I usually add at least 50% more than recipes call for)
But 4-5 raw cloves is just overkill and made it almost inedible. Definitely stick closer to the 1-2 range.
I so enjoy your recipes and your presentation
I would like to know if I can freeze the Tatziki Sauce if my husband and I can’t eat is within 4 days?
Hi, Maryann! We don’t recommend freezing this one because it can tend to separate given that it’s basically dairy and water from the cucumbers.
Absolutely delicious. I use it on my gyros!
Perfect! Thanks, Kirsten!
This was pretty good but I’m confused by the vinegar instead of lemon juice. Most recipes say lemon juice. Vinegar is too bitter I guess is the word and it was tasting too much like pickles lol. So, I added a little lemon juice and so much better. I also suggest using a little mint in addition to dill. If you want to make it pop add a smidge of cayenne. Very good.
Made this to go with the your chicken souvlaki recipe and made my own pitas again your recipe all were fantastic, easy to follow recipes and it was a flavor bomb of amazing! I think I’ll tone down the garlic when I first tested it the flavor was perfect but I let it sit in fridge for a few hours and then the garlic was intense. So I added more yogurt it was better but next time I’ll just add less to start. Everything was excellent thanks for sharing. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes. Lastly, my store didn’t have fresh dill but I found freeze dried dill in spice aisle and the dill flavor was great. Husband loved it said he could drink it alone.
Thanks for taking the time to comment and review, Katie!
Instead of vinegar use lemon juice. Best with full fat yogurt. No good with fat free.
This sounds good. I am planning on making it and wondered if I could use dried mint or dill or maybe both. If so how much would I need to use please?
Hi, Janet. We’ve never tested this recipe with dried mint or dill, but some of our other readers have with success, so it sounds like it’s worth a try!
Oops, sorry, I forgot to rate the recipe.
Thanks so much!
Awesome dip! I was searching for a dip for Mediterranean chicken wraps and came across this post. Planning on checking out other recipes too on Suzy’s website. Thanks!
Welcome to The Mediterranean Dish, Linda!!