Vegan Tzatziki Sauce
Vegan tzatziki sauce is delicious on gyros, and similar wrap type foods. It also is great with curries and other spicy dishes to help with heat. Unlike a lot of other creamy sauces, this vegan tzatziki sauce recipe is very low calorie with only less than 50 calories for two tablespoons. I definitely love to absolutely drench my gyros in tzatziki sauce, because it is honestly that good. Try with Tofu Curry, Tofu Tikka Masala, or Spicy Potato Curry, along with rice or quinoa, for a filling healthy meal.
Vegan Tzatziki Sauce
Tzatziki is a common side dish in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine that accompanies meat dishes such as kabobs and gyros, because the cool sauce is a good accompaniment for spiced dishes. It is usually made with Greek yogurt, cucumbers, dill, garlic, and possibly other herbs, such as parsley or mint.
Greek yogurt is strained more than regular yogurt, making it very thick. There aren’t commercial vegan Greek yogurts, at least not in my area, so I used a regular coconut milk unsweetened yogurt. Keeping in mind that this makes the sauce runnier than usual, I also added Vegan Sour Cream, since it has a thicker consistency.
How to Make Tzatziki Sauce?
- Slice cucumber in half lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds. Slice lengthwise in half again, then slice thinly with a mandolin or knife to make small quarter slivers.
- Mix cucumber slices with a teaspoon of salt. Place cucumbers in a small strainer over a bowl. Let sit for 30 minutes.
- Squeeze as much excess water as you can out of the cucumbers, so your sauce isn’t too runny.
- In a bowl, add sour cream, cucumber slices, dill, garlic, and lemon juice, and mix. Let sit in refrigerator for at least a few hours for the flavors to blend properly, then taste and add a pinch of salt if necessary.
- Homemade tzatziki sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Tips For Making Tzatziki Sauce
- Salt draws out water, and cucumbers have a very high water content, which will add excess water to the tzatziki. You can skip this step if you’re in a hurry and planning on finishing the dip in one go, but if you’re making your dip ahead you’ll want to take the extra few minutes so you don’t have a puddle of water in your bowl tomorrow.
- I don’t know why but I love the slices of cucumber so much. If you don’t, go ahead and grate or dice the cucumber.
- It tastes a thousand times better after at least a few hours, preferably overnight, as the flavors soak in.
- Add a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil to make this more authentic.
- You can also use a vegan sour cream alternative, such as Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream.
Other Recipes to Try
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Vegan Tzatziki Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 of a cucumber
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup Vegan sour cream *recipe link here
- 1 cup vegan yogurt unsweetened
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh dill minced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed or minced
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- black salt to taste
Instructions
- Slice cucumber in half lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds. Slice lengthwise in half again, then slice thinly with a mandolin or knife to make small quarter slivers.
- Mix cucumber slices with a teaspoon of salt. Place cucumbers in a small strainer over a bowl. Let sit for 30 minutes.
- Squeeze as much excess water as you can out of the cucumbers, so your sauce isn’t too runny.
- In a bowl, add sour cream, cucumber slices, dill, garlic, lemon juice, and salt, and mix. Let sit in refrigerator for at least a few hours for the flavors to blend properly, then taste and add a pinch of salt if necessary.
- Homemade tzatziki sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Best tzatziki ever, even dairy ones are not this good!!! A definite staple in our diet.
Teresa, I’m so excited that you enjoyed it. Thank you very much for leaving your feedback, I really appreciate it.