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Creamy, tangy, thick, and delicious atop vegan gyros or to dip pita bread in - this vegan tzatziki sauce tastes just like the authentic stuff! Dairy-free yogurt and cashews replace the traditional greek yogurt used in tzatziki sauces, and that fresh cucumber taste still shines through. Taste is absolutely not sacrificed with this vegan recipe!
Vegan Tzatziki Sauce Recipe
When I was a kid, we used to go to this delicious local Greek restaurant that served the best gyros. Oh, how I love gyros. And tzatziki sauce, of course (or "greek cucumber sauce" as I used to call it, before I knew how to properly pronounce tzatziki, ha!)
Because I eat a more vegetarian/vegan diet now, I've swapped the lamb meat with chickpeas and make a delicious vegan tzatziki sauce.
It's refreshing, light, tangy, and creamy.
Whereas traditional tzatziki is made with greek yogurt (or greek cheese), this vegan tzatziki sauce is made with cashews and plain, non-dairy yogurt (you can use plain coconut milk yogurt, soy milk yogurt, etc - SoDelicious even has a coconut milk greek yogurt.)
Cashews are the perfect dairy alternative in most creamy sauces and dips (even in cheesecake!). They blend up so smoothly after they are soaked in water and the consistency is so similar. Combined with non-dairy yogurt, the texture of this tzatziki sauce is totally on point!
To make sure your vegan tzatziki sauce comes out thick and not watery, I recommend grating the cucumber and then soaking up the moisture between two towels. You can also chop or slice the cucumber, sprinkle with salt, wait 15 minutes for the moisture to draw out, and then pat with a towel. This method doesn't extract as much moisture as grating, though.
This tzatziki sauce is the perfect dressing for any healthy vegan salad recipe - but especially a vegan gyro salad!
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber
- 1 cup non-dairy plain yogurt
- 1 cup soaked cashews*
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice - - about one large lemon's worth
- 1 clove fresh garlic - - quartered
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill
Instructions
- First, grate the cucumber and pat dry with a towel to remove excess moisture. This will prevent the sauce from being too runny.
- Add the grated cucumber and the rest of the ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add a little more yogurt.
- Store in a jar in the fridge.
