Greek Cucumber Yogurt Sauce – Tzatziki!

Tzatziki… well, is it a dip? Or a sauce? Or perhaps spread? The correct answer is all of the above. Isn’t that cool? As cool as it sounds. Cool refreshing grated cucumbers folded in lusciously thick creamy yogurt, with a hint of zingy garlic and fresh lemon, along with fresh green herbs. It’s done in 15 minutes… oh wow, yes!!

My verdict- Yes, it’s a dip for all those fresh or roasted vegetables along with your pitas and crackers.

Yes, it’s a sauce for all the grilled meats like those Greek Souvlakis, Kofta Kebab, Gyros and Falafel.
And yes, it’s a spread for all the sandwiches and pitas and wraps… Dig in guys!!

The Super Bowl is coming, and with that big parties and get togethers with friends and family. Are you looking for some cool ideas for how to make the crowd happy chappy? You want something super easy, and of course something that looks great and is super tasty.

Have you considered making some kind of crudite platter for them? It could be as simple as just some fresh veggies like colored bell peppers, some gorgeous cherry tomatoes, carrots, maybe some snow peas, some crackers and pita… along with this Tzatziki, that’s it!

Well, you can take your crudite to Mezze Platter by adding my Zaalouk and homemade Hummus? Throw in some olives, Keftedes and of course put this Tzatziki as the centerpiece. It’s going to be massive hit with your crowd!

What is Tzatziki?

Tzatziki is the popular garlicky cucumber Greek yogurt sauce, dip or spread that is mostly served with grilled meats and gyros. In fact, Greek food lovers know that gyros without this creamy, luscious sauce are practically impossible. Though if you tend to associate Tzatziki with Greek, think again. You would certainly find this sauce served all over the Mediterranean and even in the Middle East, albeit sometimes with different name or variations.

Traditionally Tzatziki is made with strained yogurt, mostly from goat or sheep milk. But you can achieved the same goodness with Greek yogurt, along with shredded cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and some fresh herbs. The most common herb is dill, but many people like mint and even parsley, thyme or chives. The end result is always cool, refreshing and addictive.

By the way, how do you pronouce it?

Hear this…

“tsah-see-key”…pretty cool, ahh? Whenever I say Tzatziki, I can’t stop saying it one time, it gets stuck on my tongue.

Though its super easy to make, some tips and techniques can make your Tzatziki “oh so good, I can’t have just one bite” and save it from mediocre, bland, stringy, or God forbid runny Tzatziki!! All you need is the correct ingredients and few extra steps…

Ingredients Needed

• Cucumber – You can use any type of slicing cucumber or English cucumber. Those with fewer seeds are better. If there are too many seeds, I scrape them out. Some people peel the cucumber, but I don’t. I love the green color and texture from the fibers, and it’s good for me.
• Greek Yogurt – Yes… that’s the MUST for great Tzatziki. Greek Yogurt is strained yogurt which is much thicker and creamier than regular yogurt. Regular yogurts will make Tzatziki runny and watery. I love whole milk Greek yogurt for our Tzatziki, but you can use low fat or non-fat if you prefer.
• Fresh Lemon – This helps brighten the flavors. I recommend fresh over bottled lemon juice.
• Extra virgin olive oil –  Oh yes, it gives tons of flavor and body to Tzatziki. Some people skip it, please don’t.
• Sea salt – I use salt first to sweat the grated cucumbers and remove the excess moisture from them. Later, I might use more for flavor.
• Garlic – Fresh garlic goes so well with cucumber and yogurt. I like to mince it finely before stirring in. Depending on your taste, you can use more or less. I suggest starting with one garlic clove and see how it goes. You can always add more to your liking, but can’t subtract once it’s stirred in.
• Dill and Mint – Dill is more traditional than any other herbs in Greek Tzatziki. I always use fresh dill. I also add mint, as I think cool mint really complements this cool cucumber yogurt sauce.

Tzatziki Recipe

Good news… this is the easiest thing you will ever make! The only trick is to sweat your grated cucumbers (I don’t even peel them, and de-seed only if there are excess seeds) before mixing into yogurt. I use largest holes on a box grater to grate my cucumbers.

To sweat the cucumbers, I add the grated cucumbers to a colander, toss them with ½ teaspoon of salt, and let them rest for 10-15 minutes. Then, I rinse out the salt and squeeze out most of the water by hand. I am always surprised by how much water these cucumbers hold. I definitely don’t want that in my thick, creamy sauce.

Once this is done, it’s quick. I simply combine all of the ingredients in my bowl and give it a good stir to combine everything. Taste and adjust to your taste… more lemon? Dill? Garlic? Salt?

I chill my tzatziki for at least hour before serving so all the flavors merge with each other. I like to serve with a good drizzle of olive oil and few sprigs of dill and mint.

But once I have Tzatziki in my fridge, so many options open up for quick lunches, dinners, or just guilt-free snacking, as it’s very healthy. The yogurt is a great source of protein and calcium. I go ahead and start munching my veggies with generous helpings of this deliciousness or put it in my Greek-themed Buddha bowls. I also love to slather it over gyros or falafel.

And go ahead and plan a Greek or Mediterranean style party for the coming Super Bowl with your very own Tzatziki and my Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers and Homemade Hummus. I bet they would be the stars for your mezze platter… Opa! Enjoy!!

Greek Cucumber Yogurt Sauce, alongside chicken souvlaki, on my Gypsy Plate… Enjoy!

Try these other great appetizers from around the world!
Shrimp de Jonghe
Moutabal (Eggplant Dip)
Cheesy Taco Skillet
Guasacaca (Venezuelan Guacamole)
Portuguese Mussels
Garlic Butter Steak Bites
Spanish Garlic Shrimp
Chicken Chapli Kebabs

Greek Cucumber Yogurt Sauce - Tzatziki!

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

This cool Tzatziki is most commonly associated with gyros, but is great for so much more. Serve as a dip with chopped veggies, slather on grilled meats or spread on your favorite sandwich.

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Ingredients

• 1.5 cups Greek Yogurt
• 1 large cucumber
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh dill
• 1 Tbsp fresh mint
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Grate cucumbers into colander. Toss with 1/2 tsp salt, to extract water from cucumber. Let sit 10-15 minutes. Manually squeeze water out of grated cucumber.
2. Combine all ingredients in bowl. Taste and adjust. Add extra salt, lemon juice, herbs or garlic to your taste.

Nutrition Information

Yield 8 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 61Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 2mgSodium 90mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 0gSugar 2gProtein 5g

Nutrition information calculated by Nutritionix.

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Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.