Tzatziki
Thick strained yogurt, grated cucumber squeezed dry, garlic, dill and good olive oil. Made properly it is dense enough to stand a spoon in rather than the watery stuff sold in tubs.
Photograph credit: Préparation d'un tzatzíki maison en mars 2020 (003) by Benoît Prieur · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Storing and Planning Ahead
Refrigerate 4 days. It may release a little liquid — pour it off and stir. Do not freeze.
Making Tzatziki
Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.
-
If your yogurt is not very thick, strain it in a muslin-lined sieve over a bowl in the fridge for 2 hours.
-
Halve the cucumber lengthways and scrape out the watery seeds with a teaspoon, then grate it coarsely.
-
Toss the grated cucumber with the salt and leave in a sieve for 20 minutes.
-
Squeeze the cucumber hard in a clean tea towel until barely any liquid comes out. This step is the whole recipe.
-
Mix the squeezed cucumber into the yogurt with the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, herbs and pepper.
-
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour so the garlic mellows and the flavours settle.
-
Serve in a shallow bowl with a well of olive oil poured into the centre and a little extra dill.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.
A Few Pointers
- Grate the garlic on a microplane rather than chopping it, so it disperses instead of appearing in harsh bites.
- Made a day ahead, the garlic softens considerably. Made an hour ahead, it bites.
- A pinch of sugar balances an unusually sharp yogurt.
Why the Method Is What It Is
Cucumber is 96% water and will release all of it into the yogurt within an hour unless it is salted and squeezed first. Straining the yogurt as well concentrates its proteins, giving a dip thick enough to hold its shape overnight.
What to Put Next to It
Ouzo with ice and water · Serve with warm pita, souvlaki or grilled vegetables · Excellent alongside spanakopita
Common Substitutions & Variations
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
Quick Answers
How long does Tzatziki take to make?
15 minutes of preparation and of cooking, plus 1 hour 20 minutes of chilling, so allow 1 hour 35 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 6.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
You Might Also Like
More Greek cooking and appetizers ideas from Weekly Delight.
Cucumber Raita
Thick yoghurt stirred with grated cucumber, ground cumin, mint and a little garlic. The cooling side dish for…
Torshi
The pink pickled turnips that come free with every plate of ta'ameya in Egypt. Beetroot does the colouring; the…
Chimichurri
Finely chopped parsley, garlic, oregano, red wine vinegar and olive oil, left to stand until the garlic softens. The…
Harissa
Dried chillies rehydrated and pounded with garlic, caraway and coriander seed into a coarse red paste. Nothing like…
Toum
Garlic and oil beaten to a stiff white emulsion with nothing else in it but lemon and salt. No egg, no dairy — the…
.jpg){kind=link}
Dukkah
Toasted nuts, seeds and spices pounded to a dry rubble, eaten by dipping bread in oil and then in the dukkah. Every…