How to Make Tzatziki
Learn how to make tzatziki, a traditional Greek yogurt and cucumber sauce with fresh herbs. Tzatziki is a refreshing sauce or dip, and it's so easy to make!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 28, 2024
Tzatziki! Tsaht-ZEE-kee! Otherwise known as that yogurt and cucumber sauce you love at Greek restaurants but worry about mispronouncing (hear the correct pronunciation here).
Tzatziki is made simply with yogurt, drained cucumber, olive oil, fresh herbs (usually mint or dill), garlic, lemon juice and salt. It’s a refreshing chilled sauce, dip or spread.
I traveled to Greece last fall and ordered tzatziki at every restaurant. I’m serious. I enjoyed tzatziki with every single meal, even breakfast. This recipe tastes just like authentic tzatziki.
I tend to associate tzatziki with Greek food, but you’ll find it served across the Mediterranean and Middle East, sometimes under different names or in slightly different forms.
Tzatziki is often served with grilled meats and gyros, but I can’t think of a grilled or roasted vegetable it wouldn’t play nicely with. You can also serve up some tzatziki with your next appetizer spread. Let’s make some already!
Uses for Tzatziki
Grilled Vegetables
- Bell peppers
- Mushrooms
- Carrots
- Asparagus
- Green beans
- Corn on the cob
Appetizer Spreads
- Toasted pita wedges
- Crisp raw vegetables
- Olives
- Cheese and crackers
- Hummus
- Zhoug or Shatta (Middle-Eastern hot sauces)
Falafel, Sandwiches and Salads
- Falafel
- Pita sandwiches (you could use it instead of the avocado in that recipe)
- Tabbouleh
- Lentil salad
- Chickpea salad
My Tzatziki Technique
Fortunately, tzatziki is super easy to whip together. The only trick is to properly drain the cucumber before mixing it into the yogurt. Otherwise, cucumber waters down the sauce too much. Salting the grated cucumber and letting the excess moisture drip out takes a while.
The easiest and most efficient way to get rid of the excess moisture is to lightly squeeze the grated cucumber over the sink. The only wait required in my recipe is to let the tzatziki rest for five minutes after you mix it all together, to let the flavors meld. At that point, you can serve it right away or chill it for later.
Tzatziki Nutrition & Yogurt Notes
Nutritionally speaking, tzatziki is a creamy but light sauce. You can dollop it generously on your food without adding a lot of calories (unlike, say, mayonnaise or ranch dressing). It’s made mostly with Greek yogurt and cucumber, after all.
I haven’t found a noticeable difference in texture whether I use whole-milk yogurt, low-fat or non-fat, so any of those will work. Traditional Greek tzatziki is made with strained goat or sheep’s yogurt, but it’s hard to find those here. The Greek yogurt sold here in the U.S. is strained yogurt (that’s why it’s thicker and higher in protein than regular yogurt), so I use that.
As always, please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments! I’m excited to hear how it turns out for you and how you serve it.
Watch How to Make Tzatziki Sauce
Best Tzatziki
Learn how to make tzatziki, a traditional Greek yogurt and cucumber sauce with fresh herbs. Tzatziki is a refreshing sauce or dip, and it’s so easy to make! This basic recipe yields about 2 ½ cups; multiply if necessary.
Ingredients
- 2 cups grated cucumber (from about 1 medium 10-ounce cucumber, no need to peel or seed the cucumber first, grate on the large holes of your box grater)
- 1 ½ cups plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint and/or dill
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 medium clove garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Working with one big handful at a time, lightly squeeze the grated cucumber between your palms over the sink to remove excess moisture. Transfer the squeezed cucumber to a serving bowl, and repeat with the remaining cucumber.
- Add the yogurt, olive oil, herbs, lemon juice, garlic, and salt to the bowl, and stir to blend. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Taste and add additional chopped fresh herbs, lemon juice, and/or salt, if necessary (I thought this batch was just right as-is).
- Serve tzatziki immediately or chill for later. Leftover tzatziki keeps well, chilled, for about 4 days.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my cookbook, Love Real Food.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Substitute an equal amount of cashew sour cream for the yogurt, and thin the tzatziki with a small splash of water if necessary.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I was searching for a Tzatki (totally wrong spelling!) recipe and chose yours. I saw in your bio you’re a KCity girl (Kansas girl here) and so I subscribed!! I then saw your blog is a vegan based. I thought who better to get some great salads snd sides from!! Bonus++ I saw my niece follows you as well :)
Hooray! Thank you for subscribing and trying this recipe, Rita. I’m delighted you loved it!
