An easy recipe for healthy tzatziki sauce, made with Greek yogurt. In the summer, I add enough water to turn it into deliciously refreshing chilled soup.
I’ve been making this healthy tzatziki recipe for several years now. While tzatziki is often served as a sauce that accompanies meats (such as these lamb meatballs), it can also serve as a chilled soup. That’s how I like it most – wonderfully tasty and refreshing chilled soup for summertime.
To achieve a soup-like consistency, simply add a little water. Just as much as it takes to turn tzatziki from a thick sauce into a delightful, super-refreshing chilled soup.
Use good olive oil in this tzatziki recipe
Much like another wonderfully flavorful chilled soup that I love – gazpacho – tzatziki is thick and substantial. The quality of the olive oil you use makes a big difference, so make sure you use good extra virgin olive oil.
Full fat yogurt is best (and it’s healthy)
It’s also important that you use full-fat Greek yogurt in this easy tzatziki recipe. It’s true that low fat and nonfat Greek yogurt can taste good. But it does not taste as good as full fat.
And in this recipe, where the yogurt is the star of the show, the quality of the yogurt is very important. My favorite brand of Greek yogurt is Straus. It’s thick, rich and tasty, almost like sour cream.
However, it’s fairly high in carbs compared with other Greek yogurt brands. So I often use Fage, which is also excellent.
Yogurt is known to be very nutritious, and research shows that low-fat dairy is not healthier than full-fat dairy.
Chill the tzatziki before serving
Another tip for making this easy tzatziki recipe a success: take the time to chill the soup, allowing the flavors to meld. It won’t taste bad if you eat it right away. It will still be tasty. But it will taste even better after an hour or two in the fridge. And if you have leftovers, they keep well in the fridge for about 2 days.
Tzatziki Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups plain, full-fat Greek yogurt (I used Fage Greek Yogurt)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 large cucumber, peeled, coarsely grated
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
- 1/4 cup water (or as needed)
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, kosher salt and white pepper.
- Mix in the garlic, cucumber and dill.
- Add as much water as needed to slightly thin out the tzatziki, starting with 1/4 cup. Don’t add too much water – you want this thick and hearty.
- Cover and chill for one hour to allow flavors to develop. Mix the tzatziki one more time before serving.
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