With yogurt, lots of garlic, cucumber, and mint, this Healthy Tzatziki Sauce is perfect for dips, pitas, and hamburgers. Made by hand in under 10 minutes, this sauce is super easy and will elevate your dinnertime routine.
Do You Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from A Sweet Thyme
Straight out of Greece and used throughout the Middle East, this tzatziki sauce recipe is made with a base of Greek yogurt, cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, and fresh herbs. It’s easy to whip up in a pinch and can be served with anything from meat to vegetables.
Jump to:
Our family loves Greek food and eat a lot of Mediterranean dishes. This classic sauce that brings extra flavor to any dish, this tzatziki recipe will become a staple in your fridge throughout the warm months.
My favorite way to use this condiment is on the Grilled Lamb Burger, but I also love it as a sauce for the Grilled Pesto Chicken, or a dip with Za'atar Pita Chips.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make: With only a handful of ingredients and a total time of 10 minutes to whip up, this tzatziki sauce comes together in a pinch.
- Flavorful: It’s a tasty combination of flavors that gives a bit of an uplift to anything it’s paired with.
- Versatile: Adjust the flavor amounts or add in more herbs, tzatziki sauce can be made into anything you need it to be with a few simple swaps.
Ingredients
How To Make Healthy Tzatziki Sauce: Step-By-Step
Step 1: Prepare your cucumbers by making sure they’re peeled and then finely grated using a box grater. Place the grated cucumbers into a colander and press them down to drain out the excess moisture. You can also do this using a kitchen towel or cheesecloth.
Step 2: Once the cucumbers are ready, mix the grated cucumber with plain greek yogurt, fresh lemon juice, garlic cloves, and chopped fresh mint in a medium bowl until combined.
Taste test the cucumber dip and adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
Variations and Flavor Twists
- Garlic - This tzatziki sauce is light on the garlic, if you love garlic, which I do, add in an extra clove for a punch of flavor.
- Fresh Herbs - Both fresh and dried mint will work. If you’re using dried mint, you want about 2 teaspoons. You can add or vary the herbs as you prefer. Dill pairs well with tzatziki and you can use either fresh dill or dried dill in the same amounts. Fresh parsley works but it won't have as much flavor.
- Lemon juice - If you don’t have lemon juice, you can use a dash of apple cider vinegar or any white wine vinegar. However, it will alter the refreshing taste a bit. Feel free to add the zest of the fresh lemon that you are using to punch up the citrus note.
- Yogurt - This recipe calls for plain Greek yogurt but I also love using Labneh or even sour cream in this recipe. While I prefer full fat yogurt, you can use nonfat yogurt in this recipe.
Tips
- Seedless cucumbers, like English cucumbers or Persian cucumbers work best for this recipe.
- Don’t overlook draining the cucumbers. You can even add a pinch of salt to them and let them sit for 5 minutes before pressing them to pull out the water. You can do this with a cheesecloth as well. The better you do this, the thicker and less watery the tzatziki sauce will be.
- If you can let the sauce sit for 15 minutes, the flavors will mesh together even more.
Store
Store tzatziki sauce in an airtight container or glass mason jar for up to 4 days in the fridge. When you need to use it, make sure you stir it first.
Since the sauce is yogurt-based, it shouldn’t be frozen as it won’t maintain the same texture once thawed.
Traditionally, tzatziki sauce is made of Greek yogurt, garlic, cucumbers, mint, and lemon juice though other herbs and flavors can be added in as desired.
Yes! Since it uses a base of Greek yogurt and then herbs as seasoning it’s a healthy, protein-packed addition to anything you pair it with.
What To Serve With Tzatziki Sauce
Tzatziki brings a punch of flavor to anything it pairs with. Some of our favorite ways to use it are below:
- As a healthy dip for fish
- Smeared onto the top of homemade turkey burgers
- As a dip for crunchy fresh veggies
- As the base of a wrap
- With this Greek Style Lamb Burger!
- Add it to this Jerusalem Salad to change the texture!
- Serve it with these homemade pita chips!
- As a topping for vegetables like the Roasted Brussels Sprouts And Carrots or the Smashed Fingerling Potatoes.
A staple of Mediterranean cuisine, this is a favorite dip and an easy recipe for a Greek Tzatziki sauce. The tangy flavor will have you grabbing this tzatziki dip and eating it right from the jar!
Did you try this recipe? I would love to hear about it! Scroll down to the comment section and leave a ⭐️ rating and review. Share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
xoxoxo
Gwen
Healthy Tzatziki Sauce
Do You Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from A Sweet Thyme
Ingredients
- ½ cup plain greek yogurt preferably full fat
- 1 small cucumber Look for a persian cucumber as they are seedless. Approx. ¼ C, peeled and chopped small or grated and drained
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice preferably fresh
- 2 tablespoon dried mint leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Grate the cucumber using a box grater or a Cuisinart.
- Place the cucumber into a colander and press down to release all of the liquid.
- Place into a medium bowl and combine the cucumbers with the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and fresh herbs.
- Store in an airtight container for up to four days.
Anonymous says
Yum