Tzatziki

This fresh tzatziki recipe will liven up any summer meal! Rich, creamy & full of fresh herbs, it's delicious on pita, grilled veggies, sandwiches, and more!

Tzatziki Sauce

Break out the pita, it’s tzatziki time! On Monday, I posted my favorite Greek salad, and now I’m following it up with another Greek essential: this cool, refreshing cucumber tzatziki sauce.

One of the best parts of summer is that dinner suddenly becomes easy. My favorite ingredients – fresh fruits and veggies – are at their peak. Tomatoes are sweeter and juicier, berries are plumper, peppers are snappier, and our backyard herbs are at their most potent. 

Sometimes, when I want to put these peak-season veggies front and center, making dinner just means prepping a sauce to dress them up. This tzatziki sauce is a great recipe for showcasing summer produce – it’s rich & creamy, bright, and packed with fresh herbs. So mix it up, serve it with a big platter of pita and your favorite summer veggies, and call it dinner!

Tzatziki Recipe

What is tzatziki?

Tzatziki is a salted yogurt and cucumber dip that’s made of strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and herbs. Authentic Greek tzatziki is most often made with sheep or goat yogurt, but my tzatziki recipe calls for regular full-fat Greek yogurt. It’s easier to find in the store, and it still has the creamy, thick consistency you want in tzatziki sauce. Along with the other traditional ingredients, I stir in fresh mint and dill for a bright, summery finish.

How to Make Tzatziki Sauce

I first started eating tzatziki sauce at Greek restaurants, but I’ve since learned that it’s incredibly easy to whip up at home. Now, along with pesto, it’s one of my must-make summer sauces. Here’s how you do it:

  1. Start by grating the cucumber. I use the largest holes on a box grater to give my final sauce texture and plenty of green flecks. 
  2. Next, squeeze the water out of the grated cucumber. This step is essential for making a creamy tzatziki – if you skip it, the water from the cucumber will cause your sauce to separate. Squeeze the cucumber directly over the sink, or press it lightly between kitchen or paper towels.
  3. Then, stir everything together! Mix the squeezed cucumber with the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, and herbs, and chill until you’re ready to use.

That’s it!

Tzatziki Sauce Recipe

How to Use Tzatziki Sauce

Once you’ve mixed your tzatziki sauce together, there are endless ways to use it. Most simply, I enjoy it as a snack with fresh veggies and pita or crackers. Try it this way, or add it to your next crudité platter. Your guests will love it!

You could also slather it onto sandwiches like these pita wraps, serve it alongside a Mediterranean salad like tabbouleh or couscous salad, or top it onto falafel, falafel burgers, or a flatbread

And last but not least, serve it with pita and lots of grilled veggies for a delicious, easy summer dinner.

Tzatziki Sauce

If you love this tzatziki recipe…

Try my hummus, tahini sauce, chipotle sauce, cilantro lime dressing, pico de gallo, tomatillo salsa, or guacamole next!

For more appetizer ideas, check out this post with 50 easy appetizers.

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Tzatziki Sauce

rate this recipe:
4.99 from 587 votes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Serves 4 to 6
This easy tzatziki sauce recipe is a delicious summer condiment. Use it to dress up grilled veggies, sandwiches, and more, or add it to a summer crudité platter!

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place the cucumber on a towel and gently squeeze out a bit of the excess water.
  • In a medium bowl, combine the cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, dill, and mint, if using. Chill until ready to use.

 

371 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Amy
    05.13.2022

    5 stars
    Delicious recipe! I have made it several times now, and it is always a hit. It comes together in minutes. Highly recommend!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      05.15.2022

      I’m so glad you’ve loved it!

  2. Michelle S
    05.08.2022

    5 stars
    This was perfect for my lamb burgers

  3. Kathleen Macko
    05.05.2022

    Do you remove the seeds from the cucumber?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      05.07.2022

      Hi Kathleen, if I’m using an English cucumber or Persian cucumbers it’s not necessary. If your cucumber has really large seeds, you could.

