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Authentic Vegan Greek Tzatziki

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This authentic vegan tzatziki is like no other. Creamy, garlicky, and perfect for dipping, smothering, or licking off your fingers!

Glass jar on parchment paper in a metal tray filled with vegan greek tzatziki

Growing up in a fully Greek household, my mom’s Tzatziki was a staple. We used it as a dip, a sauce for our meals, and most of all, it’s the cherry on top of a delicious Gyro.

I knew I needed this recipe on my blog, a vegan version of course, to remind me of the good old days of family, Greece and eating…lots and lots of eating. This vegan version definitely hit the nail on the head. It’s creamy, full of flavor, and tastes as good as I remember!

Spoon scooping vegan tzatziki out of a glass jar as it drips down the side

The many faces of vegan tzatziki

My first version of this authentic vegan tzatziki sauce was a tofu based one. This was at the beginning of my creative journey before I knew the magical power of cashews. Since we do not have nut allergies, cashews are my go to for ultimate creaminess. I have other players in the creamy game (see potatoes in action here and white beans in action here), but my core creaminess comes from my fave little cashew.

I left the original recipe in the notes, for all my nut free friends, but I have updated the main recipe to the version we make now. It’s creamy, it’s garlicky and has a nice little tang. And it goes perfect on my favorite vegan Greek gyros!

This recipe was originally published on 2/23/2014

Glass jar on parchment filled with vegan greek tzatziki

Authentic Vegan Greek Tzatziki

Sophia DeSantis
This authentic vegan tzatziki is like no other. Creamy, garlicky, and perfect for dipping, smothering, or licking off your fingers!
5 from 33 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Total Time 10 mins
Course Sauce
Cuisine Greek
Servings 10
Calories 75 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 cup cucumber , peeled and grated
  • 1 cup raw cashews (see note)
  • 3/4 cup water (add up to 1/4 more to thin out as desired)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
  • 3 cloves garlic , medium size
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • pinch ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill

Instructions
 

  • Put the grated cucumber in a paper towel or dish towel, squeeze out the excess water until mostly dry. Set aside.
  • Blend all ingredients, except the cucumber and dill, in a high-speed blender and puree until smooth. 
  • Add cucumber and pulse until well incorporated. 
  • Add dill, pulse until finely chopped. 
  • Refrigerate to thicken. The longer you leave it, the thicker it gets.

Notes

Recipe makes about 2 1/2 cups sauce.
 
If you are not using a high speed blender you can either soak the cashews overnight or grind them into a fine powder using a coffee grinder. You can also boil them for 30 minutes.
 
UPDATE: After much trial and error, I have updated this recipe to my favorite version using cashews instead of tofu. If you are nut free and want the tofu version, take out cashews and water and use 1 1/2 cups silken tofu instead. The original recipe also did not have lemon juice, which I use to cut the sweetness of the cashews, so take out the lemon juice as well if you prefer.

Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.

Nutrition

Calories: 75kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 119mgPotassium: 106mgSugar: 1gVitamin A: 10IUVitamin C: 1.6mgCalcium: 8mgIron: 0.9mg

Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.

Keyword healthy cream dressing, Vegan creamy dressing
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

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Comments

  1. Sarabi The Vegan says

    This is bloody amazing!!! I didn’t have a good enough blender to make cashew based sauces for the longest time. Now I do and I’m amazed at what cashews do for dairy based sauces! I loved yogurt before going vegan and I would get the thickest most tangiest yogurt I could find to make my tzatziki, this recipe does not make me miss the real thing!!! It’s tangy, it’s thick, it delicious and I’m just stoked to have came across this recipe!! I love adding mint to mine! So good with the Moroccan Impossible beef kabobs I make!!! Literally eating it now while I write this haha!!! One happy vegan girl here!! Thank you a million times!!

    Reply

  2. Ritu says

    Love this recipe! Use it regularly and it always gets devoured. Have made this at least 20 times and it’s a hit!

    Reply

  3. YOLANDA RUTH PAVEY says

    This was delicous and creamy! I have tried the tofu way, which is delicous as well, however the creaminess of this recipe with cashews is a winner.
    Thank you for this recipe

    Reply

  4. danielle says

    My boyfriend (not vegan) and I used this on top of serían gyros this weekend and as an Arab he holds very, very high standards for yogurt sauce and he loved this! He demolished about half the jar in one sitting haha, and I loved it as well! We just added a pinch of fresh mint, as he said that’s the way his culture always does yogurt sauce, and it gave it some nice added freshness. truly delicious, thank you!!!!

