Brighten up your day with Beet Tzatziki! This vibrant, colorful Greek-inspired yogurt dip is full of flavor, and makes for a festive appetizer or complimentary side dish to Mediterranean-inspired meals. 
Love is the whole thing. We are only the pieces. ~Rumi
I was hoping to share this beautiful recipe for Beet Tzatziki, yesterday on Valentine’s Day, but the day got away from me- in such a good way! I played hooky and Brian and I spent the day beach walking and skateboarding. I feel so lucky that I have such a fun playmate!
Not only does this Beet Tzatziki make for the most beautiful vibrant dip, but it also adds delicious flavor and a powerhouse of nutrients to what you are already serving.
Made with Greek yogurt, grated beets, and cucumbers, fresh herbs, lemon, and garlic, this is packed with flavor. Add it to your next appetizer platter or mezze platter, or to falafel bowls or Mediterranean wraps or a healthy side to Buddha bowls.
And for all you vegan folks out there, yes, of course, it is VEGAN ADAPTABLE! Use a plant-based yogurt, easy peasy.
Amazing Health Benefits of Beets
Did you know… beets contain 2 powerful bioactive compounds called betalain and betaine. Diets rich in foods containing betalain and betaine have been correlated with a decrease in cholesterol and lowered homocysteine levels. In addition, betalains are highly antioxidant.
The latest research is showing that beets can help reverse our biological aging. No joke! So needless to say, I’ve been including a few more beets into our diet.
But, health aside, I know you’ll love this because it is just so fun to make, and it will make you happy just by looking at it.
What you’ll need
- Beet– one beet the size of a baseball
- Cucumber- Thinned skinned cucumbers work best here: English cucumber or sub-Turkish cucumbers
- Full Fat Greek Yogurt (or use vegan yogurt)Sheep’s yogurt is nice here too
- Garlic
- Fresh Herbs: dill, mint or both
- Salt, pepper, lemon juice
- Olive oil
How to make Beet Tzatziki
Step one
Cook the beet. The fastest way is to simmer in a pot of water, covered, until just knife tender. Don’t overcook them, err on the side of slightly underdone here.
Run under cold water and rub off the skins- they should slip right off.
Grate the beet. You’ll need about 1 cup.
Step two
While the beet is cooking, grate and salt a cucumber and place it over a strainer, for 10 minutes.
Step three
Then place the yogurt, herbs, garlic in a bowl with the grated beets and cucumber and give a good mix.
Add salt and lemon to taste.
Notice the color. It is light pink here. BUT as the beet tzatziki sits, it will get deeper and even more vibrant in color. Refrigerate until serving.
Step four
Serve in a wide shallow bowl, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with Urfa Biber (optional) and scatter with fresh herbs. Look how vibrant the Tzatkiki has turned!
Serve with Rustic Seed Crackers or Pita Bread.
The Beet Tzatziki will keep 4 days in the fridge- if it lasts that long.
Serve Beet Tzatziki with:
- Baked Falafel Bowls
- Grilled Salmon
- Simple Homemade Pita Bread!
- Rustic Seed Crackers
- Perfect Hummus
- Sourdough Crackers
- Lemony Lebanese Tabouli (Tabbouleh)
Enjoy this one friends- a little love gift from me…
xoxo
Print
Beet Tzatziki Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 2 ½ cups 1x
- Category: appetizer, dip
- Method: mixed
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Vibrant Beet Tzatziki is made with grated beets and cucumber, Greek yogurt and fresh herbs- a festive appetizer or complementary side dish to Mediterranean-inspired meals. Vegan-adaptable!
Ingredients
- 1 medium beet (size of a baseball)
- 1 English Cucumber ( or 3–4 Turkish cucumbers) grated- two cups! ( see notes)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup full greek yogurt ( thick whole milk, full fat, Sheep or Goat yogurt is nice here) or sub vegan yogurt
- 1 fat garlic clove, finely minced ( use a garlic press)
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or mint (or a combo of both)
- a squeeze of lemon to taste, optional
- salt and pepper to taste
- drizzle of olive oil
Instructions
Place the beet in a small pot of salted water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer gently until knife tender- but not overly soft- al dente! Run under cold water, and rub the skin off with your fingers.
While the beet is cooking grate the cucumber. If using a thin-skinned cucumber, feel free to leave skin on. Toss the cucumber with the salt, then place over a strainer to release its juices.
Grate the peeled beet. Place the beet in a medium bowl. Press out any remaining juices from the cucumber using your fingers, then add to the bowl. Add the yogurt, garlic and fresh herbs. Give a stir. Depending on how sour your yogurt is, add lemon to taste ( or feel free to leave it out).
Add salt and pepper to taste. If using a lower fat yogurt, a little olive oil mixed in adds a nice richness. Refrigerate until using. As the Tzatziki sits, it will become more and more vibrant.
To serve, place Beet Tzatziki in a shallow bowl, making a little circular well with the back of a spoon. Drizzle with olive oil in the well. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and optional chili flakes (I love using Urfa Biber here- fruity chili flakes from Turkey).
Notes
If using a thick-skinned waxy cucumber, make sure to peel first. Thin-skinned cucumbers need not be peeled.
Beet Tzatziki will last 4 days, in the fridge, covered.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ cup
- Calories: 69
- Sugar: 3.6 g
- Sodium: 174 mg
- Fat: 3.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 6.4 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 3.9 g
- Cholesterol: 4.6 mg
Refreshing combination! I love beets and cukes. I use Trader Joe’s coconut yogurt and did cut the shreds a bit shorter for scooping and also a very nice accent to salmon.
So glad you enjoyed!
Turned out yummy, hubby said it was better than the original. This weekend. We are off to the greek islands for the holidays so this was a good intro. Thank you for another delish recipe!
Have soooooooo much fun!
This was a wonderful and delicious twist on Tzatziki. I made it for a dinner party and it did not last long.
Awww- really appreciate this Danny! Thanks!
Excellent and beautiful.
Great to hear!
Each year, in lieu of Valentines and pre-pandemic, a group of ladies would get together for a Pink Party – everything pink: clothing, food, drinks…it was a blast. Even the neighbours looked forward to seeing how outrageous we got. I was always looking for pink foods that I could also eat given dietary concerns. I will be tucking this one away for future “Pinks.” Thanks, Sylvia.
Awesome Martie!
This was a stunningly beautiful and delicious addition to a simple veggie pasta dinner with friends. I served it with toasted pita and well, there were no leftovers!
I did think it was curious that there were no quantities listed next to the ingredients but seeing the picture of the bowl with the ingredients helped me figure out what looked like equal quantities of beet, cucumber and yogurt. It worked! I will make this again, thank you.
Hi Penelope, glad you enjoyed it- if you scroll down to the recipe card, you’ll see the quantities. 🙂
I can’t find a recipe card Sylvia. I find a list of ingredients (beets, cucumber, etc.) and 4 steps but not a traditional recipe card. Did something happen to it???
Oh my goodness! Yes, it disappeared, sorry about that. It is there now, scroll to bottom.
Just made the Beet Tzanziki for myself and my daughter (whose Father is Greek) and she and I ABSOLUTELY loved it! (Even though I only had dried mint and dill).
What a bright and easy side dish this will be in the Summer months ahead!
Thank you so very much!!
Thanks so much Jenni- glad you liked it!