Greek

Tzatziki

Name: Tzatziki
Yield: Makes a little more than 1 cup (easy to double)
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 1 medium size cucumber, washed, unpeeled and seeded; 3/4 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 1/4 cup sour cream - whole or reduced; 1-1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice; 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil; 3-4 cloves finely minced garlic; Fresh ground pepper to taste

by: lapadia

January 18, 2011

0 Ratings

Makes a little more than 1 cup (easy to double)

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Author Notes

Tzatziki, for me, goes back 30 plus years ago; I first tasted it at a co-worker’s family gathering and it became a recipe I had to have, but through the years I tweaked it to my liking. Back then, I would either take time to make the yogurt or drain store bought overnight, however, these days I use Greek yogurt, and the thick consistency works great with this recipe as well as cutting time. Other tweak notes: I don’t squeeze out the cucumber juice after grating (as is often done) and I have never found the dip to be watery. As well, I like using red wine vinegar and leaving out the dill, non-traditional and all to my liking…lapadia style! This makes an excellent dip; serve with plenty of pita triangles, chips and/or fresh cut vegetables…always a crowd pleaser. —lapadia

What You'll Need

Ingredients

1 medium size cucumber, washed, unpeeled and seeded
3/4 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup sour cream - whole or reduced
1-1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3-4 cloves finely minced garlic
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

Seed the cucumber. Discard the seeds.
Grate the cucumber, retaining as much of the juice as you can.
Add the cucumber and whatever remaining juice (after grating) to the yogurt.
Whisk in the rest of the ingredients.
Chill for a couple hours to overnight.

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13 Reviews

Nancy July 19, 2016

Your recipe came to the rescue when I had everything on hand and wanted some Tzatziki. Made it a couple times and love your variations - more moisture from cucumber liquid, no dill. But I'm confused (or in the dark) about how much cucumber you want. Medium size, that you call for, is so elastic a word. Would you please tell us how much cucumber you use, by volume or by weight? Thanks in advance, your recipe user.

lapadia July 20, 2016

Hi Nancy! Happy you found and like my tweaked recipe version. I’d say the cucumber is anywhere between 8 to 10 inches long, about 2 inches wide in the middle. But honestly I just eyeball the cucumber measurement. Hmmm, I’ll have to make this recipe very soon and check my measurement  talk later.

lapadia July 20, 2016

Hi Nancy, I’m back! After reading your comment we were in the mood for Tzatziki so I made the recipe, today, and paid attention to a “medium sized cucumber” measurements = after cutting off the ends my cucumber was 7 inches, and then, B4 peeling and seeding it weighed 9 ounces. I grate the peeled and seeded cucumber using the largest holes of a box grater and it measured out to 1 cup; yielded the perfect amount grated cuke, combined with the amount of yogurt & sour cream. Anyway, enjoy and have fun tweaking to your liking, after all that is what recipes are for = tweaking :) !!

Crispy December 11, 2012

I made this last night and served it with MySocialChef's Lamb Meatballs and it was very good and easy to make. I like dill and would have added it but I was out!

lapadia December 11, 2012

Hi Crispy! Thanks for the feedback and trying my recipe! Yes, dill is excellent to add, I am not a big dill person so I don't...but, recipes are made for tweaking :)

AKesling May 13, 2012

I made this tonight for my family. It was delicious. I'm so glad to have this recipe. I will definitely make it again!

lapadia May 14, 2012

Thanks! I'm happy to hear back from you, AK, glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe :)

TheWimpyVegetarian January 18, 2011

Definitely making this one! Thanks lapadia!

lapadia January 18, 2011

Welcome...enjoy!

Rita B. January 18, 2011

I love tzatziki though I hardly make it: hubs doesn't like cucumbers... :(

wingirl January 18, 2011

I often make tztatziki without cucumbers (my kids prefer without), and I add fresh mint, still delicious, try it!

Sagegreen January 18, 2011

I like using the cucumber juice as well. It adds such flavor!