This easy, homemade, authentic Greek tzatziki sauce recipe is the perfect addition to a Greek feast! It's a zesty side for you to dip your meats into and the best gyro sauce recipe you’ll ever try. Whether serving it with grilled meats or spreading it over your gyros, this tzatziki will elevate every bite!
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Why You Will Love This Tzatziki Sauce Recipe
- It’s So Easy to Make: You’ll love how simple this recipe is. With just a few fresh ingredients and a couple of easy steps, you’ve got an incredible dip ready to go!
- Versatile and Delicious: Trust me, this tzatziki sauce is the ultimate sidekick. If you want to take your gyros to the next level, make sure you have this ready for your next BBQ night.
- Packed with Flavor: In my opinion, the blend of creamy yogurt, crunchy cucumber, heaps of garlic (how I like it, haha), and a splash of lemon gives it the perfect amount of freshness that you can’t resist.
- Healthy and Light: This recipe is full of flavour and a healthier choice! With Greek yogurt and cucumber as the stars, you can enjoy it guilt-free.
Watch the video tutorial
Want to see how it’s done? Watch my step-by-step video tutorial on making this authentic Greek tzatziki sauce and see how easy it is.
Don't forget to like, comment, and share this video with friends who love garlic breath!
Ingredients Overview
Here’s a quick look at the fresh ingredients that make this tzatziki sauce so tasty. The exact amounts are in the recipe card below!
- Greek Yogurt: Don't skimp out here. You will want to get the best quality Greek yogurt you can get your hands on, and make sure to strain it! Trust me, it gives the tzatziki that thick, creamy texture you’ll love!
- Cucumbers: Use really fresh cucumbers to enhance the crunch and refreshing taste. Don't forget to squeeze out the extra water!
- Garlic: In my opinion, garlic makes tzatziki pop. The more garlic, the better! But if you like a milder dip, start with half and add more to your taste.
- Lemon Juice: A good squeeze of lemon brightens up the dip and balances the richness. If you prefer, you can substitute red wine vinegar.
- Olive Oil: Use extra virgin Greek olive oil for the best flavour.
- Optional Extras: Not everyone likes adding herbs, but it is very common to find it made with fresh dill. You can also try it with fresh mint. Try both and see which you like best!
Step-by-Step Tzatziki Sauce Instructions
Here are the exact instructions for making this greek tzatziki. Just follow along with the photos below, and you’ll have a delicious garlicky sauce ready to serve with your gyro in no time!
- Drain the Yogurt: Start by putting your Greek yogurt in cheesecloth and draining it overnight. For extra safety, add a sift underneath it and place it into a bowl, allowing the liquids to drop. This will give your yogurt that thick, creamy texture that authentic tzatziki should have. After draining, add the yogurt to a mixing bowl.
- Grate the cucumbers: The next step is to slice the cucumbers in half lengthwise, and using a spoon remove the seeds. Get a grater and then grate the cucumber. We will not be using the seeds for this recipe.
- Drain the cucumbers: As we did with the yoghurt, squeeze out any extra water using cheesecloth. Trust me, you don’t want a watery dip! This just needs to be squeezed. You don't need to let this sit overnight.
- Add the Cucumbers: Add the grated and drained cucumbers to the bowl with the Greek yogurt.
- Mince the garlic: Use a mincer or a fine grater to mince the garlic into the bowl. You can always start with half, give it a taste, and add more.
- Mix It Together: Add the salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil to the bowl. Mix it all together well until everything is well combined.
- Refrigerate: Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This helps the flavours blend together beautifully.
- Serve: Give it a good stir before serving, and if you're using it as a dip and want to be extra fancy, drizzle a bit of extra Greek olive oil over the top.
Tips for making the best Tzatziki Sauce
- Don’t Skip Draining the Yogurt: Trust me, this step is super important! Draining the yogurt overnight is what makes your tzatziki thick and creamy, just the way it should be!
- Squeeze Out That Cucumber Water: You definitely don’t want watery tzatziki. After grating the cucumbers, be sure to squeeze out as much water as possible. This will keep your dip perfectly thick.
- Refrigerate for Best Flavor: Letting the tzatziki rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes elevates the flavours.
Serving suggestions
Tzatziki is just one of those dips that goes with everything you eat! Enjoy it with some of my fluffy Greek bread (pita bread) as a mezze, with all meats and even fresh vegetables. It's a staple on any Greek mezze platter alongside other favourites like tirokafteri, fava (yellow split pea dip), Greek eggplant dip, and skordalia (potato and garlic dip), giving you the ultimate Mediterranean experience.
But the ultimate pairing is when you add this sauce to a traditional Greek gyro! This is the best gyro sauce recipe that you will ever try!
If you need some traditional charcoal gyro recipes to try I recommend these recipes.
My chicken or lamb gyros recipes on the charcoal rotisserie, or even my pork souvla recipe!
FAQs
You definitely can! You can make tzatziki up to two days ahead. To keep it fresh, store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
Tzatziki is best enjoyed fresh! Freezing can cause the yogurt to separate when thawed and will really change the texture.
I hope you enjoy this easy authentic Greek tzatziki recipe! If you are like me, you’ll want to pair it with everything once you've tried it, haha.
Once you've tried it, please let me know how it turned out by leaving me a rating and comment below.
📖 Recipe
Authentic Greek Tzatziki (Gyro Sauce Recipe)
Equipment
- 1 Cheesecloth Or fine kitchen towel
Ingredients
- 900 grams Greek yoghurt If its not thick make sure to strain
- 2 Cucumbers Medium sized
- 1 Whole garlic bulb start with half, if you do not want it to strong
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Ground pepper
- 1 Juice of lemon Can substitute with red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil
Optional
- 1 Handful of fresh dill Chopped
Instructions
- Drain the Greek yogurt overnight in a cheesecloth for a thicker tzatziki (optional if you prefer a thinner consistency). Then, add it to a bowl.
- Slice the cucumbers lengthwise, remove the seeded centre, and grate or finely chop. Squeeze out the excess liquid using a cheesecloth or fine kitchen towel.
- Add the grated cucumber to the bowl.
- Mince your garlic and add them to the bowl.
- Add the salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil.
- Stir everything together until well combined.
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavours meld.
- Stir before serving, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil if desired.
Video
Notes
- Garlic Tip: This is a strong-flavoured garlic dip. If you prefer a milder taste, start with a smaller amount of garlic and add more gradually until it reaches your desired taste.
- Storage: For the freshest flavour, store tzatziki in the fridge in an airtight glass container. It will keep well for up to four days. Stir before serving to refresh the texture.
- Herb Substitution: If you want to add fresh herbs but dill isn’t your preference, swap it with fresh mint for a different yet equally refreshing addition.
Evdokia says
Bravo levendi! Just like I make it! Can be done with vinegar too, but I much prefer the lemoni
George says
this was great
Nikolopaa says
Thanks George!
Kerry says
So good! So easy to make! When it's been a bumper cucumber season and you want to use up a coupla cukes, make this. With dill of course.
Nikolopaa says
Thank you Kerry!
Nikolopaa says
Thanks so much Kerry 🙏 Sweet potatoes are so good, sometimes I even prefer them! Haha love that 😉 Bloody beautiful mate!
Delia Martini says
Lovely tatziki, I learnt from my Pethera but we use mint. Your recipes are so authentic! Kali Oreksi
Nikolopaa says
Hey Delia! My family actually use mint too sometimes as well 🙂 But this version is how I love it best. Thanks so much 🙏 glad you enjoyed it!
C.J. says
Made this yesterday for the homemade gyro meat I made. The gyro lovers said the sauce is great! Cut recipe down, yogurt and cucumber only, as it’s a big recipe and still more than needed, but they love it. Will/can it be frozen??? Sadly Arby’s here in Tucson has the best gyros and they have tried all the Greek places.
Nikolopaa says
Thanks heaps C.J ❤️ glad it got the tick from the gyro lovers! I’ve never frozen it myself but you can if needed, just expect the texture to change a little after thawing as it might separate slightly.