Tzatziki Sauce

in Appetizers, Condiments, Cucumber, Greek, Lighter & Healthier

Tzatziki Sauce

What is one thing you always, always have in the fridge? For us, it’s a leftover bowl full of tzatziki. (And a bottle of Tobasco.)

I love tzatziki sauce. It’s perfect for dipping everything from tortilla chips to carrot sticks. It’s also great smeared onto sandwich bread in place of mayo. Or dolloped onto tacos and quesadillas in place of sour cream. And the best part? Unlike other white spreadables & dollop-ables, this one’s good for you.

We load up tzatziki with fat-free greek yogurt, pre-salted cucumber to remove the extra liquid (not a necessary step, but one that makes the leftovers last longer), lime juice, and loads of cilantro. Because there’s no such thing as too much cilantro!

Fat-free Greek yogurt is my favorite substitute for sour cream or mayo. It’s thick, rich, and creamy and works well in everything from chicken salad to chocolate cake recipes – I use it nearly exclusively when a baked good calls for buttermilk, sour cream, or plain yogurt. All Greek yogurts aren’t created equal so look for one that has lots of protein per serving and little sugar.

Tzatziki Sauce

Tzatziki Sauce

A cool cucumber-yogurt dip, flavored with lime and cilantro.

Ingredients

  • 2 large cucumbers
  • 17 oz container of fat-free Greek yogurt
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • Large handful of cilantro, chopped
  • handful of parsley, chopped
  • juice of 1/2 - 1 lime
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions

  1. Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scrape the seedy center out.
  2. Cube the cucumbers into 1/4-inch dice. (You should end up with about 2 cups diced cucumbers.)
  3. Salt cucumbers with a rounded 1/4 tsp salt and stir or toss to coat.
  4. Transfer to a colander set over a plate or in the sink and let sit for up to an hour, stirring occasionally.
  5. Stir/shake excess liquid from the colander and lightly pat with a paper towel to dry and remove excess salt, and transfer the cucumbers to a bowl.
  6. Add in yogurt, garlic, parsley, cilantro, and lime.
  7. Stir, season to taste, and serve with your favorite dippers.
  8. Refrigerate leftovers in a covered bowl, pouring off any liquid that separates before serving.

Notes

Yields: ~3 cups

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Estimated time: 1 hour 10 minutes

10 comments… add one
  • I absolutely LOVE Tzatziki – so much so that I grew a pot of pickling cukes on my deck over the summer just for that …. well, for that and Watermelon/Cucumber Salad. Anyhow, I was programmed to make it with dill and love it so much, I never thought to change it, but cilantro would be great, especially since we use it so much already anyhow. Thanks! 🙂

  • My husband is OBSESSED with tzatziki! I’ve never made it with cilantro though, only parsley. I bet even I would like it with the cilantro!

  • Tzatziki is really one of those must-have condiments. Thanks for the tip about pre-salting the cukes! THAT is why my tzatziki always ends up so watery!

  • I love tzatziki soooo much!! I cannot try to make this 😀
    I need it on mostly everything, I find it especially good on burgers for some reason 🙂

  • Mmm this is my boy’s favorite dip! I’ve never made it, but really need to try. Yum.

  • thank you for sharing this. My favorite thing about eating a gyro is the tsatsiki sauce. And it’s great to now have a good recipe, cause I think it would be a wonderful on all kinds of (non-Middle Eastern) dishes too.

  • Rebecca

    Haven’t used cilantro before. I usually use mint or dill. Dill gives it a nice refreshing taste, but a little dill goes a long way!

    Thanks for a new twist with cilantro.

  • I love Tzatziki and I usually think of it with dill, but Cilantro is another favorite and this sounds amazing! Love that you used the FF Greek Yogurt.

  • Mmmmm…love this stuff!!! I always get extra when we go to our local greek place. So yummy!!!

  • biankat

    I make tzatziki all the time as well. For the cuke portion I peel and seed it, then use the largest holes on my grater to shred. I simply place the shred in a coffee filter and squeeze out the moisture. My preferred herb is dill, but can certainly see parsley and cilantro as good substitutions.

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