Tzatziki substitute

Best substitute

Five-Minute Homemade Tzatziki

Use the same amount as the tzatziki you are replacing

Best for gyros

Close match

The real sauce, made from Greek yogurt, cucumber, garlic, lemon and olive oil, which takes less time than going to the shop.

Other tzatziki substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Plain Greek Yogurt With Garlic and Lemon
Different texture
Use the same amount
Tzatziki minus the cucumber, which is a smaller loss than it sounds.
What changes
Best for
gyros, grilled meat, dips, wraps, roast potatoes
For every cup of yogurt, stir in one small crushed garlic clove, two teaspoons of lemon juice, a tablespoon of olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Cucumber contributes freshness and a little crunch rather than flavour, so what you get is a smoother, slightly more one-note sauce that still performs exactly the job tzatziki does on a hot gyro.
3Raita
Different taste
Use the same amount
The Indian yogurt-and-cucumber sauce, built on the same idea and often sold ready-made where tzatziki is not.
What changes
Best for
grilled meat, gyros, wraps, spiced dishes, dips
Structurally the same sauce with different seasoning: raita usually carries cumin, coriander and sometimes mustard seed, so it tastes warmer and earthier and less garlicky and lemony. On a Greek plate the cumin is noticeable but not unwelcome. Add a squeeze of lemon and a little extra garlic to pull it toward Greece.
4Labneh Thinned With Lemon Juice
Different texture
Use Use ¾ cup labneh plus 2 tablespoons water and 1 tablespoon lemon juice for every 1 cup tzatziki
Strained Middle Eastern yogurt cheese, thicker and tangier than Greek yogurt, loosened into sauce consistency.
What changes
Best for
gyros, grilled lamb, dips, mezze plates, sandwiches
An excellent substitute and arguably a richer one. Labneh is denser and more sour than Greek yogurt, so the sauce clings better and tastes sharper - good against fatty lamb, slightly aggressive with delicate fish. Stir in grated squeezed cucumber and garlic and it is essentially tzatziki with a thicker body.
5Sour Cream Thinned With Milk
Taste and texture differ
Use Use ¾ cup sour cream plus 2 tablespoons milk for every 1 cup tzatziki, plus lemon juice to taste
The pantry option, using the cultured dairy most kitchens actually have.
What changes
Best for
gyros, wraps, dips, baked potatoes, family cooking
Works, and is noticeably richer and heavier than the yogurt original, with a mellower sourness that does not cut through fat as cleanly. That extra lemon juice matters - without it, sour cream tastes creamy rather than tangy, and the sauce stops doing its job of refreshing the palate between bites of grilled meat.
6Dairy-Free Coconut or Cashew Yogurt Version
Different taste
Use the same amount
Unsweetened plant yogurt built into tzatziki the same way, for anyone avoiding dairy.
What changes
Best for
vegan gyros, falafel, grilled vegetables, dips
Use unsweetened, thick plant yogurt only - a sweetened one ruins the sauce and is the single most common mistake here. Cashew and almond yogurts are closest in flavour; coconut yogurt is thick and pleasant but its coconut note is unmistakable next to lamb. Add an extra squeeze of lemon, since plant yogurts are usually far less tangy than dairy.

What is Tzatziki?

Tzatziki is a Greek cold sauce of thick strained yogurt mixed with grated cucumber, garlic, olive oil and an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar, usually with dill or mint stirred through, and its job on a plate is to be cool, sour and creamy against hot, fatty, salty grilled meat.

Cooking tips

Tzatziki is doing a specific job on a plate: it is cool, acidic and dairy-fatty, which is what makes it cut through hot, salty, fatty grilled meat. Any substitute needs to be all three - cold, sour and creamy. That is why an unseasoned dollop of yogurt tastes like it is missing something, and why a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt fixes it almost entirely.
Salt and squeeze the cucumber, always. Grated cucumber is mostly water, and stirring it in raw means a sauce that looks fine for ten minutes and then separates into a thin grey pool. Ten minutes in salt draws the water out, and a hard squeeze in a towel removes it. This is the single most common reason homemade tzatziki fails.
Grate the garlic on a microplane or crush it to a paste rather than chopping it. Raw chopped garlic gives you sharp hot bites in a cold sauce, while grated garlic disperses evenly. Start with less than you think - one clove per cup of yogurt is plenty, and the garlic gets noticeably stronger after an hour in the fridge.
Give it thirty minutes in the fridge before serving if you can. Freshly mixed tzatziki tastes disjointed, with the garlic sitting on top of everything, and it comes together into one sauce as it rests. It is best on the day it is made and starts to weep water by the second day; pour off the liquid and stir rather than throwing it out.
Choose your herb by dish. Dill is the standard for gyros, fish and vegetables. Mint, especially dried mint, is the more traditional choice with lamb and in many Greek and Turkish versions, and it makes the sauce taste distinctly cooler. Using both is common and works well.

Frequently asked questions

What can I use instead of tzatziki?

Plain Greek yogurt seasoned with crushed garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt is the best answer and takes a minute. Indian raita is the closest ready-made option, labneh thinned with lemon is excellent and even tangier, and sour cream thinned with milk works if that is what is in the fridge, though it tastes considerably richer.

Can I make tzatziki without cucumber?

Yes. Cucumber adds freshness, moisture and a little texture, but the flavour of tzatziki comes from yogurt, garlic, lemon and olive oil. A cucumber-free version is smoother and slightly less lively, and on a gyro or with grilled lamb almost nobody would notice it was missing. You will also see the sauce spelled tsatziki, which is the same thing.

Can I use regular yogurt instead of Greek yogurt?

Yes, but strain it first, or the sauce will be thin. Line a sieve with a coffee filter or cheesecloth, add the yogurt, and let it drain in the fridge for an hour or two. Use whole-milk yogurt if you have the choice, because low-fat versions make a sauce that tastes thin and sour rather than creamy and cooling.

Can I just leave the tzatziki off?

You can, but the plate will taste fattier and flatter, because tzatziki is the cooling acidic element balancing rich grilled meat. If you skip it entirely, add something else sour and fresh - lemon wedges, sliced tomato and red onion, or a sharp vinaigrette on the salad - rather than serving the meat and bread on their own.

Why did my tzatziki turn watery?

Almost certainly unsalted cucumber. Grated cucumber releases a surprising amount of liquid over the first hour and it thins the sauce dramatically. Salt the grated cucumber, wait ten minutes, then squeeze it dry in a kitchen towel before mixing. Using thin yogurt instead of thick strained yogurt is the other common cause.

Related substitutes

More sauces & condiments substitutes

Tzatziki substitute

Other tzatziki substitutes

2Plain Greek Yogurt With Garlic and Lemon

3Raita

4Labneh Thinned With Lemon Juice

5Sour Cream Thinned With Milk

6Dairy-Free Coconut or Cashew Yogurt Version