Tzatziki Sauce Recipe

tzatziki sauce topped with chopped cucumber and dill

Homemade Tzatziki Sauce is super easy and delicious. Great as a healthy dip, sauce for grilled meat, or spread for sandwiches. It's thick, rich, and creamy!

Course Appetizer, Dip

Cuisine American

Keyword Tzatziki Sauce Recipe

Prep Time 15

Total Time 15

Servings cups

Calories 161kcal

Author Kathleen

Ingredients

16 ounces plain Greek yogurt
1/2 English cucumber
4 large cloves fresh garlic
salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons fresh dill finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Peel the cucumber and cut it in half lengthwise. Using a teaspoon, scrape out all the seeds. Shred the cucumber with a box grater into a fine mesh sieve. sprinkle the cucumber with 1 teaspoon salt and stir. Let stand 30 minutes. Press on the shredded cucumber with the back of a large spoon to remove some of the excess liquid. Spread the cucumber in a line down on a clean kitchen towel. Twists each end of the towel in opposing directions and wring out as much liquid as possible. Place cucumber in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add yogurt to the bowl.
Press the garlic (4 cloves) into a paste (follow the instructions above in the recipe notes). Add garlic paste to mixing bowl.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt, black pepper, chopped dill (3 tablespoons), and lemon juice (1 tablespoon) and stir well until mixture is evenly combined. Cover bowl and refrigerate overnight. Before serving, stir well and adjust salt and pepper.

Notes

General: I highly recommend making this recipe the day before you want to serve it and storing it overnight in the fridge. The time in the fridge allows the garlic paste to completely infuse and more importantly mellow out. If you serve it the same day you make it the garlic can have a much harsher bite.
The Yogurt - The base of Tzatziki is plain, unflavored yogurt. Traditionally, it is always made with the full-fat version. Making your own gives you the flexibility to use whichever you like.
- You can use nonfat, low-fat or whole-milk yogurt. I use all types depending on what I'm using the Tzatziki for. Clearly, nonfat will make the most calorie-friendly Tzatziki. The whole milk yogurt makes the richest Tzatzikik sauce and is the one I personally prefer to make most often.
- Most authentic recipes called for "strained yogurt." This refers to a yogurt that has been strained to remove some of the whey, which results in a thicker consistency. Here in the US, it's what we know as Greek-style yogurt. No endorsement here, but I usually use Fage brand.
- When this sauce is made in Greece, it is made with yogurt that is thicker than the standard Greek yogurts commercially available to us in the US. Personally, I'm totally fine making this recipe with a good quality Greek-style yogurt.
- If you want to use a thicker version you can start this recipe with plain "regular" yogurt if you'd like, then strain it yourself. Doing it this way allows you to control how much liquid is removed or left in. The longer you strain it, the thicker it will become. It can be strained to the point it becomes the consistency of a cream cheese. When it is strained to this point it is generally referred to as yogurt cheese. If you're straining your own yogurt for this recipe, don't strain it to the point where it becomes a cheese, that's too thick.
The Cucumber - The cucumber can be shredded or diced. It really comes down to a matter of preference on the size issue. Shredded is the most authentic way to prepare it. The diced pieces give the sauce a heavier texture than the shredded do. The larger the dice, the heavier the texture. The finer the shred the finer the texture.
1. The most important point I want to make in regard to the cucumber is that it absolutely must be salted, allowed to sit then squeezed dry. If you don't do this you will have a very watery Tzatziki. Please don't skip these steps. Here's how to do it:

1. 1. Shred the cucumbers.
  2. Place the cucumbers into a sieve, sprinkle with salt, stir, and let sit 20-30 minutes.
  3. Wring out the cucumbers with a clean dry dish towel.

4. The Garlic - Traditional recipes call for the garlic to be pressed into a paste. This allows the garlic to blend perfectly into the sauce and also infuse its flavor thoroughly. Making a garlic paste is easy, just follow the few steps I've listed below:

- Here's how to make a garlic paste from fresh garlic:
  1. Mince the peeled garlic cloves and arrange them in a neat pile.
  2. Sprinkle the top of the garlic with some table salt.
  3. Hold the blunt edge of your knife with both hands and drag the shape edge of the knife across the surface of the garlic, holding the blade at a slight angle so it flattens and smashes the garlic. Continue this process for a few minutes until the garlic becomes a paste.

5. The Herbs - The herbs traditionally used in Tzatziki sauce are a very hotly debated issue. Many people believe that authentic Tzatziki sauce contains no herbs at all. Some say it should have the only dill while others say both dill and mint must be included.

- Hubby's original family Tzatziki recipe has only dill in it. His family only used about 1 tablespoon. This is the only place I personally deviate from their original recipe. I love dill. I add 3 full tablespoons of fresh, chopped dill.

Nutrition