Learn how to make a small batch of tzatziki sauce in minutes! Made with cucumber, yogurt, herbs, and garlic. This easy recipe is perfect for dips and spreads.
Tzatziki sauce is one of my favorite sauces to make because it's incredibly versatile and can be used as a sauce, dip, or spread. It comes together quickly and is filled with so much flavor. This creamy Greek yogurt sauce is a scaled-down version of the tzatziki I've been making for years. It's rich, creamy, and also low in fat and calories.
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What Is Tzatziki Sauce?
Tzatziki is a yogurt-based sauce made with Greek yogurt, cucumber, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, fresh herbs, and salt.
Tzatziki sauce originated in Greece, but it is popular throughout the Mediterranean. It is often served with the appetizer portion of a meal and is a delightful condiment to serve with roasted meats and vegetables.
What Does Tzatziki Taste Like?
Tzatziki sauce is a mild, refreshing sauce that has a fresh flavor due to the fresh dill and cucumber. This creamy sauce is mildly tangy and garlicky. You can play around with this sauce by tweaking the ingredients to your liking. Some recipes call for adding mint and parsley which give the sauce a stronger herb flavor.
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy to make: This authentic tzatziki sauce recipe is very easy to make and can be made ahead of time.
- Made with easy-to-find ingredients: There are no fancy ingredients in our small batch tzatziki sauce recipe. Many of the ingredients you may already have on hand.
- Recipe doubles well: This recipe yields about 1 cup of creamy tzatziki sauce. If you'd like to make more, just double the ingredient amounts.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
See below for ways to use leftover ingredients.
- English cucumber: I like to use an English cucumber when making tzatziki sauce because they are mostly seedless. Using a "regular" cucumber will result in a runny sauce because of all the large seeds. You can either peel the English cucumber or leave it unpeeled.
- Garlic: I use 2 garlic cloves because I love the strong garlic flavor. If you prefer, start with 1 clove of garlic and add more if needed.
- Lemon juice: If possible, use fresh lemon juice. You won't need much for this small batch recipe but you can really tell the difference when using fresh, even with the small amount of lemon juice used. Save the remainder of the lemon and either add it to a glass of water or use it in one of the recipes listed below.
- Olive oil: I use extra virgin olive oil in this small batch tzatziki sauce recipe and in every other recipe on One Dish Kitchen that calls for olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed form of olive oil. It is an unrefined oil and the highest-quality olive oil you can buy. Because of the way extra virgin olive oil is made, it retains a more true olive taste. It also contains more of the vitamins and minerals found in olives. It's my favorite type of olive oil, but you may use light olive oil instead.
- Plain Greek yogurt: Use plain full-fat Greek yogurt. Do not use regular plain yogurt because it will make the sauce too runny.
- Salt: I use ⅛ teaspoon of salt in this recipe but taste the sauce and add more if you feel it's necessary.
- Dill: Use fresh dill. If you can't find fresh dill, try making tzatziki sauce with fresh mint or basil. The flavor of the dip will be slightly different but will still be delicious with either herb.
What Is An English Cucumber?
English cucumbers are also known as seedless, greenhouse, hothouse, or European cucumbers. They're long and thin cucumbers sold covered in plastic. English cucumbers have thin skin which is why they are sold in plastic and are sweeter than regular cucumbers.
To choose an English cucumber, look for a cucumber that feels firm to the touch. Store it in the produce drawer in your refrigerator with the plastic wrap on. It will stay good for about 1 week when kept in the plastic wrap in the refrigerator.
You can see in the photo below a standard cucumber and an English cucumber.
How To Make Tzatziki Sauce
See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Use a food processor or a box grater to grate or finely chop the cucumber.
- Add salt and spoon the finely chopped cucumbers onto a thick, lint-free dishtowel or clean cheesecloth Pick up the sides of the cheesecloth or towel and make a tight bundle around the cucumber and squeeze out as much moisture as you can.
Pro Tip: This step is very important because cucumbers are full of water. When you mix cucumbers with acidic ingredients like yogurt and lemon juice, the cucumber will start to release moisture which will make the yogurt-cucumber sauce watery.
Another Tip: Save the cucumber juice and add it to lemonade, water, or to a cocktail.
- Let the grated cucumber rest for a few minutes to continue to release any moisture. Add the grated garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, Greek yogurt, and chopped dill to a medium-sized bowl and stir to combine.
Pro Tip: To grate garlic use a fine grater like a Microplane, a lemon zester, or the small side of a box grater.
- Stir in the grated cucumber.
- Enjoy tzatziki immediately or chill to use later.
Pro Tip: Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the top before eating.
Expert Tips
- Tzatziki is so easy to whip together. The most important thing to remember is to properly drain the cucumber before mixing it into the yogurt.
