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 fresh lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh 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.
Fast, easy and delicious! Thank you.
I’m so glad you loved it!
This tzatziki was so good. I added more cucumber, less garlic, and a bit more salt. The plus to making your own tzatziki is being able to control the ingredients to suit your own taste. I also made my own gyro meat and then cooked some zucchini fries in my new air fryer–first time using it. My tummy is very happy!
Made with dill pickles instead of cukes and added parsley, “healthy” dollop of mayo, a rib of celery and some shakes of Tajin. It was the the shiz!!!
Delightful. Ive been in love with your recipes and had surplus of materials from the last few meal. Greek food has always had a special place for me and I love Tzatziki! Imagine this wonderful sauce heaped atop crunchy Greek seasoned roasted chick peas that are nestled in lush bounty of cashew cream, fresh mozzarella, and diced mixed bell peppers, then speckled with cherry tomatoes and diced olives all atop a fresh made flatbread. It was so good, hopefully my description is enough to imagine. It was awesome.. Thanks for inspiring me!
I’m so glad you loved it!
I will never buy tzatziki again. This recipe is amazing. I’m a garlic lover so I used two cloves and a ended up adding extra lemon juice but I’m eating it by the spoonful!! Whole milk yogurt is definitely best!!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Does anyone know how long this sauce will last in the fridge?
Hi Zac, up to about 5 days.
This is the best Tzatziki sauce. I think everyone just uses regular plain yogurt or nonfat at food places. Must have the whole milk greek yogurt. Had a left over Gyro with not enough sauce. Made a small amount without cucumber because it was not in my kitchen. It’s so thick it would be a great dip too.
Lovely recipe!
I like an (optional) 1/2 tablespoon of cilantro.
I never leave comments but… Used just the seasoning recipe today to make a healthy gyro salad and it tasted like eating a gyro from a specialty restaurant. Very good recipe! Thank you!!!
Loved this easy and tasty recipe! I would like to share (for the benefit of Kim below) that I used dried dill for the recipe (using ~3/4 tsp) and just happened to have some fresh mint (but you can use dried as well). The trick with using dried herbs for a recipe like this is to make it early in the day and allow the herbs to work their magic for several hours. Ideally fresh is best, but in a pinch you can most definitely use dried.
I used dried as well, turned out great!
Great recipe. I use a bit extra on the cucumber but it is seriously the best simple formula I’ve encountered. Thank you!
Can I use dried dill and mint in place
of the fresh? If so, do I only use half
the amount?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Kim, I would stick with the fresh herbs for this one, dried dill and mint don’t have the same flavor.
How long will this keep in the refrigerator?
Hi Carol, about 3 to 5 days.
May I use sour cream instead of yogurt? Just desperate to give use to some opened items I have already.
I used sour cream and it turned out great!
Hello Angelica, Yes, you can. I’ve used sour cream as well and the tzatziki was very fresh tasting. I also like to add a little extra cucumber and dill.
Wow! Slapped some of this bad boy sauce on my chicken pot pie. And then tried it in my corn in the cob! Thinking of how it would taste with ice cream…
Ha ha, I’m so glad you loved it!
Delicious and super simple and easy to make. Perfect for my donair!
This was SO good on a chicken souvlaki pita. I only had vegan sour cream on hand (instead of yogurt) and it still came out amazing. Love the dill and the tiny hit of fresh mint.
What a simple & delicious recipe. It was a instant hit with my family and friends !
Thanks a lot for posting this :
could you use a salad spinner to rid water from cucumber
No, you need to gently press the water out of the cucumbers. I don’t believe a salad spinner will create enough force.