Sooo good! This recipe exceeded my expectations! I have always loved tzatziki but never made it before. We had an abundance of non-fat Greek yogurt and I wasn’t sure what to do with it all. This was the absolute best solution. Yum!
Kate’s tzatziki recipe is the best i’ve ever tasted.
Hooray! I’m glad you love it, Richard. Thanks for your review.
Delicious! Easy. Pretty!
I am going to try this recipe— but a side note– If I need to scan through pictures and lots of reading material I tend to not want to use the recipe
Hi Cheryl, I’m sorry you didn’t love the layout. Feel free to always use the jump to recipe option at the top to go straight to the recipe!
I added a little more Greek yogurt for texture. I also used garlic salt which gave it the right amount of flavor along with the fresh garlic. It’s close to what I enjoy in restaurants.
Wonderful recipe. Thank you! Note: If the cucumber is peeled, it has a softer bite. And if it’s seeded, then there is no need to squeeze out extra water.
Great recipe, thanks!
You’re welcome, Mauro! Thank you for your review.
I made it this morning and it was delicious!
Excellent…Especially with home made organic yogurt done in my slow cooker so simple – this recipe is so good and great for the body.
New planet – new eating habits – this is a great star to add!
The best recipe out there!
Thank you, Jayne!
I have made this 2 times and continued as it has turned out awesome each time thank you
You’re welcome, John!
5 stars for this recipe. It fits well with Greek & Persian recipes. Because I like it bold in flavor, I went heavy on the garlic & mint. The flavor is great and the ingredients are so good for you. Excellent as a dip for veggies & pita or a sauce for meat. Yummy & simple.
I didn’t follow the measurements but I follow the ingredients. I didn’t use lemon, but the Greek yogurt was already sour
How long can it keep in fridge?
Best way to store it?
thanks in advance
Hi, see the final step.
I made it for my husband. He loves tzatziki sauce and I noticed he always gets extra extra when we’re out… So, I thought I’d try making it for him! I have never had it myself, but quickly found out it is absolutely delicious! However, I put the ingredients in my bullet and it made for a very runny sauce… exactly what you suggested to avoid! Oops. I will not bore you with the very long story as to why I did that! I tried adding more yogurt to it (mixing by hand this time!) to try and thicken it up… but it made it even runnier. … so, I stopped attempting to reverse the damage! Do you have any suggestions on what I can do to thicken it up?
Hi, I don’t have suggestions to thicken it up. Sorry! I hope you can still enjoy the taste, April.
I haven’t had tzakziti this good since I was in Greece. So delicious and easy to make. I used the food processor attachment for my Kitchen Aide so it was very easy to separate the cucumber juice. Much better than a few famous restaurants in Chicago. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Jeanne!
Excellent & easy recipe to make!! Thank you so much!
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Tonia! Thank you for your review.
Great recipe, very simple- I find the simpler the better! I always save the drained cucumber juice/water; it’s perfect for adding to a “before dinner gin and tonic” ;-)
Thank you, Andy!
Yummy! Thanks!
I used your recipe since my family LOVES your enchilada sauce and this one is also delish!
Also I like the easy squeeze handling on the cucumbers. I don’t like the complicated mince/salt/drain steps other recipes have given…
You’re welcome! I’m glad the enchilada sauce is a hit with your family, too. Thank you for your review, Sarah!
My husband and I just made this and it’s perfect. Our garden is very bountiful and we literally have cucumbers coming out of our ears right now. We grated up 5 good sized cucs and that equaled 2 cups. I cant wait to put this on everything haha
Excellent and easy to make! Love it :)
Thank you, Lauren! I appreciate your review.
I made my tzatziki with homemade cashew yogurt and it turned out great. I used 2 tbsp of lemon juice. Just to make sure you know there is a vegan alternative
Thank you for sharing, Patricia! I’m happy it worked for you.
This was very simple to make and was quite flavorful. I did end up adding more herbs and a touch more lemon juice after the first five minutes, so I’ll go heavy on the dill next time!
Thank you for sharing, Clay!
I love the tzatziki drip.I’ve made it with both yogurt and sour cream and both tastes great!
Great recipe! When it comes to draining the cucumber you might try using a tea towel. I place all the grated cucumber into the centre of a tea towel and then gather the edges together so that you form a sack. Now hold the ‘bulb’ in one hand and twist the top of the towel to squeeze the water out. All done in one go and works a treat!
Love your recipe, having later and after and after and after…
Thanks for the simple and lovely recipe. I have made it twice and having never attempted to create it myself before, this is our favorite.
That’s great to hear, April! Thank you for sharing.
Something is missing ??? I made it , followed total recipe and its not like our GREEKTOWN!??? What can i do to flavor it right ? Thanks..
