Tzatziki is a light, delicious cucumber sauce recipe that is delicious on so many dishes. Tzatziki is made with cucumber, greek yogurt, and other spices and herbs and is perfect served with meat and vegetables.
One of my family’s favorite restaurants to visit in our town is a small, Greek restaurant located near the end of strip shopping area. To be honest, in the little strip is a laundry and an international foods shop, but tucked over on the end is this restaurant that by driving past it you wouldn’t know it was there. But once you discover it, oh my goodness, you can’t imagine that you’ve missed it previously.
The restaurant holds about five tables and the minute you walk inside you are greeted by the owner that within a few minutes you feel like you’ve known all of your life. You definitely feel like you want to know him for the rest of it. He pulls up a chair at the table with you and discusses everything on his menu and asks about what you like to eat, then tells you what he thinks you should eat from the menu first. He’s never steered me wrong.
Every time I leave his restaurant, I’m determined to come home and make tzatziki. So fresh and delicious, it works perfectly with grilled vegetables and meats and even as a dip. It is one of my go-to favorites.
While he won’t divulge his recipe for his tzatziki sauce, which I certainly don’t blame him, I have refined my recipe after tasting his.
Here’s my Tzatziki recipe. I think you’ll love it.
Tzatziki Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cucumber, peeled and finely shredded
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 lemons, zested and juiced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place cucumber into a strainer and add salt. Allow to sit at room temperature over a bowl for about 15-20 minutes to remove as much liquid from the cucumber as possible. Press the cucumber with the back of a spoon to press out any additional liquids.
- Add cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice and zest, cumin, parsley, and mint to the container of a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
- Pour into a bowl, wrap with plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve, but recommended for at least one hour.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Hi . Do you remove the seeds from the cucumber ?
Hi Liz,
I use seedless cucumbers for this recipe. If you don’t have those, you will need to remove the seeds. Hope you enjoy!
Sounds just like the Greek restaurant in my town in NH. Everything there is delicious! My son and I ate there yesterday. They had a wonderful yogurt sauce. I love their tzatziki. I look forward to trying your recipe. Thanks for sharing it!