This vegan tzatziki sauce is rich, creamy and full of flavor! Easy to make from just a few ingredients, and perfect for everything from dipping veggies to slathering on sandwiches.
Well this was bound to happen! I've shared roughly a ton of vegan Greek recipes (among others) with a suggestion to serve the dish with some vegan tzatziki sauce. But where does one get such a thing, anyway? My supermarkets are pretty well stocked with vegan products these days, but I've yet to find a dairy-free tzatziki.
So I decided to make my own!
The good news is that this stuff was really easy to whip up, and it tasted just like the traditional tzatziki I remember enjoying.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Raw cashews. We're using some cashew cream to add richness to the vegan yogurt base for this tzatziki. It's important that your cashews are raw and not roasted in order for your sauce to have the right flavor and texture.
- Water.
- Garlic.
- Vegan yogurt. Use a variety that's unflavored and unsweetened. Aside from that, it's not really important what kind of yogurt you use. I used Silk Almondmilk yogurt, simply because that's what I had in the fridge.
- Cucumber.
- Lemon juice. Freshly squeezed juice is essential for flavor!
- Fresh dill.
- Salt & pepper.
- Olive oil. This is totally optional, but I like to drizzle a bit over my tzatziki before serving.
Tip: Some tzatziki recipes include additional herbs and spices, such as fresh mint, parsley, or ground cumin. Feel free to include any or all of these if you'd like.
How It's Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Soak your cashews by placing them in a container and covering them with water. Let them sit for 4 to 8 hours to soften, then drain and rinse them.
- Place your soaked cashews, yogurt, water and garlic into a blender or the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade.
- Blend the ingredients until smooth.
Tip: Blended cashew recipes always come out smoothest with a high-powered blending device. If you don't have one, you can try first blending everything but the yogurt. You'll get a thick paste. Then add in the yogurt and blend again.
- Transfer your cashew-yogurt mixture to a bowl and stir in diced cucumber, lemon juice, chopped dill and salt.
- Taste-test your vegan tzatziki, add some black pepper and make any adjustments you'd like in order to suit your taste. This could mean adding more dill, more lemon juice, or more salt!
- Your tzatziki is ready to go. Drizzle it with some olive oil if you'd like. Enjoy!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan tzatziki will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 4 days. It may separate a bit during storage. Simply stir it back up if this happens!
Frequently Asked Questions
It sure is!
Raw sunflower seeds or macadamia nuts usually work as a cashew substitute, though I haven't tried either in this recipe. Your other option is to replace the cashews and water with an extra â…” cup of additional vegan yogurt. Mince the garlic and stir it in with the other ingredients rather than blending it.
Tzatziki is traditionally an accompaniment for Greek or Mediterranean dishes. Try it as a dipping sauce for baked falafel, slathered in some vegan shawarma or gyros. It also makes a great dipping sauce for veggies or pita, as you can see in the photos. But feel free to use it however you like! It can be anything from a salad dressing to a burger sauce!
More Vegan Sauces & Dressings
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
Creamy Vegan Tzatziki
This vegan tzatziki sauce is rich, creamy and full of flavor! Easy to make from just a few ingredients, and perfect for everything from dipping veggies to slathering on sandwiches.
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup water
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 (5.3 ounce or 150 gram) container unflavored and unsweetened vegan yogurt
- ½ medium cucumber, seeded and finely diced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- Olive oil, for drizzling (optional)
Instructions
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Place the cashews, water, garlic, and yogurt into a blender or the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade. (Note 1)
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Blend everything until smooth.
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Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and stir in the cucumber, lemon, dill, and ½ teaspoon of salt.
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Taste-test the mixture and adjust any seasonings to suit your taste. Season the mixture with black pepper to taste.
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Optionally, drizzle your tzatziki with some olive oil before serving.
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Serve immediately or chill for later.
Recipe Notes
- If your blending device isn't high-powered (like a Vitamix or BlendTec, for example), try blending the cashews, water, and garlic first, to a paste, then blending in the yogurt.
- Recipe makes about 1 ½ cups of vegan tzatziki.
- Nutritional information does not include olive oil.
Thank you for creating this recipe! Just made it yesterday. Plan to use it for a tapas menu. Used fresh dill from the garden, our own garlic. Flavor profile is perfect! Just like the memories of the very authentic restaurants of my childhood. Super YUM!
One clarification/question? Followed the recipe exactly, reserving 1/2 c soaking water, but adding the 1/2 cup in the recipe. Consistency is a bit loose. I'm guessing I can adjust the 1/2 cup water to taste?
Yes, you can absolutely adjust the amount of water according to preference! There's some variation in thickness among vegan yogurt brands, so this can affect the thickness as well. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Looks good, can’t wait to give it a try. This will be great on the falafel burgers. Trader Joe’s has a very good vegan tzatziki, btw, if you’re ever in a hurry or want to give it a try.