Tzatziki Recipe - One of Our Family Favorites (2024)

Tzatziki Recipe

This is one of our family favorites! My son can sit down with a bag of pita bread and a container of dip and it will be gone in a matter of minutes.

I learned to love Tzatziki during our years in the Middle East. In Turkey, it is called Cacik (pronounced Jaw-Jeek) and as in Greece, you will find it served everywhere. It is great as a dip with pita bread or as a sauce in a Giro wrap or as a side with most meats or as a dip for vegetables or… you get the idea, it is incredibly versatile.

My family loves it and asks for it regularly. This recipe makes a lot. Why? When my son gets home from school and sees it in the fridge, well, he eats a lot. If I want any for the rest of the family, I have to make bigbatches. Whenever we have a party, Tzatziki is the appetizer that goes first. It is simple, cool and refreshing.

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Even though this is a very easy dish to make, the technique in the preparation can make a big difference. I like my Cacik to be firm and not runny.

Two things make a big difference in the consistency, the type of yogurt and how you prepare the cucumbers. You can use any plain yogurt but good Greek yogurt will give you a consistently delicious dish. If you use a generic yogurt, you need to drain it through cheesecloth for at least a couple of hours. I usually use ZOI Greek Yogurt but there are others that work just as well.

Which brings me to the cucumbers. You can use English cucumbers or just the regular ones, both work. The difference is the amount of water in them but you still need to drain either type. English cucumbers are called seedless which isn’t true but they have fewer seeds.

With either one, I core the cucumbers with an apple corer/slicer.

Throw away the center and it leaves you with matchsticks which are easy to chop. How much water does acucumberhave? The first indicator is when you peel it and the juice of the cucumber splashes on your hand just from peeling. I always chop the cucumber first, salt them and set them aside. They will drain some and then be ready for some serious pressing. In the strainer, I take my fist and press out all the remaining liquid. You can do that with a fist, paper towel or use a cheesecloth and wring it out. It doesn’t take much effort but it makes a huge difference with the end result. I got a quarter of a cup of liquid from two regular size cucumbers after throwing out the core.

Mint or Dill? Really – your preference. In the Greece and Turkey, we usually found Tzatziki prepared with dill. I make it both ways but my family prefers the mint version so…

Variations? Change it up – always! You might prefer more or less garlic. You might like the cucumbers chopped finely orcoarsely. Some might not like the lemon, others might like more. That’s the fun with cooking, you can make it your own. My recipes usually end up the way my family likes them but you should always customize them to your tastes.

Enjoy!

Also, Costco NOW carries our favorite pita bread {blue package – I think it’s called Papa Pita?? or you can find it at Winco}. I don’t see too many sales or coupons for pita bread so Costco might be your cheapest place if you are a member there.

Tzatziki Recipe