Besides my major love affair with all things basil vinaigrette… I’m also majorly into Homemade Tzatziki this summer.
What is Tzatziki?
Homemade Tzatziki is EVERYTHING! If you’ve never had it before, or heard of it, Tzatziki is a yogurt sauce with cucumbers, garlic, salt, lemon juice, and dill. It’s incredible popular in Greece where it’s slathered on top of just about everything. You can serve it up with crudités or pita as an appetizer / snack or serve it alongside some skewered chicken, veggies, fish or meat as a dip for a main course. It’s bright and tangy and perfect for summer.
Tzatziki is also one of those things you can whip up every few days and keep on hand for when lunch and dinner roll around. You’ll see it pop up on WGC frequently as I call for it in so many recipes! It also makes the best healthy snack. Whip up some tzatziki grab yourself some Persian cucumbers and there you have it.
Here are a bunch of questions I get on the regular about Tzatziki:
How is Tzatziki made?
Tzatziki is super simple to make. You just need some greek yogurt, lemon, garlic, dill, and Persian cucumbers. Dice your cucumbers, juice your lemon, chop your garlic and dill, and combine everything with your greek yogurt. I cover the detailed step by step instructions and measurements in the recipe card below.
How long will Tzatziki last in the fridge?
Tzatziki will last about four days in the fridge before it starts to go bad.
Can you freeze Tzatziki sauce?
Yes, but it will change a bit in regards to texture and consistency when it comes time to thawing it out.
What else can you serve Tzatziki with?
Here is a list of some other amazing dishes that go perfect with Tzatziki.
- Yogurt Marinated Chicken Skewers
- Greek Loaded Oven Fries
- Chicken Tawook Quinoa Bowls
- Mezze Appetizer Platter
- Homemade Naan
- Chicken Shawarma Bowls
Bottom line, we all need a kick ass Homemade Tzatziki recipe that we can use 365 days a year. And I’ve got just the one for you….
Homemade Tzatziki
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt
- 1 Persian cucumber small dice
- Juice of 1 lemon plus more if needed
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, diced cucumber, lemon juice garlic and dill. Stir to combine.
- Season with salt and pepper and taste. Adjust salt, pepper or lemon juice depending on your preference. Serve immediately or store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.
Photo Credit: Matt Armendariz / Food Styling Credit: Adam Pearson / Recipe: What’s Gaby Cooking
I could eat this all day long!
This is major goodness! I love this stuff too! Yum.
I love anything in “dip” form and this is no exception – looks delicious!
Thank you for the nice recipe. Have a good week.
YOur recipe looks great – I love this stuff!
Well I have to admit I’ve never had or heard of Tzatziki. Yes, I’m blushing and slightly embarrassed because you seem to have it once a day. Looks good and I apparently need to come on board with tzatziki!
Mmm! I’ve never thought about making it homemade, even though I make most things homemade. And now I’m going to hop over to basil vinaigrette land…
I could eat tzatziki all day long! It’s so refreshing!
oh my gosh. WANT WANT WANT! Had this for the first time last week and I’m a bit obsessed.
You know we love this in our home! Thanks for sharing your recipe with us!
I don’t even need crackers or chips, just a spoon! Delish! Pinned 🙂
Papa puts chopped walnuts into it sometimes!
Anything with those ingredients goes to the top of my list!!!
I love ANY post that includes the term “buttload” in the first paragraph!
This Greek girl can totally get down with putting Tzatziki on ALL of the things! Yum.
Oh my gosh!!! I love Tzatziki. This looks very tasty.
My family loves Tzatziki sauce! Years ago, while on vacation i remember extra for a couple of small cups of sauce for our sandwiches. Now we can make our own for use on just about everything.
I just got home and am starving!! Please pass a bowl!
Making it tonight!
Thank you. Have a good day!
I love me some tzatziki! My homemade attempts have not turned out quite right. Yours looks fantastic, Gaby.
i never thought to make my own tzatziki before.. ive always been incredibly lazy and bought a tub from the store. definitely will be trying this recipe if its this easy! looks delicious and i bet it tastes even better home made too!
I made this. I used a long English cucumber. The sauce was delicious on my Chicken Shawarma. I was told it tasted exactly like we used to get at authentic Mediterranean restaraunts.
What is your favorite kind of greek yogurt to use for recipes like this?
totally up to you! I’ve used all sorts of them throughout the years – Fage, Yoplait, Trader Joes, etc
Followed recipe to a T!!!!! Perfection!
Gabi, should I remove the skin of the cucumber? I just have English cucumbers this week…
Also, any substitute for dill?? The only herb my husband doesn’t eat it
yes always remove skin from an English!! and you could omit dill and use chives!
This is so delicious, light and fresh!
My mom (who was from Egypt) made a very similar version of tzaktziki sauce. All I remember is the it had plain yogurt, lemon juice and cumin. I fell like these are not the only ingredients. Can you help?
I have made tzatziki bf using grated cukes. Do u recommend dicing to cut down on moisture released or what’s the reason? Thank you!
I prefer it to be a small dice! You can grate if you prefer – totally personal preference
This is such a wonderful and cool app for summertime. What am I saying? Anytime would be perfect!!
Freakin delicious! Thanks Gaby
Yum. It’s great on top of grilled lamb feta burgers. My summertime favorites!
Soo good!
Hi Gaby! I’d love to make this recipe but I cannot find dinosaur kale in my area. Also my hubby is not a kale fan. What would be a good substitute?
Thanks
there’s no kale in this recipe!! just dill.