Cool, creamy, and vibrant, this yogurt and cucumber Tzatziki Sauce is delicious! And it's easy to make too. Serve it as a dip with crackers, veggies or chips. Toss it with your favorite salad. Drizzle it over chicken, steak, fish, pork, or these tasty shrimp tacos. This is a versatile recipe!
what is tzatziki sauce?
Tzatziki is Mediterranean in origin and is a plain yogurt based sauce/dip/dressing. The yogurt is mixed with shredded cucumbers, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and spices. It's fresh, creamy, and zesty and adds flavor to any meal.
Having a batch of this homemade tzatziki sauce on hand is a lifesaver. There are so many ways to serve it, and all are delicious! When I'm looking for a tasty snack to serve my book club, the cucumber and yogurt sauce/dip is a favorite with cut up vegetables, pita chips, and pretzels. I serve it along side any grilled, baked, or sauteed chicken, fish, steak, or pork for a delicious dinner. It makes an ordinary salad stand out when tossed with the cool and refreshing sauce.
the ingredients for tzatziki sauce
- plain Greek yogurt ~ full fat or low fat
- English cucumber
- extra virgin olive oil
- lemon juice
- dried dill
- garlic powder
- kosher salt
- pepper
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how to make tzatziki sauce
I have always loved making homemade sauces, dips and dressings. They taste so much fresher and brighter than any store bought ones. Along with tzatziki sauce, I whip up batches of cilantro lime dressing and basil hummus.
- Grab a bowl ~ Add the Greek yogurt to a bowl.
- Shred and squeeze the cucumber ~ With a boxer grater or food processor, shred the cucumber. Squeeze out as much of the liquid. Add the shredded cucumber to the yogurt.
- Add the seasonings ~ Along with the yogurt and cucumber, add extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, dried dill, garlic powder, kosher salt, and pepper.
- Stir and refrigerate ~ Thoroughly stir the ingredients together. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve. Stays fresh up to 1 week.
chef tips for making tzatziki sauce
- Grab Greek yogurt ~ The thicker the yogurt the better when making this tzatziki sauce recipe. Either full fat or low fat are good options. Skip regular yogurts as they are too thin and runny.
- It's an English cucumber for this recipe ~ These long and skinny cucumbers are ideal for this tzatziki recipe. They contain less water, and you don't need to peel them as they have thin skins.
- Squeeze out the cucumbers ~ Cucumbers contain A LOT of liquid. To ensure your tzatziki isn't to watery, squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can. Either do this with your hands or let drain in a mesh strainer for 10 minutes.
- Refrigerate before serving ~ For the best cucumber and herb flavor, allow the sauce/dip/dressing to mellow in the refrigerator for about 1 to2 hours. Give it a stir before serving.
just one more thing
If you make this cool, creamy and refreshing tzatziki sauce/dip/dressing, I’d love hearing from you all. Be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ~ I do my best to reply to all your comments. And snap a photo to post to Instagram. I’ll add the photos to my Insta stories as I love seeing all your creations.
Also check out my Facebook and Pinterest pages for lots of fabulous foodie stories, videos, cooking tips, and recipes.
recipe
Easy Tzatziki Sauce ~ It's a Dip and Dressing too!
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 1/2 cups 1x
Description
Cool, creamy, and vibrant, this cucumber and yogurt Tzatziki Sauce is delicious! And it's is to make too. Serve it as a dip
Ingredients
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 cup shredded cucumber, thoroughly drained *see Notes
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Cut up vegetables, crackers, pita chips, pretzels for serving
Instructions
- Combine ingredients: In a medium size bowl, add Greek yogurt, shredded cucumber, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, dried dill, garlic powder, kosher salt, and pepper.
- Stir to combine: Using a spatula, thoroughly combine all the ingredients.
- Refrigerate: Place the sauce in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Serve: Serve as a dip with cut up vegetables, crackers, chips or pretzels. Drizzle on steak, chicken, fish or pork. Toss with your favorite salad.
Notes
- Grab Greek yogurt ~ The thicker the yogurt the better for making this tzatziki sauce recipe. Either full fat or low fat are good options, Skip regular yogurts as they are too thin and runny.
- It's an English cucumber for this recipe ~ Grab these long and skinny cucumbers for this tzatziki recipe. They contain less water, and you don't need to peel them as they have thin skins.
- Squeeze out the cucumbers ~ Cucumbers contain A LOT of liquid. To ensure your sauce/dip/dressing isn't to watery, squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can. Either do this with your hands or let drain in a mesh strainer for 10 minutes.
- Refrigerate before serving ~ For the best cucumber and herb flavor, allow the sauce/dip/dressing to mellow in the refrigerator for about 1 to2 hours. Give it a stir before serving.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: sauce, dip, dressing
- Method: no cooking required
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe
- Calories: 58
- Sugar: 2.5 g
- Sodium: 208 mg
- Fat: 3.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 3.7 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 4.2 g
- Cholesterol: 2 mg
Gloria
I love the fact you can use this as a multi-purpose recipe. I would love it in either application. Or just with a spoon LOL.
Amy Casey
Gloria ~ it is delicious so many ways.
Jessica
I had never had this or made it and my sister insisted I try this recipe, so I did! I'm so glad that I did because it's fantastic! I'll be making this again and again now. Thank you!
Amy Casey
I'm so glad you enjoyed my recipe Jessica.
Jessica
You had me at "dip AND dressing". Not only is this my favorite sauce for summer, but reading about how you serve, toss, or drizzle it with such a wide variety of foods makes me what to run and make it right now! Thanks for showing me how to meal prep better with this single recipe and stretch it through multiple meals.
Amy Casey
You are so welcome Jessica! It's a sauce/dip/dressing I make over and over again.
Erin
I made this for a picnic and everyone loved it! It was super easy to make and my kid liked helping. Will make this for the next picnic, thanks!
Amy Casey
So fun to be in the kitchen with kids! Glad you enjoyed my recipe.
EA Stewart
My family and I love this Tzatziki recipe, as we are fans of all foods Mediterranean. Thanks for the tip to squeeze the excess water out of the cucumbers!
Amy Casey
You are so welcome EA!
Dennis Littley
My wife loves tzatziki sauce and I surprised her by making your recipe along with toasted pita and chicken kabobs! Major points scored for me!!
Amy Casey
What a great way to serve tzatziki. I love the idea of toasted pita.
Debbie
I love TZATZIKI SAUCE and yours is the best recipe I have found so far! Thanks for a great recipe.
Amy Casey
Thanks for your kind compliments Debbie!