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!
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!
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
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.
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.
Tzatziki Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup finely grated cucumber
- 1 cup thick whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped dill
- 1 tablespoon chopped mint, optional
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.
I followed the recipe exactly and it was just right. It’s my new go-to recipe. Thanks!
Yay! So happy to hear that!
I used 2 cloves of garlic, grated, and added the zest from the lemon as well. I used a little extra fresh dill and mint from my garden. I used this to dress falafel sandwiches. The sauce was wonderful!
I’m so glad you loved it!
I accidentally grabbed non-fat Greek yogurt and couldn’t find fresh dill so used dried and this still turned out bomb. Love love love this recipe, I’m convinced with fresh dill it’ll taste exactly like the sauce our local Greek cafe chain uses!
I’m so glad you loved it!
I just made this for dinner and the recipe is spot on!! It’s definitely going in my collection!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Lovely recipe, and easy. Great texture with Liberte 5 % Greek !
I’m so glad you loved it!
Great recipe. Out of curiosity I measured the liquid from the cucumber and it was half a cup…just imagine randomly adding half a cup of liquid to any recipe…definitely an important step to make of break the recipe.
Really great!! I used forager project yogurt to make it vegan and it tasted wonderful! Lovely dip for pitas and seitan gyros!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Is there a good use for the squeezed out cucumber water? I know you can just drink as a juice but curious if there are recipes or other dishes you can use the cucumber juice in.
Benedictine cucumber sandwiches. They use the juice. Look up derby cucumber sandwiches.
I’ve been trying to make “restaurant quality” Tzatziki sauce for years. Today, making this recipe, I finally achieved it. Thanks ever so much for posting!
I’m so glad your Tzatziki turned out so well!
You don’t specify if you should peel the cucumber before grating it, or leave the skin on?
It’s best if the cucumber is peeled. I use cheese cloth to squeeze out the excess water
Hi Karen, I don’t peel if I’m using an English cucumber or Persian cucumbers because their skin is so tender. You could peel the skin if your cucumber skin is very thick. I’ll add this to the recipe, thank you.
Hi Jeanine – you forgot to add the peeling details to the recipe
thank you!
mark
Could I substitute with dried dill?
yep! I would use half the amount.
I opted out of cucumber, dill and mint. Added sour cream to the total fage 0% greek yogurt. Sautéed garlic with fresh rosemary in olive oil, cracked pepper and salt. Threw in sauté when rosemary was covered in olive oil and garlic was browned in a mixture of yogurt, a little sour cream, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. my family loved it! great with lamb, veggies like roasted red pepper, and even shrimp!
I just made your tzatziki sauce. Omg, so good!!!!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Can I use sour cream instead of Greek yoghurt? Don’t have any greek at the moment…
Hi Stan, that would probably be fine.
I prefer the sour cream to yogurt with this recipe. It adds some more zing.
Love that I can whip this up in minutes and it’s so tasty. Thank you.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Just wondering about storage. I have to travel and won’t be using it for about four days. How long will it keep as long as it’s refrigerated?
Hi Andrew, I’d keep it for about 4 days, probably not longer than 5.
So good! Served with raw veggies. I added extra dill and black pepper
Do you peel the cucumber? Can’t wait to make this. Thank you!
Hi Martha, I don’t – but I use either an English cucumber or Persian cucumbers whose skin is pretty soft. If your cucumber has tough skin, you can peel it.
As a lover of all things lemony, this my go to site before any other!
I’m so happy to hear that!
My granddaughter loved this recipe!
I’m so happy to hear!
This is the best and easiest recipe gor my favorite addition to anything Mediterranean ftom kamb chop straight off the hot grill yo Greek salad and best of all, straight up on toasty pita!! Thanks for making it so simple!!
I’m so glad you loved it!