  4. Elizabeth Pittard
    05.01.2022

    5 stars
    Love this Tzatziki recipe, have used it a few times now to pair with lamb kofta wraps, it’s a perfect match, thanks for sharing!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      05.01.2022

      I’m so glad it’s become a staple!

  5. Shan
    04.22.2022

    5 stars
    Soooo good!!! And such a quick, easy recipe to make.
    I can’t eat dairy so I subbed with oat yogurt. It’s a bit thinner and doesn’t have the same tang that full fat greek yogurt has, so I added a bit more salt and lemon juice to make up for it. It still turned out really good!!!
    I can only imagine how delicious it would be with proper greek yogurt.
    I’m gonna be making this all the time! Yum!!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.27.2022

      I’m so glad you loved it! What brand of oat yogurt do you like?

  6. Dottie
    04.19.2022

    5 stars
    This was delicious and such a wonderful topping for tabouleh and falafel pockets! Will make it again for sure!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.20.2022

      I’m so glad you loved it!

  7. jon
    04.10.2022

    great! thanks for posting! I love tzatziki sauce! I look forward to making some!

  8. Georgia
    03.28.2022

    Can you make this with dry dill? If so, how much would you use? Or could you leave the dill out? Would it change the flavor much? Thank you!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      03.30.2022

      Hi Georgia, I would use between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon of dried dill – I think it would be just fine, I wouldn’t skip the dill altogether.

    • Liz
      04.10.2022

      4 stars
      I’ve been making this as both a soup and dip for years and did not like the taste with dried dill. In fact, a chef friend of mine noticed it right off the bat so now I always use fresh.

  9. Judy Medders
    03.20.2022

    Can I make ahead of time? How long will it keep in the refrigerator. Thanks

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      03.21.2022

      Yep! It’ll keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

  10. Pat
    03.13.2022

    You say in the text you use the biggest holes on your grater for the cucumber, yet the recipe says finely grated. Which is it?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      03.13.2022

      Hi Pat, the big holes on the box grater.

  11. TD
    03.11.2022

    Do you use English cucumber or just regular one? Also do you peel it, before grating?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      03.11.2022

      I use an English or Persian (mini) cucumbers – I don’t peel them since their skins are pretty tender but you could if you wanted.

  12. E Messinger
    03.08.2022

    Great recipe. I ended up tweaking it with a little honey to taste c

  13. Michael
    02.19.2022

    5 stars
    This is my go to tzatziki. I’m heavy on the dill, garlic and I add a dash of Tabasco.

  14. Jamie
    02.18.2022

    Can you make this using non-fat Greek yogurt or does it have to be full fat?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      02.18.2022

      Hi Jamie, full fat tastes best here!

    • Lynne
      02.19.2022

      5 stars
      I use non fat Greek. All the time it does taste better with good full fat yogurt. Sometimes I sun in a little sour cream to make up for the fat difference. But even non fat beats the heck out of store bought hands down

  15. Bear
    02.08.2022

    5 stars
    Great simple recipe. We mix the remaining cucumber water into sprite to have with our Greek inspired meals. Super refreshing.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      02.10.2022

      I’m so glad you loved it!

  16. Gea
    02.08.2022

    5 stars
    Hello!
    Thank you for this recipe. I use it ALL of the time for my meditteranean dishes. Myself and everyone I make it for just love it. Thanks again.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      02.10.2022

      I’m so glad you loved it!

  17. Grace
    01.29.2022

    Omg!!!! Soooo GOOD!!! Will make for years to come. Thank You for sharing!

  18. Jeff
    01.26.2022

    5 stars
    Make it! Just make it.

  19. Joe
    01.25.2022

    5 stars
    This was amazing!!! Super simple and easy to
    Throw together. I made it for my meal prep this week to go on a chicken and feta pita. I’ll definitely be using this recipe again.

  20. Katy
    01.24.2022

    When you say add the cucumber do you mean the cumber juice I squeezed out? Let me know, thanks! Can’t wait to try it

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.26.2022

      Hi Katy, no, add the grated cucumber solids, leaving most of the juice behind.

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.