Tzatziki Sauce Recipe
Creamy Greek Tzatziki Sauce recipe with cucumber, yogurt, and garlic. Add a tablespoon or two of fresh dill or mint, if you like. Do not skip draining the cucumbers, or the sauce will be watery. And for the best texture, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours before serving. This versatile cucumber yogurt sauce can be used in many ways.
Servings: 2 cups
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 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
Calories: 16.3kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1.5g | Fat: 0.7g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 0.8mg | Sodium: 78.7mg | Potassium: 11.9mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.7g | Vitamin A: 15.6IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 18.4mg | Iron: 0.1mg
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