Lighter Greek Tzatziki Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How can I thin out my tzatziki sauce? ›

Salt has a way of thinning out sauces so it is important to add it in to start with the cucumber. Once you add the Greek yogurt and other ingredients, it makes a nice creamy sauce that is ready to go in just a few minutes. This particular tzatziki sauce is on the thinner side as far as sauce goes.

You can thicken it by placing a piece of cheesecloth over the top of a wide mouthed jar and holding it in place with some rubber bands. Fill the cheesecloth with your sauce, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The excess water will drain out and the sauce will be thicker.

Tzatziki is often served with a soupy, runny texture, but that's not the way I like it. I crave a tzatziki with teeth… something so thick and rich that you can eat it with a fork. The secret is strained yogurt.

If you're going for purely less calories, then tzatziki would be the best pick. But otherwise, they are just about equally healthy for you, and, even healthier when you make them for yourself rather than going for the store-bought brand.

In a medium bowl, stir together the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Stir in the water. If the sauce is too thick, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin it to your desired consistency.

If you just heat milk to 165°F / 74°C briefly and then cool, the yogurt will taste fresh, a little fruity, and will be thinner and more tart when it sets.

The watery sauce is due to the cucumbers, which hold lots of water. The best way to avoid a watery tzatziki sauce is to get the excess moisture out of the grated cucumber before it's added to the sauce mixture.

Step 3: Drain cucumbers

No matter what method you've chose above, you'll need to drain the cucumbers of excess water so the tzatziki isn't watery. The most effective way to do this is in a fine mesh sieve with a sprinkle of salt and not just squeezing with a paper towel. Add cucumbers to a sieve.

This fluid is whey, which you should not be concerned about—simply stir it back into the yogurt. However, if you see a change in the yogurt texture, such as an unusually large amount of liquid or liquid that's still visible after stirring, you should throw it out.

Greeks usually eat tzatziki with bread, it is also used for the famous souvlaki wrapped in a pita and ofcourse in gyros. Almost all Greeks love dipping bread and Greek fries in tzatziki that is served at every traditional restaurant.

What is real tzatziki made of? ›

Tzatziki is a creamy cucumber yogurt dip (or sauce) made from simple ingredients including strained yogurt (or Greek yogurt), cucumbers, garlic, and sometimes fresh herbs such as dill or mint. Traditionally, it is made from strained sheep or goat's milk yogurt, but a full-fat Greek yogurt works just fine in this dip.

Eating tzatziki can help add a variety of healthy nutrients to your daily diet, maintain a robust microbial system, and maintain blood glucose levels. If you suffer from high blood pressure, use tzatziki often as it contains less sodium and carbs than hummus.

Health-wise, tzatziki contains only 54 calories per a 45 gram serving; it also comes with only 8 grams of carbohydrates and a negligible amount of sodium. Which to Pick? If you make your determination based on health concerns, then hummus is clearly the less healthy dip, with high sodium being a particular concern.

Sometimes, when I don't have tzatziki on hand and don't have the ingredients to make it, I just use plain Greek yogurt as a substitute.

Until recently, I never drained the cucumbers, but taking the time to do so has a twofold benefit: It prevents the tzatziki from becoming too liquidy. If you like a tzatziki with a thick consistency, draining the cucumbers is important. If you don't mind a thinner tzatziki, skip this step.

You must Greek yogurt in tzatziki sauce. Greek yogurt is strained yogurt which makes it much thicker and higher in protein than regular yogurt. If you use traditional plain yogurt, your tzatziki sauce will be too runny.

Using chicken broth or beef broth is a simple way to thin a large amount of sauce while adding flavor.