Tzatziki sauce recipe, some variations

Tzatziki is a Greek dressing that goes well with gyros, souvlaki, or Greek salad. It’s also a great dipping sauce or an appetizer. While vegetarians wouldn’t normally eat gyros or souvlaki, tzatziki can be served to vegetarians who consume dairy, making it a refreshing sauce that both vegetarians and carnivores can enjoy.

There are several variations of the tzatziki recipe. You can use sour milk, yogurt, strained yogurt, or sour cream; it all depends on your taste. You can use dried, crushed mint, or dried, crushed dill, or fresh dill, cut into small pieces. Tzatziki can be made with or without parsley, with or without lemon juice, olive oil is often used but not required, and it will still make a tasty tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki Sauce – Ingredients for 8 Servings

– 8 ounces plain yogurt, strained yogurt, sour milk, or sour cream

– 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced

– ½ to 1 lemon, in juice

– 1-2 tablespoons of virgin olive oil

– 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, or crushed dried dill, or crushed dried mint

– 3 garlic cloves, peeled (alternative is to use 1 garlic clove, or skip the garlic altogether)

– salt and pepper, as much or as little as you like

How to make tzatziki sauce

Combine yogurt (or strained yogurt, sour milk, or sour cream), lemon juice, and olive oil. Process until well combined. Put it on a separate plate in the refrigerator for at least an hour; tzatziki is always served cold. After the time, add cucumber, garlic (3 cloves), dill or mint, salt and pepper, mix well and your tzatziki sauce is ready to serve.

The alternative is to use just one clove of garlic. Brush the plate with the garlic clove and add the combined yogurt (strained yogurt, sour milk, or sour cream), lemon juice, and olive oil, then place the covered plate in the refrigerator. That way, the tzatziki will only have the mild flavor of garlic. Or, if you dread nasty garlic breath, skip the garlic altogether.

Nutritional information

The nutritional information for tzatziki sauce will obviously vary depending on the ingredients you use, but the average amount per serving is 75 calories, 4.4 g total fat, and 3 mg cholesterol. Tzatziki may contain allergens (eg for lactose intolerance), and garlic may not be a good idea if you suffer from low blood pressure.