Homemade Tzatziki

This creamy Homemade tzatziki (tsaht-ZEE-kee) sauce is a classic Greek chilled garlic yoghurt and cucumber dip or sauce made from thick strained yogurt, cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and fresh dill. It’s super simple to make and irresistibly good. It’s as classic as a GREEK SALAD, It is full of bright flavors and delicious; a very versatile sauce. You can use it as a dipping sauce for breads or vegetables, on souvlaki - pork or chicken, pita bread, pita chips, veggies like sliced carrots and cucumber for dipping, gyros, or as a condiment. It’s also great with rice almost like a Greekstyle raita and I love it with salmon too. This is in fact an authentic traditional Greek-style garlic sauce so expect it to be quite garlicky. You can cut back on the garlic to 1 clove if you want it less garlicky but really and truly the longer the garlic rests in the yogurt, the less sharp bite it will have and the better it will taste. It’s Fresh and flavorful, and an easy homemade Tzatziki recipe. It’s so good you’ll want to dollop it on everything or dip everything into it (or eat it by the spoonful). There are many variations out there of this classic Mediterranean sauce and this is the version I love - feel free to adjust it to taste.

What is Tzatziki Made Of?

Authentic traditional tzatziki is made with strained yogurt, grated or finely minced garlic, grated and strained cucumber, freshly squeezed lemon juice or vinegar, a splash of extra virgin olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper - fresh chopped herbs commonly fresh dill and sometimes fresh parsley and fresh mint. It’s so easy to make and homemade is always best as you can customize it to your liking. The grated cucumber is a traditional add in but if you prefer a smooth texture tzatziki you could leave it out but I love it as it adds a freshness and a really nice texture to the tzatziki. The fresh herbs are also optional but I strongly recommend as they add even more flavour to this yummy sauce. I do stress the need to strain your yoghurt for the most authentic and traditional Greek tzatziki - a nice and thick texture

Greek Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients

• YOGURT - Greek yogurt is ideal because Greek yoghurt already comes strained - I strain my Greek yogurt even though this is the case because I find some brands of Greek yogurt still have quite watery yoghurt. If you are using Plain yogurt I absolutely recommend using full fat for richer flavour and straining it to remove all of the excess liquid. I like to do this overnight for best results or for at least 1-3 hours before making your tzatziki. You will love the rich thick consistency of strained yogurt and will be addicted to straining it for all purposes.
• GARLIC - use as much or as little as you like. I like to grate mine but you can mince it fine too. Don’t be too afraid of the garlic it’s a garlic sauce after all - and the garlic mellows out while it hangs out in the yogurt.
• CUCUMBER - I use about 1/2 of a large English cucumber. Peeling the cucumber is optional - I grate mine pretty fine so the peel doesn’t change the texture of my tzatziki but if you think you would rather not have the peel in then by all means peel the cucumber before grating. I recommend scooping or scraping out the seeds if your cucumber has very large seeds like some garden cucumbers do but if not I don’t bother I grate my cucumber very finely if you are grating coarsely or using a food processor to shred it - you may need to chop the shreds up a bit to make them smaller so you don’t end up with stringy tzatziki
• LEMON JUICE - I like to use freshly squeezed lemon juice in mine but you can use white vinegar, red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar too. The key is to add a little at a time - you don’t want to introduce too much moisture back into the tzatziki- just enough to flavour it with some acidity and tang
• OLIVE OIL - this adds a luscious flavour to it and a little goes a long way
• FRESH HERBS - this is optional but I love to add some finely minced or chopped fresh parsley and dill
  
  

How to make Traditional Greek Style Tzatziki:

These are the SIMPLE steps to making the creamiest tzatziki recipe every time.

1. Strain the yoghurt
2. Grate and squeeze the liquid from your cucumber
3. Grate the garlic and chop fresh herbs
4. Mix all the ingredients together and season to taste
   
   

Tzatziki Q & A’s:

How do you Grate a cucumber for tzatzkiki?

Do you need a box grater? I use a box grater but you can use a hand held grater, a food processor or mini chopper to shred the cucumber. You could chop it very fine as well if you do not have a grater - just be prepared to have larger pieces of cucumber in your tzatziki sauce.

How Do You get the Water out of Cucumbers For Tzatziki?

How do you strain cucumbers? I definitely insist on straining the yoghurt - it makes all the difference. I insist on the same for the cucumber. After you grate it sprinkle it with some salt which will draw out more of its moisture. You can strain the cucumber using your hands to squeeze the liquid out of the cucumber in a cheese cloth or pressing it into a fine mesh strainer until it’s almost free of all moisture.

How Do You Store Leftover Tzatziki?

Leftover tzatzki should be stored in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up to 5-7 days. It should keep for up to 2 weeks but for best flavour 5-7 days. It will be gone way before that I promise - its so good!

How Long Can Homemade Tzatziki Sauce Stay Out?

Any kind of yogurt dip should be kept refrigerated. Do not leave yogurt or tzatziki at room temperature for longer than two hours or one hour if the temperature is 90°F or above. If left unrefrigerated longer, bacteria can start to grow.

Tips for perfect Tzatziki sauce recipe:

• Use full fat yogurt for best flavour
• STRAIN your yogurt even if you are using Greek yoghurt or Balkan style which is already strained or regular yogurt for a thick and rich tasting tzatzki
• STRAIN /DRAIN & squeeze out all the excess moisture from the grated cucumber so the tzatziki isn’t watery. Sprinkle with pinch of salt and give it a good stir. The salt draws moisture out of the cucumbers. Rest for 15 minutes OR you can cover the sieve over a bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to use, up to 24 hours. Press to release all the excess moisture
  
  

This tzatziki is perfect with or as:

We love serving this tzatziki sauce with all our favorite GREEK RECIPES and Mediterranean ones, and much much more - here are some examples:

• As a VEGGIE DIPPING SAUCE for all the veggies under the sun/ fresh or roasted
• As a appetizer DIPPING SAUCE for fresh pita bread, pita chips, cracker and crisps
• As a SPREAD for burgers, sandwiches, toast, and pita wraps
• As a SAUCE for:
  • Gyros
  • Souvlaki
  • Greek Chicken
  • Crispy Spanakopita spring rolls
  • Traditional Homemade Spanakopita
  • Spanakopita Tarte Soleil (Spinach and Feta Pie)
  • Lamb
  • Greek Egg Salad