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Pickle tzatziki with thick yoghurt and dill
A yoghurt dip made with fresh cucumber and dill pickles, with a squeezing step that keeps it thick enough for spooning.
In this guide5 sections
Fresh cucumber and pickle belong together
Fresh cucumber gives this dip a lighter, watery crunch; chopped dill pickle adds acidity without needing a large squeeze of lemon. Both are useful, but the cucumber needs squeezing before it reaches the yoghurt. We recommend thick Greek-style yoghurt here because a thin yoghurt can become a dressing before you have finished stirring.
Yield: 4 side servings. Prep time: 20 minutes. Cook time: 0 minutes. Chill time: 15 minutes. This is a pickle variation on tzatziki, with garlic kept modest so it does not overwhelm the cucumber. The garlic will become more noticeable as the bowl stands.
Ingredients
- 250 g (9 oz) thick plain Greek-style yoghurt
- 150 g (5 oz) fresh cucumber
- 80 g (3 oz) drained dill pickles
- 1 small garlic clove, peeled
- 10 g fresh dill, finely chopped
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) olive oil
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Method
- Wash the fresh cucumber, trim its ends and grate it on the coarse side of a grater. Gather the shreds in a clean towel and squeeze over the sink until they no longer drip freely.
Squeeze the grated cucumber so it no longer drips freely. - Dice the drained pickles much smaller than the cucumber shreds. Blot them, then grate the garlic finely or crush it into a paste so nobody meets a raw chunk in a spoonful.
- Stir the yoghurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and black pepper in a bowl until smooth. Check for any liquid sitting on the yoghurt first and pour that off rather than automatically mixing it in.
Stir the yoghurt base smooth before adding the vegetables. - Fold through the squeezed cucumber, chopped pickles and dill. Cover and chill for 15 minutes, then stir again. The dip should hold a soft mound on a spoon without liquid pooling around it.
The squeezed cucumber and pickles should sit in a thick yoghurt base. - Serve in a low bowl so the cucumber pieces are easy to scoop. Keep the bulk refrigerated while a small portion is on the table; return clean, unused portions promptly.
The squeeze is worth doing
A food processor is unnecessary for the cucumber and can turn it into a wet pulp. Coarse grating leaves recognisable shreds, and squeezing removes the liquid that otherwise dilutes the garlic and yoghurt. Do not squeeze the pickles through the same cloth: diced pieces are easier to keep intact with a simple blot.
If you need a pourable version, loosen only the portion you are about to serve with a teaspoon of cold water. Keeping the main bowl thick gives you a dip for another meal, rather than committing the entire batch to dressing.
If you want a spread that holds more firmly, choose a richer cream-cheese pickle dip. Browse more ways to cook with pickles for a different use for the rest of the jar.
Make it close to the meal
Serve this on the day you make it for the clearest cucumber texture. Store any untouched portion covered in the fridge and use the following day.
Keep cold during storage and serving; see the recipe library’s storage guidance.
Keep the jar open
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