This easy Homemade Tzatziki is a cool, creamy Greek yogurt sauce made with crisp cucumber, fresh garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and seasoning. Ready in minutes, it’s a perfect accompaniment to gyros, grilled meats, vegetables, and pita bread or chips. So much better than store-bought, we absolutely love this with our grilled chicken gyros and yogurt marinated chicken.
What we love about this Tzatziki Sauce
We have enjoyed this tzatziki sauce for many years, but this summer my daughter went on a study abroad in Greece, and we have been enjoying eating more Greek food. Tzatziki sauce is so easy to make and adds lovely flavor and creaminess to so many things. Made with Greek yogurt, cucumbers, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and seasonings, it comes together in minutes. You can buy tzatziki sauce, but this homemade sauce has a better flavor and texture. We’ve had both, and hands down, the homemade sauce is always so much better.
We love this creamy tzatziki sauce with so many things. It’s an absolute must with our grilled chicken gyros, and we also love it with a Greek rice bowl with our yogurt-marinated chicken and fresh veggies. It’s a great dip with raw vegetables, pita bread, french fries, and pita chips, or as a topping for grilled chicken, salmon, or roasted potatoes, and is often served with other Greek foods.
Looking for other fun dips and toppings? Try our 5 Layer Bean Dip, Cowboy Caviar, Crostini Toppings, and our Baked Brie with Pecans and Cherry Sauce.
What you need to make this Homemade Tzatziki Sauce
You will need the following ingredients:
- Cucumbers
- Greek yogurt
- Fresh lemon juice
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Salt
- Pepper
Homemade Tzatziki Recipe Substitutions
I know what it’s like when you don’t have everything on hand and the last thing you want to do is run to the store and pick something up. Here are a few ideas to substitute items on the ingredients list if needed:
- This is a chunkier Tzatziki sauce; you can half the amount of cucumbers if desired, but it may affect the overall flavor.
- I do not recommend substituting regular yogurt for the Greek yogurt, but if needed, you could use full-fat plain regular yogurt and strain it. Greek yogurt, especially whole milk Greek yogurt, is thicker and less watery.
- You could substitute vinegar for the lemon juice if needed.
- If interested in adding fresh herbs, you could add fresh mint or dill.
- You can use English cucumbers or regular cucumbers. American cucumbers have more seeds and a thicker skin, and are more watery, but still can be used for tzatziki when peeling, seeding, shredding, and straining excess water.
Step-by-step Instructions for Greek Tzatziki Sauce
Step 1. Place the shredded cucumbers in a colander with a pinch of salt and let them rest for 15-20 minutes. This pulls excess water out of the cucumbers. Place the cucumbers in a kitchen towel, gather up the corners of the towel, and squeeze out all of the juice from the cucumbers. Place the strained, shredded cucumbers in a medium-sized bowl.
Step 2. Combine the yogurt, strained shredded cucumber, lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
Step 3. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes for the flavors to meld before serving.
Tips
- Peeling, shredding, and squeezing out the excess water from the cucumbers is a must for tzatziki sauce, or it will be too watery. Just place the shredded cucumbers in a colander with a pinch of salt for 15-20 minutes, then place the cucumbers in a kitchen towel, gather up the corners of the towel, and squeeze out all the water.
- I HIGHLY recommend using whole milk Greek yogurt for the sauce. Regular yogurt has more liquid, which can water down the flavor of the sauce and cause it to be too runny. If you use regular yogurt, the best substitute is strained, plain, full-fat yogurt.
Frequently Asked Questions
| How to store homemade tzatziki sauce? Can it be prepared in advance? |
| a. Store tzatziki sauce covered in the fridge for 3-5 days. b. Homemade tzatziki dressing can last 3-5 days in the fridge and can easily be made 1-3 days in advance. Water may pool as it is stored from the cucumbers; you can stir it in, or empty the water and stir. |
| What to serve with tzatziki sauce? |
| We love this tzatziki sauce best with our Grilled Chicken Gyros. The sauce perfectly balances the marinated chicken. It’s a great dip with raw vegetables, pita bread, french fries, and pita chips. Try it as a topping for grilled chicken, salmon, or roasted potatoes. It’s a great addition to a Greek rice bowl; we love it with our Yogurt Marinated Chicken. It’s used as a dipping sauce with other Greek food like falafel, kofta, and souvlaki. |
Homemade Tzatziki
This easy Homemade Tzatziki is a cool, creamy Greek yogurt sauce made with crisp cucumber, fresh garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and seasoning. Ready in minutes, it’s a perfect accompaniment to gyros, grilled meats, vegetables, and pita bread or chips. So much better than store-bought, we absolutely love this with our grilled chicken gyros and yogurt marinated chicken.
10
servings30
minutes30-60
minutesIngredients
1 3/4 cup whole milk plain Greek yogurt
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and shredded
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
Directions
- Place the shredded cucumbers in a colander with a pinch of salt and let them rest for 15-20 minutes. This pulls excess water out of the cucumbers.
- Place the cucumbers in a kitchen towel, gather up the corners of the towel, and squeeze out all of the juice from the cucumbers. This should leave you with a little over 1/2 cup of shredded cucumber.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the yogurt, strained shredded cucumber, lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes for the flavors to meld before serving.
Notes
- Do not skip the step of straining the cucumbers, or you will have a very watery tzatziki. It’s super easy and just takes a few minutes.
- This sauce makes about 10 1/4 cup servings, but would serve about twice that if you’re just using 2 tablespoons or so as a condiment.
