This Homemade Tzatziki (a Greek sauce or dip made from yogurt and cucumbers) is super fresh, creamy and healthy. Bonus: it’s easy and cheap to make! Enjoy it as a sandwich spread, salad dressing, a snack dip, on chicken or Greek meatballs. It’s delicious!
Does anyone else still have a TON of cucumbers coming out of their garden? Almost every day my dad delivers an armful of cucumbers to me for eating and processing. We’ve made dill pickles and sweet & spicy pickles, we eat the small ones for snacks and slice the big ones to go with meals.
But the big field cucumbers full of seeds present extra challenges. (First world problems, I know.) It’s a great problem to have.
Recently I made good use of a few of these beauties by making homemade tzatziki. Tzatziki is a Greek dip/sauce made from cucumbers, plain yogurt, and usually garlic and dill. It’s cool, creamy, and an absolutely delicious healthy dip.
Did you know that sometimes store-bought tzatziki has mayo in it? I mean, I LOVE mayo as much as (probably more than, ha ha) the next person, but sometimes it’s just not necessary, and I feel like this is one of those times.
Yes, mayo would probably make it richer, but tzatziki is meant to be light and fresh. Okay, end of rant.
Homemade tzatziki is easy to make and bonus – it’s cheap, especially if you have garden cucumbers. Other than that it’s just plain yogurt (one of my favourite things to have in the fridge, for reasons I go into here), dill (I used fresh dill that I froze for times like this!), lemon juice (which I also keep frozen) and a few pantry items.
Read our Stock Your Pantry post for more helpful things to keep on hand here.
It’s perfect as a dip with vegetables or chips, a sandwich spread, or with the delicious Greek meatballs we made it with .
Homemade Tzatziki – (Greek Cucumber Yogurt Sauce and Dip) – Step-by-Step Instructions
Homemade Tzatziki – (Greek Cucumber Yogurt Sauce and Dip) – Ingredients
Peel two field cucumbers (or one large English cucumber) and scrape out the seeds. Use the large holes on a box grater to shred the cucumbers.
If you have a sieve, put the grated cucumber in it over a plate or bowl and use a large spoon to press the extra juice out. Leave it there to drain while you prepare the rest of the recipe. If you don’t have a sieve you could just squeeze the water out with your hands.
Chop 2 tablespoons of dill (I used fresh dill that I had frozen) and mince two cloves of garlic.
In a medium sized bowl, combine 2 cups of plain yogurt (you can use Greek yogurt if you like, but I don’t think it’s necessary if you already have plain yogurt on hand – if your yogurt is very thin you could try to strain some of the liquid out), the shredded cucumber, dill, garlic, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of red wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper.
Stir well to combine and let sit at least 30 minutes before eating, so flavours can meld.
Enjoy! 🙂
Homemade Tzatziki - (Greek Cucumber Yogurt Sauce and Dip)
Ingredients
- 2 field cucumbers (or 1 large English cucumber)
- 2 cups plain yogurt (you can use Greek yogurt if you want, but if you already have regular yogurt I would just use that)
- 2 tbsp fresh dill (I used fresh dill that I had frozen)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (I also keep extra in my freezer)
- 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Peel cucumbers and scrape out the seeds. Use the large holes on a box grater to shred the cucumbers.
- If you have a sieve, put the grated cucumber in it over a plate or bowl and use a large spoon to press the extra juice out. Leave it there to drain while you prepare the rest of the recipe. If you don't have a sieve you could just squeeze the water out with your hands.
- Chop dill and mince garlic.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine plain yogurt, the shredded cucumber, dill, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Stir well to combine and let sit at least 30 minutes before eating, so flavours can meld.
- Enjoy! 🙂
Nutrition
You might also like:
Leave a Reply