I LOVE tzatziki dressing, I have ever since I was young. It's so fresh and delicious and with the yogurt I feel like it's got more "stick with ya" than a salsa dip.
Growing up my Mom always strained her yogurt for making tzatziki, but these days you can buy Greek yogurt and skip the straining step. If you’re buying yogurt to strain, mom always said make sure it doesn't have gelatine or it won't strain well. I like homemade yogurt, making this really frugal to make!
I love to eat tzatziki with tortilla chips! Or we put it in a pita or naan with meat like gyros, souvlaki, etc. So yummy!
My other favourite dressing to make is a creamy Caesar, which is perfect for chicken Caesar salads. That recipe will teach you homemade mayo which is an awesome skill to have on hand. I also always have a jar of dry ranch seasoning in the pantry.
Why You Need This Recipe
- The perfect dip for company coming over!
- Uses all "pantry" ingredients - you just might need to buy a cucumber if the gardens not bumpin'.
- Creative way to use yogurt. Sometimes if you make yogurt you might be overrun in the fridge!
Key Ingredients
Cucumber - Fresh or freeze dried (more on that below!) and it needs to be drained of excess water so your dip stays thick.
Yogurt - You can make your own or purchase some, and it can be Greek or plain so whatever's on sale will do just fine.
Spices - Use all dried/jarred or add some fresh garlic and dill. All depends what you have to use up.
Lemon juice - This adds just the right amount of tang to the finished dip. And a little secret - I pretty much always use a bottle!
How to Make Cucumber Dip
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: Set your yogurt to strain in cheesecloth, and add salt to the shredded cucumber to rest.
Step 2: Make sure both yogurt and cucumber are done straining! This will give you the perfect finished texture.
Step 3: Add spices to the yogurt, then stir in the cucumber.
Step 4: Give it a taste! Keep in mind it will take a couple hours in the fridge to come to its final taste though. You can add more paprika on top when serving if you like.
Tips and Tricks
- Drain/strain - that's the best way to get the perfect dipping texture.
- If using Greek yogurt, you don't have to strain it.
- Nothing fancy is needed here - you can strain yogurt right in a lint-free towel if you don't have cheesecloth.
- Use an English or hot house cucumber, which is sometimes plastic-wrapped at the store. These are seedless varieties.
FAQs
You can start with 3 cups of regular yogurt and strain to your desired thickness. Make sure it doesn't contain gelatin as a thickener or it won't strain well. You can also use Greek yogurt, which you won't have to strain, and you'll only need 2 cups. Again, reach for plain, unsweetened varieties or make homemade.
This is a great tip - if you freeze dry your garden bounty like I do, then you probably have shredded cucumbers on hand. Simply add these to UN-strained yogurt and they will hydrate perfectly! Two steps in one. The exact amount I haven't measure...use some intuition here...
It might seem strange to add salt, but it's a great trick here. The salt pulls the water content to the surface of the cucumber. Let it rest then set in a strainer. You can also pat dry with a tea towel or paper towel to get all of that moisture out. Otherwise it will release the moisture as it sits in the dip, and it'll be sad and runny.
Photos by Dante from Shire by the Sea
More Dip Recipes
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Tzatziki Dip and Dressing
Ingredients
- 3 cups plain yogurt or 2 cups if you buy Greek yogurt
- 2 cups shredded cucumber 1 medium English cucumber
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt divided
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder or 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried dill or 1 tablespoon fresh chopped
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- Black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Strain yogurt in a cheesecloth/floursack tea towel lined colander for 30-60 minutes, until the yogurt is thickened up. At the same time, mix shredded cucumber with ½ teaspoon salt and let it sit while yogurt strains.
- When yogurt is done, dump/scoop it into a bowl, and put the shredded cucumber into the strainer to strain while you get the other things measured.
- To the yogurt add garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, dill, smoked paprika, a few cracks black pepper and lemon juice.
- Add in the cucumber, stir well and taste it! It often needs to sit a few hours before flavours meld well, especially if using fresh garlic.
Notes
- Use an English/hot house cucumber as these are seedless.
- You can use regular or Greek yogurt, homemade or from the store.
- Salting the cucumbers is necessary to drain out the excess moisture!
- If you use freeze-dried cucumber, there is no need to strain the yogurt OR salt the cucumber - just mix and it will be perfect!
- Keeps in fridge up to a week. It will get a little watery on top, but give it a good stir and eat up!
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