The other day my friend gave me big handfuls of spearmint leaves that were exploding in her garden. She steeps them in hot water to make mint tea. If you’re craving something boozy, they go nicely in a mint julep cocktail.
Since I didn’t have any bourbon on hand, I chopped up the spearmint leaves and combined them with fresh dill to whip up this easy tzatziki sauce.
Typically made with Greek yogurt and sometimes sour cream, tzatziki also includes cucumber, lemon and garlic. To get that creaminess, I used a non-dairy coconut milk yogurt. For extra tang and sweetness, I mixed in a lemon coconut yogurt (which come in cute glass jars).
Prep time: 25 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Yields: 1 cup of tzatziki
1 cup of non-dairy yogurt
1 mini cucumber or 1/2 a medium cucumber, chopped
fresh spearmint leaves, chopped finely
fresh dill, chopped finely
1 to 2 cloves of garlic, minced
lemon juice
paprika (optional)
- Chop the cucumber into small pieces.
- Place the cucumber pieces in a fine strainer, for at least 20 minutes, to get rid of the liquid. This will prevent the sauce from becoming watery.
- Meanwhile, chop the spearmint and leaves finely.
- Mince the garlic.
- After about 20 minutes, combine the ingredients with 1 cup of yogurt. Adjust the herbs, garlic and lemon juice to your liking. (I prefer mine to be extra garlicky, lemony and heavy on the herbs.)
- For some spice, add a dash of paprika.
Tzatziki makes a rich appetizer that pairs well with olives, artichokes, bell peppers, zucchini, celery, carrots and pita bread. Here, I sliced up some rosemary focaccia into small triangles and baked them at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.
Lazy Vegans 
One thought on “Vegan tzatziki sauce and snack platter”