Tzatziki Sauce

Top gyros, salads and chicken with this yogurt-based Tzatziki Sauce. It’s tangy without being too overpowering, and it’s great eaten by itself!

TheSpeckledPalate_tzatziki01_small

This should come as no surprise by now, but I didn’t get into yogurt — or really like any kind other than the heebie-jeebies inducing Gogurt (with SPRINKLES!) from my childhood — until I was living on my own and responsible for eating breakfast before going into work and pretending to be a “grown up.” (I will contest that I sometimes still do this, as cake is a pretty awesome breakfast, in my book…)

I was always looking for something that was filling and relatively healthy… and after unsuccessfully trying to become a cereal person, I tried yogurt and fell in love.

What in the world does my love of yogurt have to do with Tzatziki sauce? It’s the base ingredient here, y’all, and let me be the first to tell you that once you try this, you’ll want to go ahead and put it on EVERYTHING.

Other Mediterranean-flavored dishes: Turkey Shawarma WrapsRoasted Garlic and White Bean HummusGrilled Chicken ShawarmaWinston’s Garlic HummusChicken Shawarma Salad

TheSpeckledPalate_tzatziki02small

Salad? Tzatziki salad dressing — like ranch, but healthier! And with cucumbers!

French fries? The perfect substitute for ketchup!

Any kind of Mediterranean food? Don’t even get me started, y’all.

… We generally keep a mason jar of this sauce in our fridge at all times because we both love it on a variety of different foods, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

This recipe can be made one of two ways — you can throw all the ingredients together in your food processor for a smooth, thinner sauce, OR you can chop the cucumbers finely and throw them into the mix to leave it chunkier. It’s a personal preference thing, as Winston and I go back and forth on it ALL THE TIME.

A green bowl holds a bubbly tzatziki sauce while sitting on a wooden board with pita chips
Yield: 16 servings

Tzatziki Sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Top gyros, salads and chicken with this yogurt-based Tzatziki Sauce. It's tangy without being too overpowering, and it's great eaten by itself!

Ingredients

  • 2 cucumbers, diced finely
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon dried dill (or 2 teaspoons fresh)

Instructions

  1. Chop the cucumbers and set aside.
  2. Combine olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, yogurt, sour cream and dill in a large bowl.
  3. Add cucumbers to the wet mixture, stirring until just mixed.
  4. Chill in refrigerator, then enjoy with various dishes!

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1 serving

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 64Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 76mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 2g

Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate.

How much did you love this recipe?

Follow me on Instagram for more content, and share a photo of your creation with the hashtag #speckledpalate!

 

Do you have a go-to sauce like this?

Similar Posts

19 Comments

  1. Haha! Go-gurt. I often reference this to people and they have no idea what I am talking about. Who are these people? I try to explain that it is yogurt for when you are on the go… most people are not impressed. Huzzah for Tzatziki! I am in love with this stuff. It makes everything better. Much better than Go-gurt… although… Tzatziki for when you are on the go? That could be something.

    1. Oh my goodness. I am SO GLAD that we both know what this whole Go-gurt thing is and was and how it’s, umm, a little gross to think about.

      Hooray for tzatziki and loving it and it basically making the world a better place! And tzatziki on the go could definitely be a thing. Want to go into business and sell the heck out of that? It could be awesome. 😉

  2. I really love yogurty sauces. So tangy and goes with ANYTHING! You think it’ll make a good marinade for chicken? Minus the cucumbers of course. Also Gina’s comment ^^^ made me giggle. 😀

    1. You and me both, Jayne. Yogurty sauces are the best! And this COULD be a good marinade for chicken. Never tried it like that before, but I’d definitely be interested in hearing how it turned out if you did!

  3. I love tzatziki, extra garlicky though 😛 I used to drink those weird YOP things as a kid which is basically liquid yogurt, it grosses me out when I think of it!! These days I just like regular yogurt with a normal consistency!

    Now I feel like Greek food!

    1. One of my favorite places in Baton Rouge had the MOST GARLICKY tzatziki ever. It was delicious… but it was definitely something you didn’t want to eat on a date. 😉 You’d love it, especially if you love this sauce extra garlicky.

      I used to drink those weird yogurt drinks as a kid, and I CRINGE whenever I think of it now. It’s really disgusting. So glad we’re both on the same page here!

    1. Thanks so much, Juliana. It’s delicious and perfect for so many things. And so glad you love the photography, too. Since I’m a photojournalist, I find photographing food challenging and fun… so it’s always nice to hear someone say I’m doing a decent job at it, especially since my job doesn’t allow me to tinker with my subjects. It’s kind of freeing to be able to set up the food the way I want… as opposed to the way it’s presented to me, if that makes any sense.

      Thanks for stopping by!

  4. IIIIIIIIIIII Love it! Tzatziki is such a delicious sauce and I’ve never made it at home. I never thought to use it as a dipper for french fries and love this idea! My french fries will never be the same again and I can’t wait to try the sauce!

    1. Thanks, Julia! It really is so delicious, and it is SO EASY. It’s just a matter of deciding if you’d rather the sauce be a little thicker and leave the cucumbers intact or if you want to puree it all. It works both ways, though I prefer it chunky. And putting it on French fries will CHANGE YOUR WORLD. Whew, girl. Sorry in advance. It’s awesome.

        1. What’d you choose? As someone who is not a fan of cilantro, I would have gone with the dill… but I’m interested to hear which one you did AND how it turned out!

    1. Give it a shot, and let me know what you think, Nilsa. It’s so darn good… and it’s so easy to make. The only thing you have to decide is whether you want the sauce to be chunky or smooth. Decisions, decisions… 😉

  5. The Greeks made many great contributions to the world, but Tzatziki might be the greatest. Or maybe feta… or spanikopita… Damn, I love Greek food!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *