Author: Friends! Guess what happened in my kitchen the other day? You guessed it already didn't you... you clever minx you. 😉 Yes, I filled a hole in my heart, and that hole was filled with Easy Vegan Tzatziki. Maybe it's a strange way to fill a hole in your heart, but I somehow feel more complete knowing I have this quick and easy recipe in my collection.
Tzatziki (←note to self, good scrabble word!), ehem, traditional tzatziki is made with Greek yogurt, so not vegan. I had a google around and found several vegan tzaziki recipes but they were made with vegan yogurt. Now there is nothing wrong with that, I'm sure it tastes fab, but for picky recipe writing me, I have two problems with that:
- Vegan store-bought yogurts are expensive.
- Vegan store-bought yogurts are hard to find.
These are two qualities I try hardest to avoid with my recipes as I try to make them with ingredients you can find at almost any grocery store. My discount grocery store down the street does NOT carry vegan yogurts, but you know what it does carry? Tofu.
The same idea I had for my Quick & Easy Vegan Cottage Cheese, and my Vegan Blue Cheese Dip, I used my good ol' friend. Oh, tofu, how you have saved me so many times. The cool thing about using tofu in this recipe is you can buy different firmnesses of tofu to result in either a thinner or thicker vegan tzatziki. Yeah, I know, pre-tay cool. Thank you dear tofu.
My fave texture was using medium-firm tofu for the optimal thick and creamy vegan tzatziki texture. But medium tofu will also work it will just be a tad runnier. And firm tofu will work but it will be a tad thicker and you may have to add a bit of water to help thin. The result? Cool cucumber, hints of garlic, perfect creamy vegan tzatziki every time.
To make Easy Vegan Tzatziki: add everything but the cucumber to a blender or food processor and pulse several times until smooth stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise then scoop out the seeds and discard (or save and toss into a smoothie later). The seed area is the wateriest area so removing this will help ensure a nice thick vegan tzatziki. Grate the seeded cucumber. Add the cucumber by picking it up by the handful and squeezing out excess water over the sink, then adding it to the blender or food processor. Pulse a couple of times to incorporate.
Tah dah! Now fair warning, this is a bit more on the creamy-yellow side of the white scale due to tofu not being perfectly white, but that hardly seems like a big deal to me when the flavour friends are all there.
Serve this as a dip with some veg and chopped up pita, or use on any of your favourite Greek foods. Omnomnom!
Common Questions:
- Is tzatziki gluten-free? This recipe is 100% gluten-free (and vegan!)
- What can I use instead of dill in tzatziki? If you aren't a fan of dill, it can be replaced by mint, thyme, parsley, tarragon, or basil.
- Is tzatziki sauce supposed to be runny? No it's not. If your tzatziki is runny, it is likely being caused by the excess water in the cucumber. Per the notes below: Add everything but the cucumber to a blender or food processor and pulse several times until smooth stopping to scrape the sides as needed. Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise then scoop out the seeds and discard (or save and toss into a smoothie later). Grate the seeded cucumber. Add the cucumber by picking it up by the handful and squeezing out excess water over the sink, then adding it to the blender or food processor. Pulse a couple of times to incorporate.
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Easy Vegan Tzatziki
Servings:
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Ingredients
- 225 g medium-firm tofu, drained
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic,, minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ English cucumber
Instructions
- Add everything but the cucumber to a blender or food processor and pulse several times until smooth stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
- Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise then scoop out the seeds and discard (or save and toss into a smoothie later). Grate the seeded cucumber. Add the cucumber by picking it up by the handful and squeezing out excess water over the sink, then adding it to the blender or food processor. Pulse a couple of times to incorporate.
Nutrition
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕Bon appetegan!
Sam.
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Darcie says
I saw this listed in the recent 16 dips post and had all the stuff so gave it a shot. It turned out AMAZING. Like tastes exactly like—or maybe better than—traditional Tzatziki. I had some soft (silken?) tofu I needed to use up and the texture was perfect.
Gabbride says
I used silken tofu and it was a perfect texture for me... Delicious!!
Brittany says
This recipe is great! I used to love Tzatziki but haven’t found any that really compare to the real thing, except for this, yum! I doubled the recipe so I could use all the tofu and some is in the fridge for later, which I know it will be awesome a little colder. Thanks for all your great recipes!
Jessie Ann says
This is amazing!! Can't believe using tofu can make it taste just like tzatziki. It's difficult for me to find vegan yogurt so this is a great alternative. I used double the apple cider vinegar, but I have a preference for things being more vinegar-tasting. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Susan Hennessy says
This is the BEST vegan Tzatziki recipe! And pretty darn good flavor for unsuspecting omnivores, too such as my husband. I'm afraid to tell him it is tofu because he loves this. The only change I make is in using red wine vinegar instead. Personally I just forgo the scooping the seeds and squeezing the liquid from the cucumbers. I like it a bit thinner. Thanks so much!
Melissa says
Great recipe! I added an extra Tablespoon of lemon juice and doubled the salt, and it tasted perfect. No one suspected this was anything other than regular tzatziki - served with Falafel for a dinner win!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha, perfect 🙂
Karen Haworth says
Sam, once again you did not fail to succeed on a recipe. I made this to top some falafel wraps I made for dinner last night. My non-vegan husband loved it! Huge win! He scooped it on top of his falafel wrap as well as the quinoa tabouli salad I made to go with dinner. Not sure that's how you anticipated if being used, lol, but I was so happy he literally loved it. He never comments much about my food. He eats whatever I make without complaint. So, when he raves about something I know its a win! Thanks for always being my go-to source for recipes!
Tammy says
Amazing! I’ve been vegan now for about seven months and I’ve been craving Greek. Made this dish along with your Gyros. I wanted to take a photo but ate it too fast. So crazy delicious! Question I made too much of the Tzatziki so I’m wondering if it can be frozen as I don’t want to waste it. So good.
Taylor says
This was very surprisingly good. My sauce came out tofu tasting after I made it according to the recipe so I added a bit more salt and lemon juice than the recipe called for to mask the taste, and it worked perfectly. I plan to make this again and substitute fresh mint leaves for the dill.
Ariana says
I made this with Silken tofu and removed the water. I also omitted the oil didn’t miss it this recipe is a staple on Mediterranean food nights thank you!
Naomi says
I'm eating this right now with some flatbread and Greek salad. Yum! I didn't think I'd ever be able to eat tzatziki again on a WFPB diet without having to buy non-dairy yogurt. Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing!!
Sarah says
I love it! Thank you! But I'm still not sure if you are doing 225g or 1/2 of 225g of tofu?
Bailey says
225 g is the amount you need to use. Most tofu comes in 454g (1lb) packages, so half a pack is 225g (approx.) it’s a great recipe!
Sarah Frost says
Thank you! I thought so, but then my packet was 225g so I thought I'd double check as it did end up a bit thick even with the correct amount. I just added lemon and kombucha, and loved it!
Sam Turnbull says
Oh yes, I can see how that's confusing! I have updated the recipe for you. It should be 225g of tofu. 🙂
Ariane says
Dear Sam thank you! 1. Vegan store-bought yogurts are expensive. 2. Vegan store-bought yogurts are hard to find. (I am following you from Mexico.... Very few vegans here plus many ingredients are hard to find.) (You can also make a creamy base with cashews and water, it is also great!)
I need to thank you on your Pulled Jackfruit. I brought one back from the jungle and was very disappointed to see, it was still unripe when I cut it open! I didn't want to throw it away and...voilá: I found your recipe! Phantastic!!
Thanks again and keep up the good and very tasty work!!
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you're enjoying my recipes 🙂
Kristin says
Followed the recipe as is and it was delicious!! My husband, who loves traditional tzatiki, was SO happy with it. We had it on Greek bowls with quinoa, tomatoes, kalamata olives, roasted chickpeas + cucumber salad. YUM. We will definitely be making this again.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! Thrilled you loved it, Kristin 🙂
Sarah says
How long would this keep in the fridge!
Sam Turnbull says
I'd say 4 - 5 days 🙂
Stella says
I’m a little disappointed that this didn’t come out creamier, but I half expected that when I noticed the type of tofu you said to use. I feel that this would be better using a silken tofu. I even added a little water and more olive oil to see if I could get it creamier. The flavor is okay, but obviously not as fancy as a non vegan version, so that was also a little disappointing. I think that with some tweaking this could be really great, so I’ll definitely save it as some guidelines for a future try at vegan tzatziki!
Yulca says
I tried it with silken tofu once. It tasted great, but was more like a sauce, it just wouldn't stick to my chopped veggies. So now I'm back to medium-firm tofu :).
Yulca says
It. Is. So. GOOD!
Joey says
I just started a vegetarian diet (leaning vegan but not completely) just over a week ago and worried that I'd be able to find meals/recipes that my family would also eat. I'm so glad I found your blog! I do have a question for the tzatziki recipe...I assume you grate the cucumber WITH the peel, correct? Also, did you use store-bought pita bread, or did you happen to make your own (hint hint, recipe?).
Thanks for sharing so many recipes. It gives me a lot of hope that I'll be able to stick with my vegetarian/vegan diet journey!
Sam Turnbull says
Congrats on your journey! Yep, grate it with the peel. I just used store-bought pita, just double-check the ingredients to make sure it's vegan 🙂
LuvAlissa says
Great recipe! I LOVE garlic, but even for my taste, I found the garlic extremely strong. So next time, I will half it. I also added more lemon juice/ACV/EVOO to enhance/balance the flavours. Love the use of tofu for this dish... Always looking to add a little more protein to my diet!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed!
The Roses says
Loved this tzatziki sauce. We adjusted to our taste preferences thanks to the amazing recipe you provided, and there was nothing left to put away after dinner.
Your ideas, directions, valuable information and, of course, recipes are helping to turn my former carnivore to a predominantely plant based beau.
Sam Turnbull says
Aww so happy you loved it so much 🙂