Delicious and Refreshing Tzatziki Sauce

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Tzatziki sauce is a delicious dip, dressing, or spread made from primarily Greek yogurt, cucumbers, and dill. It’s refreshing and easy to make. Tzatziki is one of the recipes we make all summer long. 

What type of cucumbers do you need to make homemade tzatziki sauce?

If you’re ever wondering what to do with cucumbers from the garden, tzatziki sauce is a great answer. You can use any cucumbers you want. Seedless is convenient, but it doesn’t matter. Organic is best because you’re using the entire cucumber (seeds and skin too!), but if you can’t get organic, just thoroughly rinse the cucumber.

Can you make tzatziki sauce without Greek yogurt?

You can make tzatziki sauce without Greek yogurt by substituting it with sour cream. You can also use plain, unsweetened regular yogurt. Both of these substitutions makes the sauce less tangy, but it’s still delicious!

Do you need to use fresh dill to make homemade tzatziki sauce?

You don’t need to use fresh dill! The dill in my garden tends to start to die by mid July so when I’m out I replace what the recipe calls for fresh dill with dried dill. Because dried herbs tend to be more concentrated in their flavor, I use half of the amount of dried dill. 

How long does homemade tzatziki sauce last?

Typically about 5 days in the refrigerator if well sealed. If your cucumber is on the larger side when you grate it into the sauce, it will release more liquid that you may not be able to get out initially. This makes the sauce runnier and less thick than when you first make it. The extra water content can make the sauce go bad a little sooner. 

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How To Make Homemade Tzatziki Sauce:

Ingredients:

1 cup of grated cucumber

2 cups of Greek yogurt

2 tbsp of lemon juice

3-4 garlic cloves

1 tsp of sea salt

2 tbsp chopped, fresh dill (or 1 tbsp dried)

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil for garnish

Special Supplies:

Box grater

Check out our Beginner Home Cook Essentials Guide for a list of ingredients that we recommend always keeping on hand plus a conversion guide and suggested kitchen tools!

Assembly:

Using a box grater, grate 1 medium to large sized cucumber that has been thoroughly washed. You can grate the whole thing, peel and seeds included. If you do not have a box grater you can thinly slice and then finely chop the cucumbers to achieve a similar consistency. Squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can from the shredded cucumber and then measure out 1 cup. If it’s a little over or under it doesn’t matter. 

Using the same box grater, grate 3-4 cloves of garlic (that have been peeled). The amount of garlic is based on your preference. If you don’t have the box grater, you can finely mince this. If you are using the grater, be careful as you get to the tiny end pieces of your garlic. Don’t stress about using them because you can save the end pieces and skin of the garlic for homemade chicken stock by storing them in a freezer bag until you’re ready to use them!

In a bowl, combine the grated garlic, 1 cup of grated cucumber, 2 cups of Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons of of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of sea salt and 2 tablespoons of fresh, chopped dill. Stir the mixture thoroughly, cover, and place in the fridge for at least one hour. 

When ready to serve, top the tzatziki sauce with a drizzle of 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and extra chopped dill if you have any. You will want more or less olive oil depending on the bowl you’re serving it in. You don’t want the top to look like it’s drowning in olive oil and you don’t want it to look like there isn’t any there either!

Serve and enjoy!

We love this as a dip for fresh veggies or chips and we always make it when have a build-your-own gyro night (which happens a lot in the summer!) Let us know if you’ve made tzatziki sauce or will try it this summer in the comments below!

Creamy Tzatziki Sauce

A delicious and fresh Mediterannian dip

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Chill time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 3 cups

Equipment

• box grater

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup of grated cucumber
• 2 cups of Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp of sea salt
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill (or 1 tbsp dried)
• 1-2 tbsp of olive oil for garnish optional

Instructions

 

• Grate 1 medium-large sized cucumber that has been thoroughly washed.
• Squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can from the shredded cucumber and then measure out 1 cup. If it’s a little over or under it doesn’t matter.
• Grate 3-4 cloves of garlic (that have been peeled).
• In a bowl, combine the grated garlic, 1 cup of grated cucumber, 2 cups of Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons of of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of sea salt and 2 tablespoons of fresh, chopped dill. Stir the mixture thoroughly, cover, and place in the fridge for at least one hour.
• When ready to serve, top the tzatziki sauce with a drizzle of 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and extra chopped dill if you have any. You will want more or less olive oil depending on the bowl you’re serving it in. You don’t want the top to look like it’s drowning in olive oil and you don’t want it to look like there isn’t any there either!

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