The best Tzatziki sauce recipe! A creamy, fresh, and delicious Greek sauce or dip. Tzatziki is very popular and is good with everything. You definitely have to try it!
My family has the best Tzatziki sauce recipe around! Tzatziki is a classic Greek yogurt and cucumber sauce that is commonly served as a meze (the Mediterranean word for appetizers) with pita chips. However, it’s so versatile that you can not only use it as a dip, but you can add it to your sandwiches or even alongside rice. You’ve definitely had it before if you’ve had souvlaki or gyros or any kind of kabob sandwich in Greece.
It’s simple to make, comes together in under 20 minutes, and keeps fresh in the refrigerator for days.
All you need is this:
- English cucumber, peeled
- Greek yogurt
- sour cream
- garlic cloves minced
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- fresh chopped dill
- olive oil for drizzling
The cucumber
Cucumbers are fresh and mostly made of water. For this sauce though, you just want the fresh. Too much water from the cucumber can cause your dip to be too runny, and it’s supposed to be nice and thick.
To get the most water out of the cucumber, grate it on the thin side of your boxed grater and put it in a colander. Sprinkle it with a healthy pinch of salt, stir it around, and let it drain for at least 15 minutes. The extra water will release from the cucumber start to drain. When you’re ready to add the cucumber to your sauce, squeeze as much liquid out as possible before adding it to the yogurt.
I love using English cucumbers for this recipe because they’re extra crunchy and don’t have too many seeds inside. However, you can use regular cucumbers if you prefer or can’t find them. Just cut the regular cucumbers in half and scoop out the large seeds.
The garlic
Garlic really stands up to the tartness of Greek yogurt and adds so much flavor. If you’re using fresh garlic, mince it so fine. You can even crush it with the side of your knife to make almost a garlic paste. It will really blend into the sauce and keep you from having big chunks of garlic.
The trick for the best Tzatziki sauce
Greek yogurt is thick and creamy. You can make your own Greek yogurt by lining a colander with a clean towel and pouring plain yogurt in it. Set the colander over a bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Discard the whey that drips to the bottom and you will be left with thick Greek yogurt.
My mom makes tzatziki with a combination of Greek yogurt and sour cream. The sour cream adds an extra level of richness. It’s really delicious this way, but if you don’t like it with the sour cream, you can just use all Greek yogurt.
The best way to store Tzatziki
Make the tzatziki and transfer it to an airtight container. Place 1-2 clean paper towels on top of the sauce and cover with the lid. Keep refrigerated until ready to use. The paper towel will absorb excess liquids and it will keep the sauce thick and creamy. Discard the paper towel and serve.
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Serve tzatziki alongside kolokythokeftedes (Greek Zucchini Meatballs).
I know you’ll love my Tzatziki sauce right off the spoon, but also try it with any of these Mediterranean dishes:
- Chicken Souvlaki
- Chicken Gyro
- Rack of Lamb
- Yogurt-Marinated Chicken
- Zucchini Meatballs (Kolokythokeftedes)
- Mediterranean Rice Pilaf
- Keftedes: Greek Meatballs
GREEK TZATZIKI SAUCE (YOGURT & CUCUMBER DIP)
Tzatziki is a Greek sauce/dip that is made with yogurt, garlic, grated cucumbers, and herbs. This creamy sauce is good with everything! Add it to your sandwiches, use it as a dip, or serve it alongside rice. It comes together in under 20 minutes and keeps fresh in the refrigerator for days.
Ingredients
- 1 English cucumber, peeled
- 1 and 1/2 cups Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1-2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt, or to taste
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chopped dill
- olive oil for drizzling
- pita bread for dipping
Instructions
- Grate the cucumber and sprinkle with some salt. Set aside in a bowl to release excess liquid.
- In the meantime, combine the yogurt, sour cream, garlic, salt and pepper in another bowl and mix well.
- Squeeze the cucumber with your hands or in a clean kitchen towel and discard the liquid it releases.
- Add the shredded cucumber to the dip and stir to incorporate. Add dill and mix well.
- Drizzle with olive oil and your creamy sauce is ready!
- Serve with crunchy veggies, pita, kebabs....the sky's the limit!!
- Enjoy!
Meant to give this 5 stars, but the mouse mis-clicked. Love this recipe! Tastes just like what I use to eat when I lived in Europe.
Dimitra,
I have used many of your recipes, so I wanted thanks, I made your tzatziki sauce and it is a bit bitter. What can i do? I used Greek yogurt some sour cream..etc
Thanks
Tony Thanas
The only thing that can be causing it to be bitter are the cucumbers. If the cucumbers have large seeds, they can be bitter. Try using English cucumbers. They have very few seeds and the peel is soft.The peel of regular cucumbers is also bitter. hope this helps!
What happened to the list of ingredients?
I only have dried dill weed. How much should I use?
I just like to lightly sprinkle some on top. Maybe a teaspoon or less 🙂
Fantastic tsatsiki! I have tried many recipes but Dimitra your recipe is the best! Creamy and so full of flavour. Thank you for all your amazing recipes!
I was making potato salad and ran out of mayonnaise. I used this instead and now it is my preferred way to make potato salad. Just a great all round sauce to perk up almost any food.
I can’t figure out how to give 5 stars lol. This was so amazing! I put it on the chicken gyros I made tonight. I am sure adding some mint and a squeeze of lemon juice isn’t authentic, but it tasted delicious. I had to stop myself from eating it with a spoon. Thank you Dimitra. This is the first of many recipes from your site that I will be cooking for my family.
Really yummy! I made this and the gyro meat. Looking forward to dinner tonight!
Dimitra is an excellent chef.
When making Greek dishes. I use hers. They are excellent.
Never had Tzatziki before this .Was left very impressed. Some recipes use sour cream & that makes me curious but this rumor has it is “Greek” . But it’s very good . Will absolutely make this again. The Soutzoukakia recipe I made was absolutely WOW ! Impressed with this food blog and look forward to making more of theses wonderful Greek Recipes ! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I love your food blog ! I love the Greek Food journey I’m going on . I may live in Kansas but I wish I was in Greece !!!!
Oops wrong blog ! Love your recipes and have made many recipes and will make many more. Look forward your tzataziki to compare. Keep doing what you do and I’ll keep making your wonderful recipes!!!
Thanks for stopping by 🙂