    Reply

    • veggiesdontbite says

      I am so thrilled you guys liked it Danielle!! Yes, the mint is more of a middle Eastern addition but very yummy! Thanks so much for the great review!

      Reply

  5. Melissa Billetter says

    I could’ve cried- It was amazing!!! One of the things I’ve really missed since becoming vegan is Tzatziki sauce…I found this site and recipe online and I’m so glad I did! It is creamy (used the cashew version) and flavorful! I also made the falafels, but I’m still working on using the air fryer to cook them perfectly!

    I hope you are as happy with it as I am! Thank you Sophia and team!!

    Reply

  6. Karen says

    I’ve made this several times and it is so so good. I made it when we had friends over for a falafel party. everyone liked it so much, they were putting it on their baked potatoes too! Which made my husband sad as there wasn’t any left over. Lol. Usually, when it is the 2 of us, I’ll make it with falafels. Then we put it on many other things during the week. I like to add a little extra lemon and use it as salad dressing. I never have the white vinegar so I use coconut vinegar. This sauce is so delicious! !

    Reply

  7. Cap'n Dave says

    I have been seriously craving a gyro for years now. Not just any old gyro, such as the “okay” one I had from the little corner cafe next to Pier 40 and AT&T Park in San Francisco, but the deliciously greasy authentic Greek ones you can only find in Chicago…but now I’m vegan. So, what to do???

    Found your page…tzatziki sounds amazing, and your tempeh gyros are piquing my interest as well! This will be my dinner tomorrow night! After that? It will be time to try my own hand (again) at that flavor and texture that I can still remember all those years ago when I was craving one so badly, I ventured out in the middle of a Chicago winter for it (I don’t recommend that, btw).

    Reply

    • veggiesdontbite says

      I am so happy you found me! This is one of my favorite recipes and surely hits the craving of gyros! Thank you for being here!

      Reply

      • Cap'n Dave says

        Didn’t get to make the sauce OR the gyros on Dec. 21st like I wanted – cucumbers had begun to rot. So, it all just sort of sat on the back burner for a bit, but the tempeh is marinating and the pita is ready to go, so I’m having it tonight…and the sauce!!! OH MY GOODNESS, it’s to DIE for!! This tastes just like the dairy version that I fell in love with in Chicago (and couldn’t find anywhere else, even by my own hand)!!!

        A definite keeper and something I’ll be making a lot of – just even dipping toasted pita and snacking on it, or drizzling it over a salad, oh yeah! Thank you!! 5-stars!!!

  8. JONNI MONTGOMERY says

    Is there another vinegar which you’ve tried that works? Currently making this sauce and the distilled vinegar is sold out in the stores near me! I have white wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar handy!

    Reply

    • veggiesdontbite says

      Hi Jonni! The white vinegar is what gives it the signature tang, so that really is the best to get the flavor of this recipe. If you want to sub with either of those others it will still work but the end result won’t be the same. Let me know what you do and how it works out!

      Reply

    • veggiesdontbite says

      Hi Justin! There are so many ways!! I love to dip pita bread, crackers and veggies in it. I also love using it as a dressing for salads or a sauce for bowls. I spread it on sandwiches instead of mayo and put it in wraps too. The possibilities are endless!

      Reply

  10. Gayathri says

    I halved this recipe as that’s all I needed for my family!! Was soooo good! My non vegan family didn’t think it tasted ANY different! It was so delicious on my vegan seitan gyro wrap!!! Thank you!!!

    Reply

  11. Haley says

    I have made this twice now and it turns out great exactly as written. The second time I didn’t have fresh dill so subbed a tsp of dried and that worked fine. I love this as a dip or with any Mediterranean recipes. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

    Reply

  12. Ally says

    Even with lemon juice, it was way to sweet for me and my husband. We served it on top of seitan gyro pita which didn’t work with sweetness level. I think it might be okay as a vegetable dip.

    Reply

    • veggiesdontbite says

      Hi Ally, we don’t find it sweet at all. And I have had many people make it without finding it sweet. You can always try adding more vinegar to counteract any sweetness you may be tasting.

      Reply

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