An Easy Tzatziki Sauce Recipe
Tangy, cool yogurt sauces make the perfect foil in many cultures for heavy or meaty dishes. Mediterranean cultures inspire us to spoon light, cooling Greek tzatziki sauce over gyros and grilled lamb, or spread savory Whipped Feta Dip all over flatbread. Indian cuisine offers up Raita for similar purposes — to cool and compliment hearty curries and rice dishes. There’s tahini sauce for a dairy-free version of a flavorful creamy sauce. Whatever you’re planning to eat it with, our speedy, easy tzatziki recipe is ready to be your new go-to. For a delicious vegan dip, try our Muhammara recipe.
What Is Tzatiki?
Many Mediterranean countries have some sort of cucumber-and-yogurt sauce in their cuisine, and tzatziki sauce is one of the most common iterations. Perfect for serving along with all of your favorite vegetables for dipping, tzatziki (pronounced tsah-see-key) is the most classic of all Greek dipping sauces. Cooling and creamy, tzatziki is all about a refreshing combination of grated (yes, grated!) cucumber and tangy yogurt, plus (of course) plenty of garlic. Traditionally, you would begin making Greek tzatziki by straining yogurt, but we’re taking a little short cut and using thick Greek yogurt as our base, which is already strained (that’s why it’s thick!) and ready to go.
Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients
Greek yogurt
Cucumber
Dried dill
Garlic
Lemon
Salt & pepper
Za’atar (Za’atar is a delicious Middle Eastern spice blend that typically features za’atar leaves, sumac, sesame and has a really unique tangy-earthy-herbal character. Use it if you have it, and if you like it.)
How To Make Tzatziki Sauce
Start at least an hour before you want to eat! Tzatziki needs to sit in the fridge for about an hour so that the fresh garlic can work its magic on the cucumber and yogurt base, so start early.
Prep, prep, prep. Homemade tzatziki is all in the prep. You’ll use a box grater to grate a cucumber (honestly pretty fun way to spend a few minutes, or a great task to outsource to an eager kid!) then…
Mince up the garlic with your super-sharp knife.
Juice your lemon. You could use a fancy citrus juicer if you’ve got one, but we love a manual one (the kind you use for cocktails).
Stir all of the ingredients together, and let the dip sit in the fridge until you’re ready to dig in.
Serve it up! Serve tzatziki as a dip with a fresh vegetable platter for a simple, healthy appetizer, or go truly classic and serve it with Greek Chicken Gyros — tzatziki is a must-have if you’re making gyros. You could double up on the cucumber and serve it with Cucumber Salad, or as a refreshing compliment to a Chickpea Salad, too.
How To Store Leftover Tzatziki Sauce + Tips
Yes, you can make tzatziki ahead of time! Your homemade tzatziki sauce should stay good for about 4 days in the refrigerator, and you actually need to let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
No, you can’t freeze it. Cucumbers and yogurt don’t like the freezer.
- Don’t substitute anything for the Greek yogurt. It’s OK to use low fat Greek yogurt in a pinch (though full fat will taste better.) We’ve fielded questions in the past about this and unfortunately, no substitutes work here. Cucumbers and yogurt are the heart of tzatziki and really can’t be subbed.
More Greek Recipes To Try
Today, Tzatziki Sauce, Tomorrow The World!
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