Tzatziki Sauce (One Bowl)

The best, authentic, cool, creamy, quick, easy Tzatziki sauce recipe, homemade with simple ingredients in just one pot or one bowl in 20 minutes. Serve as side dish with meat or appetizer with pita bread, chips, fresh vegetables.

This is great to make during Summer time where there is an abundance of cucumbers. It's very cooling and refreshing and comes together very quickly.

It's just as delicious as some of my other Summer recipes like Mango Salsa (One Bowl) and this Pineapple Salsa (One Bowl). Try them out and let me know what you think.

What is tzatziki sauce?

It's a yogurt-based cucumber sauce that's loaded with garlic and fresh herbs. It has Greek origin but it's also served across the Mediterranean cuisine and is very popular in Middle East. Sometimes, it's served under different names.

and can be enjoyed as a spread, dip or side dish.

How to make tzatziki sauce?

1. Prepare cucumbers- Grate them and squeeze them through a towel to get rid of excess water.
2. Prepare yogurt mixture- Mix together thick yogurt, lemon juice, dill, mint, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper.
3. Mix in grated cucumbers- Toss them in the yogurt mixture.
4. Enjoy! Cover and chill overnight or at least 1 hour and then, dig in.

What to serve with homemade tzatziki sauce?

It can be served as a spread on sandwiches, burgers or wraps.

It can also used as a dip with pita bread, chips, and fresh vegetables like baby carrots, bell peppers and celery for an easy appetizer. You can also serve it along with these grilled or roasted vegetables: Oven Roasted Carrots (One Pan), Oven Roasted Cauliflower (One Pan), Oven Roasted Broccoli (One Pan).

You can also enjoy it as a side dish alongside roasted or grilled meats like chicken souvlaki, beef shawarma, lamb kabobs, baked salmon, lamb chops, steak, gyros.

You can also thin it out a little with some milk and use it as a salad dressing. You can also use it instead of mayonnaise or sour cream in other salads, especially potato salad or Pea Salad.

Tips and Techniques

What's the best yogurt to use in this dip? Full-fat Greek yogurt is the best choice since it's a Greek sauce recipe. It's rich, thick and super creamy since it has already been strained of excess water.

Greek yogurt substitute- You would have to strain regular full-fat yogurt in a cheesecloth overnight and use this thicker yogurt. Some people also like to use a combination of regular yogurt and sour cream.

You must squeeze out the water from cucumbers- Since cucumbers are so full of water, they can make the sauce very watery and thin. The best way to avoid that is to grate cucumbers first and then squeeze them through a clean kitchen towel and then, add them into the yogurt mixture.

Let the sauce rest- For at least 1 hour because it allows the flavors to develop and deepen.

Adjust quantities of herbs, lemon garlic- This is based on your preference. Add more of what you like and less of what you dislike.

Make ahead instructions- You can make this 1 day in advance and just keep it covered and refrigerated until you are ready to serve.

How to thicken sauce? Mix in more Greek yogurt and make sure you are using strained cucumbers.

How to thin sauce? Mix in some milk (whole or 2%).

Garnish- You can drizzle a little olive oil and sprinkle some finely chopped dill or mint, prior to serving.

Use fresh herbs- They look better and even taste better than dried herbs

More easy appetizers

• Caprese Skewers (One Pan)
• Instant Pot Grape Jelly Meatballs
• Bacon Wrapped Dates (One Pan)
• Buffalo Chicken Dip (One Pot)
• Grape Jelly Little Smokies (One Pot)

Recipe

Happy cooking everyone!