Hi, I’m not sure what is missing. If you followed this and added all the ingredients?
We Armenians have been eating this with homemade pita bread for centuries. Have you ever eaten Tan? It’s a very refreshing cold soup.
I hope it is as good as it looks. Went on vacation and the kids did not pick cucumbers so, I have a lot to do something with. This looks delicious, so here it goes. I’ll let you know if my taste bud are happy. :)
I hope you enjoy it!
Easy and delicious. I used mint on mind, great tips that to squeeze the cucumber. Thanks
I love this recipe, like obsessively made it after going to Greece. Recently decided to go vegan and tried it with first: coconut based. yogurt, it was MEH. Then did as suggested with the cashew sour cream and it’s incredible, can’t even tell it’s vegan.
That’s great, Kelli! Thank you for you for your review.
Omgl so easy to make and so very delicious.A big hit with my family & friends.
Thanks much for the recipe.
That’s great, Uma!
Squeeze the cucumber juice into a glass and drink it up. So tasty and nutritious too!
Love this recipe so much! I’ve been looking for a tzatziki sauce i can make at home and this fits the bill!
Tried this for the first time and loved it. Wasn’t sure if would like mint or dill better so I mixed the recipe with all but the herbs then divided it in 2. put dill in one and mint in the other. then I took a portion of both and mixed it. Now I can taste all three and see which one I like best.
Hoping for help here….can’t go to the store for at least another 3 weeks and haven’t any cucumbers (son hates them—but loves tzatziki, go figure !). I do have a couple of zucchini, can zucchini be substituted? Also no lemon so can lime be substituted …no dill but lots of parsley. I adore tzatziki but rarely find in my area except in the store sometimes(not that great). This recipe sounds great but I just don’t have the correct ingredients.
Hi Shari, I wish I could be more help. I haven’t tried it with zucchini. You could some of my other recipes that have zucchini! I hope you find something that works for you. https://sooka.info/search/?q=zucchini
thanks for taking the time to answer. next time I can go. shopping I’ll get some cuc s
This salad is so amazingly good…I used half yogurt and half sour cream. We had it with Greek dishes.
Wonderful, simple condiment! When grilling lamb, I use goat yogurt which makes it “saucier” and more acidic. Very refreshing! As a dip, the Greek yogurt is preferable as it is thicker and stands up to a pita chip!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Paul! Thank you for your review.
O.K. So I tried this. Not bad but I required expanding on additional components because the original was rather bland. Added black olives and Kalamata olives. I am believing there are other variations that enhance this recipe. I would like to hear ideas.
The recipe is great but limited. Maybe that is the way it is supposed to be, I just think it can be better with enhancements. Currently, yogurt and dill are all that have a flavor for the palet.
Delicious! and so easy to make. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Janet!
Hi, I am going to make this today, but I have a LOT of cucumbers to use up. Do you think this would do well if I froze it? I would love to use it throughout the fall and maybe even winter if it lasts! Thank you!
HI Christa, I don’t think this is the best recipe to freeze. You can try making some Easy Homemade Pickles with your extra cucumbers too!
Can this be frozen?
I don’t think this is the best recipe to freeze.
I’ve made this several times this summer and it is so much better than store-bought. I double the amount of fresh dill and mint and add an extra clove or two of garlic.
Thank you for sharing, Christina! I do love garlic.
Such an easy and delicious recipe! Instead of squeezing the cucumber in my hands, I grated it directly into a clean kitchen towel and squeezed as much water out as I could over the sink. I couldn’t find plain Greek yogurt at the store but used regular plain yogurt, and it still came out amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Misty! Thank you for your review.
Great recipe! I have made this at least a half a dozen times and it always comes out perfect with the ratios you mention. It is never too soupy, and the flavor profile is great (I use dill). One of the fun things is that as it ages it extracts more of the garlic, which slightly changes it and makes it a delightful surprise for the palate. I sometimes use a fine strainer and press the cucumbers into it over a bowl so that I can isolate the cucumber extract, which I use as an ingredient for a refreshing cocktail (or two)! Thanks Kate!
You’re welcome, Jeff! I’m glad you love it. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Last week I made a different recipe and what I learned is that after you squeeze out as much water as you can with you hands from the cucumber, put in a sealed container with salt – I used kosher salt and let it sit for 2-3 hours, you will be amazed at how much more water drains out. Other than that, I followed the recipe and it is excellent!
I’ve tried so many different tzatziki recipes over the years and none even come close to your recipe. I’ve made it so many times, I know it by heart. Thanks for always finding a way to simplify loved recipes yet never, ever compromising on results.
You’re welcome, Stacey! Thank you for your review.
Amazing.
This goes well on EVERYTHING