Creamy Greek Tztaziki Sauce recipe with cucumber, yogurt, and garlic. Add a tablespoon or two of fresh dill or mint, if you like. Do not skip draining the cucumbers or your yogurt dip will be too watery. And for best texture, cover and refrigerate anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours before serving. This versatile cucumber yogurt sauce can be used in many ways, be sure to read my post for all the ideas!
Recipe by The Mediterranean Dish on February 17, 2022
Prep time: PT10M
Total time: PT10M
Rating
4.9 stars (304 reviews)
Keywords
cucumber yogurt sauce, Greek sauce, how to make tzatziki sauce
Ingredients
3/4 English cucumber, (partially peeled (striped) )
1 tsp kosher salt, (divided)
4 to 5 garlic cloves,
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tbsp Early Harvest Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
Handful of chopped fresh dill or mint (optional)
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
Warm pita bread for serving
Sliced vegetables for serving
Categories
Dips and Appetizers
Cuisine
Greek
Steps
Use a box grater to manually grate the cucumbers or you can use a small food processor to finely chop the cucumbers as I do in this recipe. Toss the grated cucumbers with 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Spoon the grated cucumber into a cheese cloth or a double thickness napkin and squeeze dry. (There will be a lot of liquid).
In one large mixing bowl, place the garlic with remaining 1/2 tsp salt, white vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Mix to combine.
Add the grated cucumber to the bowl with the garlic mixture. Stir in the yogurt, and a pinch of white or black pepper, and the fresh herbs (if using. I did not use fresh herbs in the video). Stir to combine well.
Cover and refrigerate for a bit (anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours before serving). This will help thicken the sauce and give it the best texture, while allowing the flavors to meld.
When ready to serve, stir the tzatziki sauce to refresh and transfer to serving bowl, drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil, if you like. Serve with your favorite veggies, pita chips or wedges (be sure to read the post for more ideas on how to use this sauce)!
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 16.3 kcal
Carbohydrates: 1 g
Protein: 1.5 g
Fat: 0.7 g
Saturated Fat: 0.2 g
Cholesterol: 0.8 mg
Sodium: 78.7 mg
Sugar: 0.7 g
Unsaturated Fat: 0.4 g
Reviews
kozyK on 2025-08-09 (4 stars): I used wine vinegar for a more authentic taste, all other factors remained (full-on garlic yo!), very good recipe, thanks!
P.Panos on 2025-07-31 (5 stars): Delish! Thank you for sharing.
Louise on 2025-07-27 (5 stars): So yummy. And like the use of white vinegar instead of lemon juiceššā„ļø
Mike on 2025-07-27 (5 stars): Been to Halkidiki 3 times now over 5 years and have been on a (failing) mission to get Tzatziki right... Until now.
This recipe is perfect, just like the best ones I discovered in Greece.
I like the specific mention of "early harvest" olive oil. I found an olive oil farm and shop in Sithonia which is first harvest and brought it home with me.
Another tip for UK readers - one of the biggest failures was I kept buying supermarket brand "Greek yoghurt". I can tell you that the brand FAGE is genuinely Greek, and the 5% is so luciously thick. All previous yoghurts even with the straining of the cucumbers were too loose and wet.
Thank you for such a fantastic, bookmarked forever, recipe!
Paul on 2025-07-25 (5 stars): This recipe reminded me of time I worked in Greece, Thank you for all of the authentic recipes that we have used, The best overall site for true authentic Greek recipes.
Donna C Raffo on 2025-07-20 (5 stars): Classic, simple & yummy! Now where's my tequila? šøāŗļø
Kierstin Imlay on 2025-07-15 (5 stars): I was truly worried I couldnāt come close to replicating the tzatziki devoured in Akrotiri, Miloās, and Athens.
Buttt this is it! Do not look any further and use this one. So good only downside is I now miss Greeceš¤£
Anne on 2025-07-09 (5 stars): I have looked for this recipie all my life.....................or at least since I first tasted the most incredible Tsatsiki on the beautiful island of Paxos.....................Thank you......Thank you...............Thank you Suzy!!!!!!
Edie March on 2025-06-09 (5 stars): Delicious!!! Will for sure make it again, in fact, I just wrote it down to keep for later. I kinda eyeballed all the ingredients. I did use less garlic, and I used white wine vinegar since that's all I had. It was a bit too thick since I used whole fat Greek yogurt, so I added water to make it a bit more runny thanks for sharing your recipe!
Mari on 2025-04-20 (5 stars): Delicious! I reduced the garlic cloves by a 1/3 and made sure was generous with salt & pepper. I also put the rub on overnight. I cooked it 5.5 hours, but mine was 6 lbs. One guest had no idea it was lamb. The potatoes and onion were also delicious. I did have tzatziki on the side for those who wanted a sauce with it. There was hardly any left over lamb.
