10-Minute Tzatziki Sauce with Creamy Greek Yogurt and Fresh Dill
By Isabella Quinn
Prep
10 min
Total
10 min
Servings
4
Level
Easy
Brining diced cucumbers reduces their moisture content to help keep tzatziki from being too watery. This 10-minute tzatziki recipe makes a refreshing dip with lemon juice, garlic, dill, and small pieces of cucumber.
Plain Greek yogurt is an ingredient in the sauce for richness. English cucumbers are crisp and have fewer seeds than other types of cucumbers. Lemon juice and zest are ingredients in the sauce that add sour flavor. Chopped garlic adds strong flavor to the sauce. Chopped dill adds the characteristic herb flavor of tzatziki sauce. Olive oil and kosher salt and pepper add other flavors to the sauce. Nonfat Greek yogurt can be substituted to create a lighter sauce. Full-fat Greek yogurt can be substituted to create a richer sauce.
The cucumber should be drained and salted for several minutes and then patted dry before mixing with other ingredients. The finished sauce should have chunks of cucumber and dill evenly distributed and a thick, creamy consistency. Incorrect preparation of the cucumber often leads to a thinner sauce.
Season with additional dill and black pepper and, if desired, olive oil. Serve cold with pita chips, naan bread, or other raw vegetables. Other uses include a topping or ingredient in salads, chicken dishes, Greek meatballs, sandwiches, and falafel. The recipe notes other possible ahead-of-time preparations.
Why we keep this one around
- Salting and draining the cucumber before adding the Greek yogurt stops it from making a watery dip, as the cucumber contains water.
- Fresh lemon juice and lemon zest improve the yogurt sauce with lemon flavor without changing its consistency enough to prevent spooning.
- Diced English cucumber adds a crisp texture and fewer seeds to the dish, which makes it more convenient than other cucumbers that contain more water.
- Combining ingredients in a bowl simplifies the no-cooking step of making the dish. Drain the cucumber and then add dressing.
- Greek yogurt comes in different fat percentages, using nonfat Greek yogurt will produce a lighter sauce, while using full-fat Greek yogurt will produce a richer and thicker sauce.
- When served cold, the sauce has a refreshing flavor that complements pita and naan breads, fresh vegetables, chicken, and Greek meatballs.
Ingredients
- •1 cup plain Greek yogurt (nonfat plain Greek yogurt used)
- •½ English cucumber (about 2/3 cup, seeds removed and diced into small pieces)
- •2 tsp olive oil
- •3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- •1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
- •1 tbsp minced garlic (about 1 clove)
- •¼ cup fresh chopped dill
- •½ tsp kosher salt
- •¼ tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- 1
Place the diced cucumber in a strainer over a bowl and sprinkle it with some salt.
- 2
Let the cucumber sit for a few minutes to extract excess moisture, then lightly pat it dry with a clean paper towel.
- 3
Add the Greek yogurt, cucumber, and remaining ingredients to a medium-sized bowl and mix until combined into a creamy sauce.
- 4
Top with more fresh dill, ground black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.
- 5
Serve cold with pita chips, naan, or fresh chopped vegetables.
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