This vegan tzatziki can be enjoyed as the familiar dip or as an excellent appetizer to excite your palate. There's a high chance that you've never tried the second way!
Making tzatziki, or "cacık" as we call it, is very easy. It is one of those no-recipe recipes that is quite difficult to get wrong. Ingredient proportions can be overlooked without compromising flavor.
Case in point, in Turkey, tzatziki is not actually enjoyed as a dip at all. Not even close—we tend to drink it like soup before meals! Think refreshing gazpacho.
However, if your heart is set on a tzatziki dip:
- feel free to just leave off the water in this recipe
- or try this minty Turkish yogurt dip called haydari
Is Tzatziki Vegan?
It solely depends on the type of yogurt you are using. Made with dairy yogurt? Then no. I've never come across prepackaged tzatziki at the stores made with plant-based yogurt, but one can hope! Until then, homemade is likely the only option.
What Type of Yogurt is Best to Make Tzatziki?
I like using this homemade variety without thickeners; otherwise, Kite Hill or Forager brands work well.
I wouldn't recommend coconut yogurt since it often lands way too much of its own flavor. Likewise, keep away from sweetened or flavored varieties to make the savory tzatziki.
Ingredients for Making Tzatziki
- 1 medium cucumber, grated (Persian variety works best)
- 1 cup dairy-free yogurt
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- ¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
- pinch of salt
- cold water (optional, up to 1 cup for a soupy consistency)
How to Make Vegan Tzatziki
- Add all the ingredients except water into a medium bowl and whisk. If you want a dip—that's it!
- For a soupy version (Turkish), add water to reach the consistency that you prefer.
Enjoy it as a dip for chips, or serve the gazpacho version alongside zucchini fritters or Turkish dolmas.
Other Turkish Yogurt Recipes Similar to Tzatziki
Want to broaden your tzatziki horizons? Try these Turkish gems:
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you make this recipe!
You can also save it for later on Pinterest, and keep in touch with me on YouTube, Instagram, or by sending an email.
Print📖 Recipe
Turkish Vegan Tzatziki: Cacık
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups or more 1x
Description
This vegan tzatziki can be enjoyed as the familiar dip or as an excellent appetizer to excite your palate. There's a high chance that you've never tried the second way!
Ingredients
- 1 medium cucumber, grated (Persian variety works best)
- 1 cup dairy-free yogurt
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- ¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
- pinch of salt
- cold water (optional, up to 1 cup for a soupy consistency)
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients except water into a medium bowl and whisk. If you want a dip—that's it!
- For a soupy version (Turkish), add water to reach the consistency that you prefer.
Notes
I like using the homemade variety without thickeners; otherwise Kite Hill or Forager work great.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Appetizer, Dip
- Cuisine: Greek, Turkish, Middle Eastern, Balkan
Gina Ling
This recipe made my day! Its so delicious and simple! Thank you so much for sharing this!
I've never been a fan of vegan yogurt but the greek yogurt by Kite Hill was perfect in this dish.
It was so delicious that I actually doubled the recipe and stored the remains in the yogurt container and added it as a side dish to a few of my other meals.
Unfortunately, I was unable to get my instant pot to make yogurt, so I'm not sure what I did wrong there
Gonul
Happy to hear you enjoyed it, Gina! I agree, Kite Hill really does make the best vegan yogurt out there... perfect for cacik. You could say that Turkish people are quite obsessed with yogurt and everything we can make with it, so I'm glad you found it delicious too! 🙂
Did you use a specific recipe for the instant pot yogurt? I have a post and video on it here: https://aegeandelight.com/instant-pot-vegan-yogurt/
Let me know if you end up trying this recipe and we can try to troubleshoot if that doesn't work out either. It took me many tries to finally make good yogurt with an instant pot so I'm sure there's a solution!