- If you want a thinner tzatziki sauce, add more yogurt. To thicken the tzatziki sauce, add less yogurt or a little more olive oil.
- Use fresh dill for the very best flavor. If you only have dried dill you may use it instead but only use about ¼ teaspoon of dried.
- If possible, let the sauce sit in the refrigerator for an hour before eating. This allows the flavors to come together beautifully.
- Taste the sauce before eating to adjust for seasonings.
- This sauce is garlic-heavy and because I love garlic, I prefer making my sauce with 2 cloves of garlic. You may find the garlic taste too strong, so you may want to start by using 1 clove of garlic and adding the second clove if you want a stronger taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, tzatziki sauce is a healthy sauce. It is a delicious sauce that is low in calories. It's made mostly with Greek yogurt and cucumbers and is a good source of protein and calcium.
This recipe will yield 1 cup of homemade tzatziki sauce.
If you find that your tzatziki sauce is watery, this is likely because you did not squeeze enough of the water out of the grated cucumbers. This is such an important step in making the best tzatziki sauce.
Although cucumbers are found in traditional tzatziki sauce recipes, you can actually make tzatziki without cucumber. Mix together Greek yogurt, minced garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, ¼ teaspoon of dried dill or 2 teaspoons of chopped dill, ¼ teaspoon of dried parsley or 2 teaspoons of chopped parsley, and add salt to taste.
Yes. If you'd like to make a larger batch of tzatziki just double the ingredients in the recipe.
Storage
Store tzatziki in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Use within 5 days.
How To Use Tzatziki Sauce
Once you've made a small batch of tzatziki sauce, there are endless ways to enjoy it. I love to use it as a dip with fresh vegetables and pita or crackers. You can add it to a smoked salmon platter or a charcuterie board. You can also use it instead of mayonnaise on sandwiches or wraps, serve it alongside a salad, drizzle it over a Greek Chicken bowl, or enjoy it with grilled or roasted vegetables.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this small batch tzatziki sauce recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Cucumber: Cucumber Salad, Cucumber Salsa, Greek Chicken Bowl, Smoked Salmon Platter, Salmon Rice Bowl
- Garlic: Chili Mac, Mushroom Casserole, Chicken Tortellini Soup, Coq au Vin, Tomato Soup
- Lemon juice: Alfredo Sauce, Lemon Scones, Healing Turmeric Tea, Lemon Bars, Lemon Garlic Chicken
- Greek yogurt: Fruit Quesadilla, Saag Paneer, Potato Salad, Chicken Salad, Chicken and Golden Rice
- Dill: Ranch Dressing, Tuna Salad, Breakfast Bagel, Cucumber Salad
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
If you’ve tried this easy tzatziki sauce recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
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Recipe
Small Batch Tzatziki Sauce
See the post above for expert tips,
FAQs and ways to use leftover ingredients.
Equipment
- food processor or box grater
Ingredients
- ½ English cucumber (6 ounces), peeled and sliced
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1-2 cloves garlic , finely grated or minced (start by using 1 garlic clove if you don't want you sauce to be too strong)
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons chopped dill
Instructions
- Use a food processor or a box grater to grate or finely chop the cucumber.
- Add salt and spoon the finely chopped cucumbers onto a thick, lint-free dishtowel or clean cheesecloth Pick up the sides of the cheesecloth or towel and make a tight bundle around the cucumber and squeeze out as much moisture as you can.Pro Tip: This step is very important because cucumbers are full of water. When you mix cucumbers with acidic ingredients like yogurt and lemon juice, the cucumber will start to release moisture which will make the yogurt-cucumber sauce watery.
- Let the grated cucumber rest for a few minutes to continue to release any moisture. Add the grated garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, Greek yogurt, and chopped dill to a medium-sized bowl and stir to combine.Pro Tip: To grate garlic use a fine grater like a Microplane, a lemon zester, or the small side of a box grater.
- Stir in the grated cucumber.
- Enjoy tzatziki immediately or chill to use later.
Notes
- Tzatziki is so easy to whip together. The most important thing to remember is to properly drain the cucumber before mixing it into the yogurt.
- If you want a thinner tzatziki sauce, add more yogurt. To thicken the tzatziki sauce, add less yogurt or a little more olive oil.
- Use fresh dill for the very best flavor. If you only have dried dill you may use it instead but only use about ¼ teaspoon of dried.
- If possible, let the sauce sit in the refrigerator for an hour before eating. This allows the flavors to come together beautifully.
- Taste the sauce before eating to adjust for seasonings.
- This sauce is garlic-heavy and because I love garlic, I prefer making my sauce with 2 cloves of garlic. You may find the garlic taste too strong, so you may want to start by using 1 clove of garlic and adding the second clove if you want a stronger taste.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
J. Hegyi says
Great recipe.