We love this thick and creamy tzatziki yogurt sauce (or dip) with fresh cucumber, lemon, dill and feta cheese. It’s brightly flavored and is perfect to serve with veggies, pita chips, grilled meats and even on sandwiches. Jump to the Creamy Tzatziki Sauce Recipe with Feta or read on to see our tips for making it.
How to Make the Best Tzatziki Sauce
Tzatziki is very simple to make. To make the best, remember this: too much moisture is tzatziki’s enemy. It makes things watery and stops all the flavors like lemon, garlic and dill from mingling.
We love tzatziki sauce so much that we made a cucumber salad inspired by it and we have another, somewhat simplified tzatziki sauce recipe on the blog here.
We reduce the amount of moisture two ways: with the yogurt and by salting the cucumbers.
There are two options for the yogurt. The easiest is to use Greek yogurt. We like using the Fage brand (it seems to be a bit thicker than others). If you’re lucky and live near gourmet or specialty markets, you may also find Greek yogurt there.
The second option is to strain plain yogurt (not Greek yogurt). This removes extra moisture. To do this, place the yogurt in a fine mesh strainer that has been lined with cheesecloth or paper towels and rest it over a bowl. Place into the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours so the yogurt can drain. Then, discard the liquid.
We use a whole cucumber for this and prefer to use English or hothouse cucumbers. (They’re the ones sold in plastic wrap and have a thinner skin). Baby cucumbers work well, too.
It’s important to remove the seeds from the cucumber – that just removes unnecessary moisture. Then, grate it. Scatter the grated cucumber over a clean dishcloth and season with salt. The salt does two things. First, it seasons and makes the cucumber taste more like cucumber. Second, it helps draw moisture out. Finally, wrap the dishcloth up and squeeze all the liquid out – you’ll be shocked at how much actually comes out.
If you’re in a pinch, you can serve this straight away, but, if you have the time let it sit covered in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours. The flavors will become much more developed.
Spoon this homemade Tzatziki onto our Easy Baked Salmon with Lemon and Dill, this Seriously Good Turkey Burger and our Lemon Chicken Breast Recipe with Cucumber Feta Salad (so good).
For more cucumber recipes, check out our Tangy Cucumber Salad, our Easy Chickpea Salad, and this Detox Green Juice Recipe (it’s naturally sweetened).
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, review it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #inspiredtaste on Instagram. Happy cooking!
Recipe updated, originally posted January 2013. Since posting this in 2013, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne
Tzatziki Sauce with Feta
- PREP
- TOTAL
We love this thick and creamy yogurt sauce with fresh cucumber, lemon, dill and feta cheese. It’s brightly flavored and is perfect to serve with veggies, pita chips, grilled meats and even on sandwiches. There are two options for the yogurt. The easiest is to use Greek yogurt. However, you can also use strain plain yogurt. This removes extra moisture. To do this, place the yogurt in a fine mesh strainer that has been lined with cheesecloth or paper towels and rest it over a bowl. Place into the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours so the yogurt can drain. Then, discard the liquid.
You Will Need
1 hothouse cucumber also called English cucumbers
2 (7-ounce) containers Greek yogurt, we use Fage
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, finely minced (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or substitute white wine vinegar
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
Directions
1Cut cucumber in half, lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds then discard them. Grate the cucumber. Scatter grated cucumber over a clean dishcloth (or paper towels). Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Let sit at least 10 minutes. Then gather up the corners of the dishcloth and squeeze as much liquid from grated cucumber as possible. Discard the liquid.
2In a medium bowl, combine squeezed cucumber with yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, dill, apple cider vinegar, and the feta cheese. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt then taste and adjust as necessary with more salt.
3Serve now or if you can spare the time, cover dip with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours to develop flavor.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA Supertracker recipe calculator to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Loved this tzatziki! It puts all others I have tried to shame. I ran it through the food processor to smooth it out a bit. I sense a new addiction ?
Thanks for the great tzatziki recipe. Really loved the twist with the feta cheese and the dill. Very delicious!
I usually make mine with fresh mint instead of dill and also add a bit of red pepper (fresh or dried) and about 1/4 cup of very finely chopped onions.
Readers should keep in mind that even though the water is squeezed from the cucumber, yogurt tends to get thinner/more liquid by stirring. To have a thick, creamy tzatziki, keep the stirring to a minimum and add all ingredients at once, using a spatula to gently fold them into the yogurt.
When did u mix the fetta ?
We add the feta cheese when we add the dill. Check above in the recipe for full directions.
Found this recipe because I love Tzatziki and I eat the whole darn tub in one sitting every time I buy it, so I decided to try my hand. Adding feta is inspired! Slathered it on toasted garlic Naan bread, one of my favorite alternatives to pita. YUM! Love your blog too. It’s a perfect mix of diverse, exciting tastes and ease (because, seriously, who has time?) — and so pretty. Just wanted to give a thumbs up!
Aww, thanks Heather! We’re so glad you loved the tzatziki 🙂
Good recipe. Small change: ***allow to sit in fridge 2-3 days before serving*** —makes the biggest difference. Serving it even 4 hours after preparation is not sufficient time.
Hello I love to cook and prepared food for the family and make my own yoghurt and using this recipe, is wonderful and I am going to whip this dip tomorrow and impress everyone.
Reitberger
WOW just what I was searching for. Came here by searching for
tzatziki
Perfect!
I tried making tzatzikonce but it didn’t turn out good.. Looking at your recipe I guess it’s time for a second attempt 🙂
It just might be 🙂
My favorite dip ever! Agree on squeezing the heck out of cucumbers for it. They do have a lot of moisture!