Authentic Greek Tzatziki

Love the tzatziki you had in Greece on holiday or at your favourite Greek restaurant? Now you can make it at home! This Authentic Greek Tzatziki recipe comes directly from a Greek cook and tastes so much better than store-bought tzatziki. (Serves 4-8 depending on appetites and accompaniments.)

Course Dip, Sauce, Side

Cuisine Greek

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Servings people

Calories 58kcal

Author Eb Gargano

Ingredients

½ cucumber (roughly 150g/5oz – See Note 1)
2 garlic cloves crushed or grated
300 g full fat Greek yogurt
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (ideally Greek!)
2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped finely, plus extra for garnish (optional – see Note 2)
1 kalamata olive for garnish (optional – see Note 3)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Start by grating the cucumber on the coarse side of your grater onto a board.
Then, take a handful of the grated cucumber and squeeze the grated cucumber over a bowl to get rid of as much of the moisture as you can.
Put the squeezed cucumber into a new bowl and repeat, until all the cucumber has been squeezed out and put into the new bowl.
Add the garlic, yogurt, salt, vinegar, olive oil and dill.
Stir everything together and then cover the tzatziki (with clingfilm, foil or a plate) and put it into the fridge until you are ready to serve. (See Notes 4&5.)
When you are ready to serve, give the tzatziki a stir and garnish with more fresh dill, a drizzle of olive oil and a single kalamata olive in the centre.

Notes

Some recipes call for the removal of both the cucumber skin and the seeds. Personally I see no need for that – it feels like extra, unnecessary effort and it also seems a little wasteful. However, if you prefer, you can of course remove the skin/seeds. In which case, you will need 150g / 5oz cucumber AFTER you’ve removed the skin and seeds.
Some authentic Greek tzatziki recipes include fresh dill, while others don’t. It’s up to you if you include dill or not. You can also use fresh mint, if you prefer – while not so common, it does taste very good!
Tzatziki is often served in Greece and Greek restaurants with a single kalamata olive in the centre – it doesn’t affect the flavour or do anything magical, so you can absolutely leave it out if you want, but it’s a fun addition if you want that authentic Greek vibe!
The tzatziki is ready to serve as soon as you have made it but, if you have got the time, it’s even nicer after a little while in the fridge to allow the flavours to mix and mingle.
When I am cooking a Greek meal, I tend to make the tzatziki first and pop it into the fridge while I cook the rest of my dish. Not only does this mean the tzatziki tastes nicer, but it also means I don’t have to juggle making a dip with cooking the rest of my meal.
Not suitable for freezing.
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition