Tzatziki Sauce

This classic Greek Tzatziki sauce is made with thick Greek yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, fresh herbs and lemon juice. This versatile sauce is easy to make in just minutes and so delicious, you’ll want to pair it with everything!

Of all the Greek sauces, tzatziki is by far the most popular. One taste, and its clear to see why! This cool, refreshing yogurt sauce is a summer (and year round) staple in our home.

It’s wonderfully thick and creamy and made with simple and fresh flavours.

Making it is also incredibly easy! It takes just minutes to make!

Tzatziki sauce drizzled with olive oil and topped with fresh dill and a kalamata olive.

What is tzatziki sauce?

Tzatziki sauce is a yogurt based dip made with shredded zucchini and flavoured with garlic and fresh herbs (typically dill though other fresh herbs such as mint can be added). It tastes deliciously refreshing and goes with pretty much anything you can think of!

Classic tzatziki sauce is comprised of only a handful of simple ingredients- yogurt (nice and thick yogurt), shredded cucumber, garlic, fresh dill, lemon juice and salt.

A bowl of tzatziki sauce served with pita wedges and sliced cucumber.

This delicious, dippable yogurt sauce is not only delicious, but so easy to pair with a wide variety of dishes. If you are looking for a great sauce to pair with Zucchini Fritters- Greek Kolokithokeftedes and Keftedakia – Greek Meatballs, look no further than the classic tzatziki sauce.

Not only is tzatziki sauce great for dipping, but it works wonderfully added to wraps and sandwiches too. I love adding a generous dollop onto my Homemade Hamburgers (based on my Greek meatballs recipe). Oh, and you can bet I also dip french fries into some too for an amazing burger meal with a Greek twist.

So good!

A bowl of tzatziki sauce topped with olive oil and an olive served with cucumber and pita slices.

Ingredients

As mentioned above, this simple sauce requires just 6 ingredients:

  • Yogurt: I start with store-bought thick Greek yogurt because this dip should be nice and thick. If you have yogurt that is much thinner, you can strain it to achieve that thick texture (tips in the blog post below).

  • Cucumber: grated and water squeezed out (to keep this sauce from getting watery).

  • Garlic: You can adjust how many cloves you use in this sauce depending on personal preference. If you don’t like garlic or can’t eat it (like me), you can omit it altogether.

  • Lemon juice

  • Fresh herbs: I use fresh dill to add fresh herby flavour to this dip. If you like you can also add a little fresh mint.

  • Salt: to taste
Closeup of a bowl of tzatziki drizzled with olive oil and topped with an olive.

How to strain yogurt

I start my tzatziki dip with a thick, store-bought Greek yogurt but if I can’t find it at the market, straining a thinner yogurt is the next best thing.

To strain yogurt, I follow these steps:

  1. I use a metal mesh strainer that I can set on top of a mixing bowl. The bottom of the mesh strainer shouldn’t touch the bottom of the bowl so that the liquid can drip out.

  2. Next, I set a cheese cloth on top of the mesh strainer and then fill it with the yogurt. Fold up the edges of the cheese cloth to cover the yogurt.

  3. Place the bowl and mesh strainer in the fridge and let it sit for an hour (or more depending on how thin your yogurt was to begin with).

  4. Discard the liquid and use the thickened yogurt in your sauce!

Cheryl Sternman Rule has a simple 1-minute video showing the process. She used a clean dish towel instead of a cheese cloth but either one works.

How to make Tzatziki Sauce

Once you have thick yogurt, the rest is easy!

  1. Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.

  2. Taste and add salt, garlic, or lemon juice to suit your taste.

That’s it! Easy right?

A photo collage showing how to make tzatziki sauce.

What to serve tzatziki sauce with

This versatile sauce works well with a wide variety of recipes.

As a dip, it can be served with:

Tzatziki sauce is also great with burgers and sandwiches too. My favourites include:

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Kali orexi!

-Cathy

Closeup of a bowl of tzatziki drizzled with olive oil and topped with dill and an olive.

You may also like these other classic sauces and dips:

Tirokafteri (Spicy Greek Feta Dip)
Hummus
Baba Ganoush

Tzatziki sauce drizzled with olive oil and topped with fresh dill and a kalamata olive.

Tzatziki Sauce

Catherine
This classic Greek Tzatziki sauce is made with thick Greek yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, fresh herbs and lemon juice. This versatile sauce is easy to make in just minutes and so delicious, you'll want to pair it with everything!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course Sauces
Cuisine Greek
Servings 10
Calories 28 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 2 cups Greek yogurt thick
  • 1 cup cucumber grated and water squeezed out
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
  • salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.
  • Taste and add salt, garlic, or lemon juice to suit your taste.

Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.

Nutrition

Calories: 28kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 4gFat: 0.2gSaturated Fat: 0.05gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.01gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.02gTrans Fat: 0.002gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 15mgPotassium: 81mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 18IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 48mgIron: 0.1mg

The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.

Keyword cucumber, garlic, greek food, greek yogurt
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