Tzatziki With Mint
Updated June 11, 2024
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 1European cucumber or 3 Persian cucumbers, finely chopped or grated
- Salt
- 2 cups drained yogurt
- 2 to 3garlic cloves, cut in half, green shoots removed, and mashed to a paste in a mortar and pestle with ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2tablespoons chopped fresh mint (more to taste)
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
129 calories; 10 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 277 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Toss the cucumber with a generous amount of salt and leave in a colander in the sink to wilt for 15 to 30 minutes. Rinse and drain on paper towels.
- Step 2
Beat together the yogurt, garlic, mint, salt and pepper to taste, and olive oil. Stir in the cucumbers. Adjust seasonings and serve.
Tip
- To serve as a soup: Place a couple of ice cubes in each of 4 to 6 bowls. If you wish, thin out the cucumber-yogurt mixture more with a little water, and spoon into the bowls.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Genny
My riff on this: 1/2 of a large cucumber seeds removed and finely chopped, 1 cup Greek Fage yogurt (no need to drain), 1 Tbsp sour cream, 1 ounce fruity olive oil, a few spritz lemon juice, 3/4 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp ground pepper, 1/8 tsp cayenne, 1 generous tsp, 1 Tbsp chopped dill or mint, Mix well and then add 1-2 Tbspn crumbled feta. Great with homemade lamb meatballs.
Ohiofem
I used fresh from the garden cucumbers, Fage Greek yogurt and dill instead of mint. I adore this recipe (admittedly with my alterations).
Patty B.
Definitely make this ahead. It takes a few hours at least for the flavors to fully develop. It's best the second day.
Rich
Not having a tea towel to drain the yogurt, I just lined a colander with paper towels, placed the colander in a bowl, put the yogurt in the colander, and put the whole thing in the fridge overnight. Worked wonderfully.
Kim
When I married into a Greek family over 25 years ago and Greek yogurt wasn't the big thing it is now, this was and still is how I prepared tzatziki. The easiest way to do it is to line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth, grate a large cucumber onto that, and then pour a large container of low- or non-fat plain yogurt on top of the cucumber. Let it drain for several hours (preferably overnight). I incorporate more garlic, though, and use dill instead of mint.
Liz
You can use a coffee filter.
Melanie
As a Greek girl, I was raised on real Greek yogurt, not sour cream or Fage with thickeners. All you do is take a quart of full fat natural yogurt and put it into a colander lined with paper towels. They say cheesecloth, but paper towels work. Leave it overnight until the water comes out and Voila! Real Greek yogurt real easy. It's like sour cream!
Kostas
This is how Greek grandmothers and true Greek restaurants do it... (skip pepper and fresh mint) that's the tourist version they serve you. In authentic tzatziki mix garlic, thick pieces of cucumber or shredded. But if you shred the cucumber make sure you do it separately and drain the water/juice that comes out before mixing it in, add some garlic, olive oil and one or two tea spoons of red vinegar, add salt. Refrigerate for 3 or 4 hours before serving, so the yogurt gets thicker.
LINDA
Use greek yogurt, it doesn't need to be drained
Patricia Garcia
I don't understand why lemon juice is not an ingredient; it is what brightens the flavor of tzatziki!
Magpie
I just grate an English cuke, squeeze the liquid into a separate bowl, stir together some Greek yogurt and cavenders seasoning, black and maybe some chopped mint or parsley, then stir in the cucumber. If it seems too thick, add back some of the cucumber juice. (I put the rest with some lime juice and simple syrup over ice and top with sparkling water)
So good.
Lynn
I use basically the same recipe, sometimes use dill instead of mint, but I like to include a little tang and add 1/2 tsp of fresh squeezed lemon juice. If I have sumac in the pantry I'll use it sprinkled just on top. It makes a nice presentation and adds the acid note.
Patty B.
You can also use a funnel or strainer and a coffee filter.
Patrizia
You can also skip the paper towels and use a fine meshed strainer to drain yogurt. (Paper towels--soggy mess.) Put the strainer over a bowl,pop into fridge. Takes a couple hours to drain off excess liquid.
Cynvice
1 generous tsp of what?
BB
This recipe is excellent but it must sit for at least half an hour before eating to meld the flavors. I made a few changes. I used dill instead of mint, added one Tbs of EVOO, and used greek yogurt which did not need straining. I used 3 garlic cloves which made it very garlicky so I would recommend if anyone doesn't like super garlicky food to cut it to 2 cloves and maybe even one. Overall, I loved it.
Brenda
I used a regular cucumber. Grated, salted and allowed to sit for 20 minutes, then squeezed all the extra liquid out. Added preserved lemon which I blended quickly with olive oil and garlic. No salt obviously. Let it sit for an hour and try not to eat it all at one sitting!
Harvey
I love the directions about draining the yogurt! It made the Tzatziki thicker than I've ever made it. I did add fresh dill for a more traditional taste.
Mary Jo
Next time I will use greek yogurt instead of straining the yogurt myself. I ended up adding a teaspoon of lemon juice back to it for some tang and to thin it a tad.
Caleb
I added a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne. 3 large cloves of garlic and extra mint. It could’ve used fresh dill, but I added a splash of dill pickle juice in a pinch and it was perfect.
gillian
We make homemade yogurt every week at our house. We slowly scald milk (180 degrees) that is then cooled to 90 degrees to add the starter. Popped in the ever so slightly preheated oven (100 degrees) that is then turned off. We leave the light on and in 12 hours perfecto. When we want Greek-style yogurt or for Tzatziki we strain through square pieces of reusable/washable cheesecloth. We also add probiotics to our starter periodically to boost health benefits.
Allyson
I didn’t have any fresh herbs and forgot to strain my Greek yogurt, so it wasn’t as thick as I’d like but it was still delicious and a great compliment to a chicken shawarma riff I made. Also served with hummus and naan. So satisfying!
Laila
Technically this not Greek tzatziki which uses dill not mint. This is a very common cucumber yogurt salad popular in the Levant section of the Middle East. It’s supposed to be soft, so yogurt is not drained unless it’s watery (if store bought) and if so, drained for a short time, maybe 1/2 hour. Mint is the star but mostly use dry mint.
Matt C.
Used dill instead of mint, and a little bit of white wine vinegar at the end. Definitely wring out the cucumber, or it's incredibly watery.
Reba
Two large garlic cloves or 3 small
judys
Made this as written, except only quarter of recipe, using cucumber and mint from the garden, and added a little bit of lemon juice. Served with grilled Greek chicken kabobs (with lots of garlic, lemon juice and oregano), on a big platter with grilled lemon slices, cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber and red onion, Kalamata olives and feta. Pretty, and tasty on a hot night on the deck!
Anne
Garlicky - which is great for some people but if you aren’t a big fan then suggest starting with 1/4 clove and taste and add more if you’d like
Anne
I used Fage and not much liquid came from the straining so you can skip this step with Fage
Bert
I made the basic recipe, and it tasted a bit bland. So I added 2 tablespoons of lime juice and dried dill to taste. My wife said it was better than her tzatziki!
Molly
Working in tzatziki here…I think the secret to a proper consistency is cube and mix the green bits and spices then just stir into a Greek yogurt. When I tried blending, it’s all too runny. We like it a stiffer consistency, but if that happens you can make raita for Indian dishes
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