Easy Tzatziki (Greek Yogurt Cucumber Sauce)
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Published Jun 05, 2019, Updated Jul 22, 2023
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An easy and delicious tzatziki sauce recipe made with Greek yogurt and cucumber. It’s perfect for enjoying with fresh veggies, pita chips, or in a Mediterranean bowl.
I honestly can’t believe I didn’t have a tzatziki sauce recipe on my blog until now! I love this creamy sauce and feel like it is a staple recipe everyone needs to know how to make!
If you’re unfamiliar with tzatziki, let me introduce you. It’s a popular sauce or dip made with Greek yogurt, chopped or shredded cucumbers, garlic and fresh herbs like dill, mint, and parsley. It sounds simple, but it’s so tasty and so easy to make.
Tzatziki is a Magical Creamy Cucumber Sauce
Seriously, everyone loves tzatziki and it has so many uses:
- Trying to get your kiddo to eat more veggies? Pair the veggies with tzatziki for dipping.
- Need a new dip for your weekend charcuterie board? Make tzatziki.
- Just a sauce lover and always looking for new recipes? Sauces like tzatziki are a fun and easy way to spice things up.
How to Make Homemade Tzatziki Sauce
Another super simple recipe for you!
In a small bowl, stir together plain Greek yogurt, peeled and diced cucumber, minced garlic, fresh lemon juice and fresh dill. Season with salt and pepper.
For the cucumber, I prefer to use mini cucumbers or an English cucumbers because they’re essentially seedless. If you use a regular cucumber, you’ll want to remove the seeds. For this sauce I diced the cucumber, but you can also grate it for a finer more authentic texture. Grating cucumber does cause the cucumber to release more liquid so you’ll want to place the grated cucumber in a mesh strainer and squeeze as much liquid out as possible before adding it with the other ingredients.
You can also blend all of the ingredients in a food processor if you prefer a creamier sauce.
And just to cover the basics, here are some common questions about tzatziki sauce:
How Long Does Homemade Tzatziki Last?
Homemade tzatziki will last up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. I know this seems like a quick turnaround, but I promise you’ll be able to finish it in 3 days. And if one portion is too much, you can always halve the recipe.
Can I Freeze Tzatziki?
Technically yes, you can freeze tzatziki, but the texture may change after freezing. I recommend enjoying it fresh!
How Do You Eat Tzatziki?
How don’t you eat tzatziki?! I love enjoying it with fresh veggies, with pita bread, with pita chips or in a Mediterranean bowl.
More Mediterranean Recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Easy Tzatziki (Greek Yogurt Cucumber Sauce)
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt, I used Wallaby full-fat greek yogurt
- 1 cup peeled and grated cucumber, I used an English cucumber so there are no seeds
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice + 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1-2 Tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Peel and grate your cucumber if you haven’t already. Squeeze as much liquid out of the cucumber as you can with paper towels before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.
- Stir together Greek yogurt, diced cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, zest and dill in a small bowl.
- Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper and lemon juice depending on your preference.
- Serve immediately. Can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
- I used mini cucumbers that are essentially seedless so I didn’t need to remove the seeds, but if you’re using a regular cucumber you will want to deseed the cucumber.
- I diced the cucumber, but you can also grate it for a finer, more authentic texture. Grating cucumber does cause the cucumber to release more liquid so you’ll want to place the grated cucumber in a mesh strainer and squeeze as much liquid out as possible before adding it with the other ingredients.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this tzatziki sauce!!!! I omitted the dill and lemon zest, but otherwise made it as written. It was absolutely delicious! Will definitely make this again! Thanks for the easy, yummy recipe!
YUM! I am so exited to hear that you are loving this recipe and it turned out great of you, Lisa. Thank you for coming back and sharing your review + star rating, I so appreciate it!
Would vanilla Greek yogurt work?
That should work, but it will definitely change the flavor and make it taste sweet. This is more of a savory recipe so I’d recommend waiting until you can find plain Greek yogurt.
I love this sauce but wondering what would work instead of cucumbers as their season is over and we are in winter cooking mode? How might celery work? Or grated carrots or beets, maybe roasted? Other thoughts?
Hey Tamarque! I haven’t tried this recipe with anything besides cucumbers so I am not sure how the sauce would turn out with a substitute. I think celery or zucchini could work, but definitely play around with the recipe. Let me know what you end up using and how it turns out.
I literally just got back from Greece yesterday, and tzatziki is one of the dishes my friend and I are dying to recreate. The timing on this dish is perfect! I can’t wait to try this out!!!
I love this for sharing at the summer concerts in the park. I’m always looking for healthier appetizers to bring. This looks like a winner
What would be your suggestion for a dairy free option? Would dairy free yogurt give you the same consistency?
This looks and sounds so refreshing and perfect for this time of year!