Tzatziki Sauce
When my husband lived outside of Washington, D.C., we’d often get gyros and a platter of hummus and pita from a local restaurant and they were SO GOOD.
Even though I can get them readily from a gyro shop nearby, I have long wanted to try my hand at making gyros at home. I finally made it happen, and as everyone knows, the first step to great gyros is great tzatziki sauce.
This sauce is incredibly easy to make, and the key is ensuring the cucumber is salted and drained before being thoroughly dried and chopped fine. This ensures that the cucumber has extracted its water before being mixed into the sauce. If you skip this step, the sauce will become watery.
Once the cucumber is taken care of, the rest of the sauce is mixed together with classic ingredients of Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and dill. (This is a fabulous recipe for that homemade Greek yogurt we whipped up a few weeks ago!)
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This tastes best when it’s been refrigerated for at least an hour or two so that the flavors have a chance to meld together, but I dug in immediately; no harm, no foul :)
Be sure to serve it up with these amazing homemade gyros!
More Homemade Sauces:
- Classic Burger Sauce
- Copycat Bloomin’ Onion Dipping Sauce
- Homemade Russian Dressing
- Classic Pesto
- Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeds removed and cut into large chunks
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) kosher salt, for draining cucumber
- 1½ cups (300 ml) plain Greek yogurt
- 1 small clove garlic, grated
- 4½ teaspoons (4.5 teaspoons) lemon juice
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- Place the cucumber in a colander in the sink and sprinkle with the kosher salt. Let sit and drain for 30 minutes. Dry thoroughly with paper towels, then chop very finely.
- Combine the finely chopped cucumber with the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice and dill. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. The sauce can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Every time I make tsatziki sauce, when I add the lemon juice, the yogurt turns to milk and the tsatziki sauce is too yummy.
Kraken TV
Was spot on!
Was wondering if you can add to a food processor to combine
Every time I make tsatziki sauce, when I add the lemon juice, the yogurt turns to milk and the tsatziki sauce is too runny. No more lemon juice for me. Yogurt, cucumber and dill works fine for me.
So easy to make and delicious! I’ve been making this recipe for years and it’s a family favorite.
Greetings!
Is this the same as Moby Dick’s Cucumber Sauce? << That is what I was searching for…
Thank you much!
I’m not sure how much it tastes like it, but it might be close!
Way WAY too mich lemon juice. Before adding the lemon it was AMAZING. Maybe one tsp instead? Or add 1/2 a tsp at a time and taste test. It has a great aftertaste still but with 4 1/2 tsp it tastes like lemon sauce.
Yes, I finally found it, thank you for this! I actually really enjoyed making it. By any chance do you know how to make their Green Sauce as well?
I want to try this recipe but I don’t have bacon. Can I use bacon fat? How much? Tablespoon? Thanks!
Hi Martha, There is no bacon in tzatziki sauce?
I am SO planning on making this.
In Step 1, after the cucumbers have been drained, do you rinsed them of the salt before drying them?
Thanks,Louise
Hi Louise, I do not rinse them.
Instead of rinsing cukes w/ water, just wipe them a little bit with dry paper towels, or a dry (hand)towel. Just a thought.
Can I mix sour cream with the plain Greek yogurt (& other ingredients)-to make Gyro sauce?
Hi Elizabeth, I used this as-is as a gyro sauce, but I’m sure you could stir in sour cream if you’d like!