The tzatziki sauce is an ancient sauce popular in the Middle East and Southern Europe, especially Greece. This sauce is super delicious and easy to whip up.
You can serve tzatziki with raw, grilled or roasted vegetables. It’s a great spread for sandwiches too. I love scooping a generous amount of the dip with warm pita and falafel. Consequently, this sauce is a healthy salad dressing and a side dish as well. While the versatile nature of this sauce serves at the perfect accompaniment to many Mediterranean dishes, I often enjoy eating it with cracker biscuits and salted cookies too!
This Tzatziki Sauce (Yogurt and Cucumber Dip) is made with yoghurt, cucumber, olive oil, dill, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Although you can use other herbs like mint, I personally love the taste of dill.
To make the best Tzatziki Sauce, you need to make sure that you get rid of the excess moisture by squeezing the grated cucumber well. Then combine all the ingredients and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for the flavours to infuse. If you have time, you can keep it overnight in the fridge.
This simple recipe comes together in 15 minutes. If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #theblissofcooking on Instagram. You may like to try our other similar Mediterranean / middle east recipes like Hummus and Baba Ganoush (Healthy Brinjal Dip).
Yield: 4 to 5 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Ingredients for Tzatziki sauce
2 cups grated cucumber
2 cups plain Greek yoghurt (hung curd)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint and/or dill
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large clove minced garlic
Ingredients for Tzatziki sauce
- Grate the cucumber and drain through a fine-mesh sieve. Transfer the squeezed cucumber to a large bowl.
- Add the yoghurt, olive oil, herbs, lemon juice, garlic, and salt to the bowl, and stir well to blend to smooth. Adjust the seasoning as per your taste.
- Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes.
- When ready to serve, stir the tzatziki sauce to refresh and transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil, if you like.
- Serve chilled with pita bread and sliced vegetables for dipping.
Note: Leftover tzatziki keeps well, chilled, for about 4 days.
