Tzatziki Sauce

Sauces

Ingredients

3/4 English cucumber, partially peeled (striped)

1 tsp kosher salt, divided

4 to 5 garlic cloves, peeled, finely grated or minced (you start with 1 to 2 garlic cloves if you don't want it to be too strong)

1 tsp white vinegar

1 tbsp Early Harvest Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 cups plain Greek yogurt

Handful of chopped fresh dill or mint (optional)

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

Warm pita bread for serving

Sliced vegetables for serving

Directions

Use a box grater to manually grate the cucumbers or you can use a small food processor to finely chop the cucumbers as I do in this recipe. Toss the grated cucumbers with 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Spoon the grated cucumber into a cheese cloth or a double thickness napkin and squeeze dry. (There will be a lot of liquid).

In one large mixing bowl, place the garlic with remaining 1/2 tsp salt, white vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Mix to combine.

Add the grated cucumber to the bowl with the garlic mixture. Stir in the yogurt, and a pinch of white or black pepper, and the fresh herbs (if using. I did not use fresh herbs in the video). Stir to combine well.

Cover and refrigerate for a bit (anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours before serving). This will help thicken the sauce and give it the best texture, while allowing the flavors to meld.

When ready to serve, stir the tzatziki sauce to refresh and transfer to serving bowl, drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil, if you like. Serve with your favorite veggies, pita chips or wedges (be sure to read the post for more ideas on how to use this sauce)!

Notes

This recipe makes a generous 2 cups of sauce (or up to 32 tablespoons). The serving size is based on 1 tablespoon.

This recipe is adapted from Yogurt Culture. It is my quick version, and it’s been cut down to suit a smaller family.

This is very garlicy dip, if you prefer, start with a smaller amount of garlic and incorporate more as needed.

To Store: It’s best to store tzatziki in the fridge in a tightly-covered glass container. Use within 4 days.

Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils.

Nutrition

Calories: 16.3kcal Carbohydrates: 1g Protein: 1.5g
Fat: 0.7g Saturated Fat: 0.2g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g
Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g Cholesterol: 0.8mg Sodium: 78.7mg
Potassium: 11.9mg Fiber: 0.1g Sugar: 0.7g
Vitamin A: 15.6IU Vitamin C: 0.3mg Calcium: 18.4mg
Iron: 0.1mg