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tzatziki dip with pita bread
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4.84 from 6 votes

Easy Greek Tzatziki Sauce Recipe

Thick, creamy, and refreshing Greek tzatziki sauce! Tzatziki is delicious in souvlaki and with pita bread.
Prep Time4 hours
Cook Time5 minutes
Additional Time2 hours
Total Time6 hours
Course: Greek Appetizers
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: greek cold dips, homemade tzatziki sauce, tzatziki sauce
Servings: 1 cup
Calories: 144kcal
Author: Ria Mavrikos

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups full fat plain Greek yogurt at least 5% M.F. or higher
  • 1 English or Persian cucumber 3/4 cup shredded - leave the skin on
  • 2 garlic cloves grated or finely diced
  • 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice remove the seeds
  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh dill finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Place a mesh strainer over a bowl and spoon 1 ½ cups of Greek yogurt in a cheese cloth over the strainer. Wrap the Greek yogurt loosely in the cheese cloth and place the yogurt in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
  • Slice the cucumber length-wise to expose the middle of the cucumber. Use a spoon to scoop and remove the seeds from the centre of the cucumber. Discard the seeds.
  • Prep a bowl with a strainer and cheese cloth and place the shredded cucumber onto the cheese cloth. Sprinkle the shredded cucumber with about ½ a teaspoon of salt and strain the cucumber at room temperature for at least 30-45 minutes. This step will release a lot of moisture from the cucumbers. Then, squeeze the shredded cucumber to remove the excess water using the cheese cloth.
  • Finely dice the fresh dill and set it aside. Peel and grate two cloves of garlic and set aside.
  • In a medium-size bowl, combine the strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, dill, garlic, fresh lemon juice, white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and salt. Mix the ingredients together with a spoon or spatula. Then cover the tzatziki dip with saran wrap or cling wrap and place the tzatziki in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.

Notes

  1. When straining the Greek yogurt and shredded cucumber, make sure there's enough space for the liquid to gather at the bottom of the bowl so that it doesn't touch the yogurt or cucumbers.
  2. Even though Greek yogurt is thick, straining the yogurt for a few hours is an important step to make tzatziki sauce that is thick and not runny.
  3. If you don't have a cheese cloth, you can use a mesh strainer.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 144kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 388mg | Sugar: 4g