Tzatziki Sauce Recipe, A Few Variations

Tzatziki is a Greek dressing which goes well with gyros, souvlaki or Greek salad. It is also a great dipping sauce, or an appetizer. While vegetarians wouldn’t normally eat gyros or souvlaki, tzatziki can be served to vegetarians who consume dairy, making it a refreshing sauce both vegetarians and meat-eaters can enjoy.

There are several variations of the tzatziki recipe. You can use sour milk, or yogurt, or strained yogurt, or sour cream – it all depends on your taste. You can use dried and crushed mint, or dried and crushed dill, or fresh dill, cut into tiny pieces. Tzatziki can be made with or without parsley, with or without lemon juice, olive oil is often used but it’s not mandatory – and it will still be a tasty tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki Sauce – Ingredients for 8 Servings

– 8 ounce of plain yogurt, or strained yogurt, or sour milk, or sour cream

– 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced

– ½ to 1 lemon, juiced

– 1-2 tablespoon of virgin olive oil

– 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh dill, or dried and crushed dill, or dried and crushed mint

– 3 cloves of garlic, peeled (alternative is to use 1 clove of garlic, or to skip garlic completely)

– salt and pepper, as much or as little as you wish

How to Make Tzatziki Sauce

Combine yogurt (or strained yogurt, sour milk or sour cream), lemon juice, and olive oil. Process until it’s well combined. Put it in a separate dish in the refrigerator for at least one hour – tzatziki is always served cold. After the time expires, add cucumber, garlic (3 cloves), dill or mint, and salt and pepper, combine them well, and your tzatziki sauce is ready to serve.

The alternative is to use one clove of garlic only. Smear the dish with the garlic clove and put the combined yogurt (strained yogurt, sour milk or sour cream), lemon juice and olive oil in it, and then put the covered dish in the refrigerator. That way tzatziki will only have the mild flavor of garlic. Or, if you fear the unpleasant garlic breath, skip the garlic completely.

Nutritional Information

Nutritional information for tzatziki sauce will obviously vary depending on the ingredients you use, but the average amount per serving is 75 calories, total fat 4.4g and cholesterol 3mg. Tzatziki may contain allergens (for example, for lactose intolerant), and the garlic might not be a good idea if you suffer from the low blood pressure.