Back when I was in college I would visit my local farmers market a buy a big container of Tzatziki each week and use it for just about everything. Pita, Chicken, Lamb, Salads, basically anything I could easily whip up and then slather with tzatziki. It was literally the worlds best tzatziki and I was super sad when I moved out of the bay area and didn’t have my weekly dose of this heavenly yogurt dip.
Never fear though, I’ve created my own tzatziki recipe that will totally change your life. I’ve had my fair share of this dip in my life and I’m partial to a tzatziki that has a little bit of a chunky texture. So rather than shredding the cucumbers, I’m a fan of cutting the cukes up into small little cubes. Plus they are cute!
I’ve thrown it on these super tender and juicy lamb kebabs that get a yogurt marinade for a day or two. It’s kind of the perfect spring or summer meal. Just saying.
Serve it up with an herbed quinoa salad and and perhaps a glass or two of your favorite red wine and I can promise you that you’ll be on very happy person!
Just look at that dip. And those super tender, fall apart in your mouth, lamb kebabs. And those crisps pita wedges. Yes please.
Yogurt Marinated Lamb Kebabs with Tzatziki
Ingredients
For the Lamb
- 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoons dried rosemary roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pounds top round lamb cut into 2 inch pieces
For the Tzatziki
- 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 English Cucumber peeled, seeded, and diced - about 1 cup
- juice of 1 lemon plus more if needed
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Lamb
- Combine the yogurt, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, rosemary and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the cubed lamb into the marinade and make sure the lamb is covered. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.
- After the lamb has marinated, thread 6 pieces of the meat onto a skewer and repeat for the remaining pieces of meat.
- Head your grill to medium high heat and brush the grill with a touch of olive oil. Place the skewers on the grill and let cook for 7-8 minutes, turning occasionally, for medium meat. Cook longer if desired.
For the Tzatziki
- Combine the yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, garlic and dill in a medium bowl and stir to combine.
- Season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Keeps up to 1 week.
This is such a perfect summer meal, lovely flavours.
My kind of dinner for sure! Love lamb, love Tzatziki, love this dish!
Hello perfect summertime dish! Oh yeah!
Yum! Lamb and tzatziki are two of my favorite things! Yum!
A rockin’ summer recipe! Can’t wait to try this.
I agree perfect summer meal. I love tzatziki sauce, I make it fresh and add some fresh grated beets to give it color a boost of nutrients!
Great recipe, especially for an outdoor gathering! Funny that you put lemon in the tzatziki, because we mostly put vinegar instead. You should give it a shot! If you are a tzatziki fan then for sure you’ll like it!
Nice recipe and pics. We will be making this- thanks!
Oh, mega yum Gaby! My husband is a lamb nut, and I go wild for anything Greek, so I know we’d love this!
We are all about the Greek food in my house. I love lamb kebabs!
Love this – just curious that you don’t drain the cucumbers before you mix them into the yogurt? I always think it gets very watery otherwise. But HUGE fan of all greek food…
Nope! I don’t drain them. But the inside seeds get scooped out so that solves a lot of the watery problem 🙂
Yay, so glad you posted a kebabs recipe just in time for grilling season. And yes, tzatziki sauce is a godsend. You can seriously put it on everything.
Looks amazing!
I am a great big fan of Tzatziki sauce too!!
This looks SO good! Hope it’s grilling weather this weekend so I can test it out!
Looks incredible!!
So fresh and light! I love the idea of pairing a cool yogurt with the richness of lamb. Thanks for sharing!
This is definitely a great summer meal. Plus some wine or beer, it’s perfect!
I too adore a good tzatziki — especially with a good kebab!
I went to college in the Bay Area too, and i love it for the food scene! Totally miss it now that I am living in suburban San Diego, haha! But I’m glad you are bringin’ the good stuff further south 🙂 and all across the world wide web, too!
Oh man Greek cuisine at its finest!
Can you use leg of lamb cut up?
YES- make sure it’s really “cut up” or grind it if you can