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.
Nutrition
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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.
Hi there! I’m so excited to try this but am on a diet. Was wondering if the nutritional values listed for this was for your fat free yogurt version or if it was for the full fat? I’m assuming the fat free but I just wanted to confirm. Thanks!!!
Hi Jacqui, nutritional information typically follows what is listed in the ingredients. It’s a best estimate using a nutritional calculator.
This was delicious! I used lemon juice instead of vinegar, and added a tablespoon of fresh dill. I only used 2 large garlic cloves and that was enough for me. It’s the only recipe I will ever need, and will be making this again and again! But please note, the directions are a tad confusing though. At the end of step 2, you say mix to combine. The first instruction in step 3 is “combine and chill.” [Chill before you add the cucumber?] Then at end of step 3, there is instruction to combine, cover and chill for a couple of hours before serving.
Thanks for sharing! We’ll take a quick look to make sure it flows better. I hope you’ve checked out the video as the instructions are all detailed there as well.
Just made this yesterday for my family and we all loved it. I added a teaspoon of lemon juice as well. Next time I want to try some dill in it! Thanks for the awesome recipe 🙂
Awesome, Lilly. thanks for sharing
IVe made tzatziki a number of times and hands down, this is the absolute best batch I have ever made. I’ll be sticking with this recipe. I halved it and am regretting it as I’m downloading to the last couple tbsp. Lol. Didn’t have an English cucumber in hand so used a regular one but let it strain in a colander all day after grating. Worked out just fine. Love the garlic level. Thank you so much! My search is over!!
That’s great, glad this could help you!! Enjoy!
I just made this today for my chicken shawarma and it is excellent!
Wonderful Anita! Thanks for giving it a try!
I love this recipe…tomorrow I make Falafel and will definitely enjoy these two together along w/ salad! YUM TY again Suzy!
So glad, Wanda! Thanks so much for the kind comment
Thank you for this authentic Greek sauce recipe.
I’m certain you meant to write 3 to 4 cucumbers (I used 3)
instead of 3/4 (.75) [of one]. Your helpful video shows much more than three-fourths.
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Hi Barbara, i use 3/4 of a long English cucumber for this recipe. Or if you have those smaller persian cucumbers, then you’ll use a few.
Would it make a difference if I just used 1 whole cucumber instead of 3/4? How many ounces would you recommend?
You can adjust the measurements, Dee. If you add more cucumber, maybe add more yogurt as well 🙂
I live in Japan and miss Tzatziki so much. I would like to make this but the cucumbers here are much smaller. Would you have an estimate in grams as to how much cucumber you use? Thank you so much!
You can start with 2 to 3 small cucumbers, Sharon. It’s a really forgiving recipe
This is the best I’ve had since Germany!! The only recipe that I will use here on out.
Awesome! So glad to hear it!
I made this tonight with fresh naan. It was absolutely delicious! The garlic made me want to cry! This will be a staple through the summer. Thank you!
So glad to hear it!
Sooooo Yummy! I initially thought wow that’s enough sauce to last me a year … but it’s so yummy and versatile I had it for my Greek night to start with and then just vegetables and I even used it for chip dip it’s so good 🙂
Awesome, Nikki! So glad you enjoyed it!
This was perfect! I added a squirt of lemon juice.
Love this sauce!
So glad!
Good recipe just way too much garlic for me. Had to keep adding ingredients to tone it down.
Just made the meat balls, the salad and the Tzatziki sauce and they all taste so good and fresh. Perfect for a lightish dinner. Thank you. It was a refreshing change. ?
Thanks so much, Yvonne! So glad you enjoyed this meal.
I made this exactly as written. Awesome! Used on lamb gyros. Everyone loved it. Next day, I added a little more garlic & 1/2 of Dill. Different flavor profile but still awesome. I will never buy it again.
Valerie, awesome! So glad to hear you enjoyed it. I love this on gyros!