Tzatziki Recipe

An easy recipe for healthy tzatziki sauce made with Greek yogurt. In the summer, I add enough water to turn it into a deliciously refreshing chilled soup.

I’ve been making this healthy tzatziki recipe for several years now. While it’s 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 it from a thick sauce into a delightful, super-refreshing chilled soup.

The ingredients you’ll need

You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make this tasty recipe. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need:

1. Plain full-fat Greek yogurt
2. Extra virgin olive oil (a healthy ingredient)
3. Fresh lemon juice
4. Salt and pepper
5. Minced garlic
6. Grated cucumber
7. Chopped fresh dill
8. Water (if you’d like to make a chilled soup rather than sauce)

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.

White pepper or black

I use white pepper to avoid the appearance of black dots in the pretty white chilled soup. But if you don’t have white pepper, it’s OK to use a small amount of black pepper.

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.

Plain unsweetened yogurt is very healthy, and research shows that full-fat dairy is not just harmless but could even be beneficial.

How to make tzatziki

It’s so easy! Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:

1. Start by whisking together the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
2. Next, stir in the garlic, cucumber, and dill.
3. Now ad as much water as needed to reach a thick soup consistency – start with 1/4 cup.
4. Chill before serving.

How to serve it

If you serve it as a sauce, it’s excellent with fresh-cut veggies or as a topping to lamb burgers or lamb meatballs.

As a chilled soup, it’s great all on its own, or serve it with some almond flour crackers on the side.

Chill the tzatziki before serving

Another tip for making this 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.

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4.96 from 21 votes

Tzatziki Recipe

An easy recipe for healthy tzatziki sauce made with Greek yogurt. In the summer, I add enough water to turn it into a deliciously refreshing chilled soup.

Prep Time10 mins

Rest time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 10 mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: greek yogurt

Servings: 3 servings

Calories: 194kcal

Author: Vered DeLeeuw

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 (black is OK but will be visible on the white sauce)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, coarsely grated
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 cup water (if making a chilled soup rather than a sauce)

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.
• If you'd like to make a chilled soup, 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.

NUTRITION INFO Nutrition info is approximate. It is calculated using the SparkPeople.com recipe calculator, and the carb count excludes sugar alcohols. Please read the disclaimers in our Terms of Use carefully before using any of our recipes. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Please verify they are before using.

Nutrition Facts

Tzatziki Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 cup)

Calories 194 Calories from Fat 108

% Daily Value*

Fat 12g18%

Saturated Fat 6g38%

Sodium 429mg19%

Carbohydrates 7g2%

Sugar 6g7%

Protein 14g28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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