How to Make Homemade Tzatziki Sauce with Greek yogurt, cucumber, fresh dill and yogurt. This fresh and delicious creamy sauce is marvelous for your gyros, wraps, burgers, and pitas!
Back when I was an undergrad in college and ate all the glutens, I lived off of burritos, gyros, and pitas.
Basically, all things that could be swaddled in a tortilla or flatbread and wrapped up all cozy-like for portable convenience were my consumables.
Lamb gyros with tzatziki sauce from a local sando shop became my every Thursday lunch before heading to class.
I held tzatziki sauce in such high regard that I assumed the process of making it at home was a majorly complicated feat and would require that I venture through an enchanted goblin-inhabited labyrinth and outsmart David Bowie in order to crack the sauce’s mystical code.
But it’s not complicated, there is no tzatziki labyrinth, no goblins to be reckoned with, and much to my dismay, David Bowie’s not involved at all.
It’s easy.
Really the only preparatory step, short of mixing everything together in a bowl, is allowing the chopped cucumber to sit and drain for about 30 minutes.
We do this so that the sauce doesn’t get watery when it’s in the refrigerator. Other than the wait time, the sauce takes seconds to make. And eat. It’s fabulous like that.
What is Tzatziki Sauce?
So what is the dillio with tzatziki (get it? dill….io…?) other than the fact that it needs to get et on all your consumables?
Tzatziki is a yogurt-based sauce popular in Greece and Turkey, typically served as a dip or condiment for meat.
The basic ingredients in tzatziki are yogurt, cucumber, dill, garlic, vinegar (or lemon juice), and salt.
You can also add mint, thyme, and/or parsley to make the sauce more herby. I adapted this sauce from a recipe I found on the Cooking Light website for Tzatziki.
I was instantly taken back to my gyro Thursdays and was thrilled by how flavorful the sauce turns out while being so easy to make.
So let’s learn how to do that.
How to Make Tzatziki Sauce:
It all starts with chopping up some cucumber into small bits (Note: if you’d like, you can slice the cucumber lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds before chopping, but you don’t have to).
Place the chopped cucumber into a colander, sprinkle with a little salt, and allow it to sit and drain in the sink for 30 minutes. This ensures your tzatziki sauce doesn’t get watery from the cucumber.
Place all of the sauce ingredients in a big mixing bowl.
Give everything a stir.
Et viola! Homemade tzatziki sauce for your pitas, wraps, salads, and anything else that could use some spunk.
Use this sauce on my Chicken Tzatziki Lettuce Wraps or on my Lamb Burgers with Mint Pesto.
Get on with your bad self.
How to Make Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
- 1 cup cucumber peeled and chopped into small bits
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon heaping fresh dill chopped
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- Chop cucumber and place in a colander. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt, toss, and place colander in the sink and allow cucumber to drain for 30 minutes.
- Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir together well.
- Serve on your favorite gyro, pita, or in wraps and on salads.
I LOVE making tzatziki. We used to buy the Costco sized version (you know the kind so big that you can swim in it?) And then it always went bad, because 2 people can only eat the stuff so fast. Then, I learned it was stupid easy to make. So I makes it ALL. Pinned!
So glad you’re a fellow tzatziki lover! I think this recipe made juuuust enough for using for one meal for 4ish people, which is perfect for me so I don’t get sick of it/it doesn’t go bad. Thanks for sharing, love!
This looks fabulous and so easy! Love that you drained the cucumber to ensure it stays nice and thick (and FYI to an itty bitty typo where you refer to a zucchini.. lol… “slice the zucchini lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds before chopping”).
Haha! I would do that! Changing it now – thanks for the catch! 😀
I had no idea it was that easy to make tzatziki sauce! Though I kind of wish David Bowie (and his fabulous leggings) were involved.
IIIIII know….DB + leggings + bulge + hair + makeup. If only…
I’ve never made tzatziki but it does look so easy and refreshingly delicious. I’ll have to make some soon so I can show you my tzatz!!
I’m so obsessed with tzatziki!!! I used to work at a restaurant that sold gyros and we always had a huge supply of tzatziki on hand. I would steal a big spoonful of it every few hours and dip potato chips into it! It is the best and I want to put it on all the things! 🙂
I love gyros and pitas and all that good stuff! And this sauce! Yum! Also, I was pretty excited for Stephie’s news last night. I’m looking forward to that weekend. I might even clean the house in preparation, although don’t hold your breath. xoxo
I CAN’T WAIT! I’m so excited that I actually get to meet you ladies! And Jer and Alex, of course! And the beagles! No worries on the cleaning thing…I wouldn’t notice either way. Seriously. Hygiene and I are frenemies + I’m not very observant. Can wait to eat all them sweet potatoes with you!!
Yeah, home made tzaziki is great! You make it the same way I always do, with good (10% fat Greek (real)) yoghurt. The only thing I do differently is, that I grate the cucumbers (before salting and draining them!) to have a more ‘soft’ sauce.
I like the cider vinegar addition. I recently made tzaziki sauce and wasn’t too crazy about it so pinning with intension of making.
Tzatziki is one of my favorite sauces. Sometimes I just like to take a spoonful and eat it, no need for a pita. Great simple recipe for it, can’t wait to make it!
I luuuuurve the tzatz! Gimme gimme! I could eat that ish with a spoon. Sometimes I do. Don’t judge.
I love tzatziki. That sauce does not last long in our house. Even though I def take forever to spell that word! The t’s and z and iki make me think hard hahah.
Everything tastes so much better slathered in tzatziki sauce indeed! Greek anything is my faaaaaaaaaaaave. I’ve never tried to make my own from scratch, but after seeing how easy it is, I think I will give it a go soon. But yeah, it’s such a pity that Bowie is not involved 😉 xx
YUM now I want Greek food!! This sounds so good. I’ve made it before but it was watery. Next time I’ll try your trick of using salt on the cucumbers!
Yum! I saw this on instragram and I thought to myself: this sounds and looks so good! You inspired me to make pitas and your tzatziki. It was SOOOO GOOD!
Thanks, Monet! It really took no time or effort to make. One of those “holy crap, how did I not make this eleventy billion years ago?” recipes 😀
I love Greek food and this sauce looks awesome. Also, your tutorial pictures are awesome, Ju! Have a wonderful day 😉
If there’s one thing the.boy’s family does well, it’s make good tzatziki! Perk to marrying into Greek-ness. I’m fairly certain it’s the most perfect condiment to everything in life.
I love tzatziki and have been wanting to make it for a long time – I’ll have to try your recipe!
Everything about your post made me feel compelled to share this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4gABvUhhkg
Also, I eat this stuff spoon to mouth 🙂
This tzatziki looks amazing, I’m excited to try it out using cucumbers from my first-ever garden! Now I’m craving a falafel pita.