Tzatziki comes together in the Thermomix® in two stages: first the cucumber on its own, then everything together. If you blend the cucumber straight in with the quark, you end up with a watery dip instead of a thick, creamy spread. That is the trap almost everyone falls into on the first attempt. The Thermomix® chops and salts the cucumber in 5 seconds, then the liquid drains away while you prepare the rest.
Creamy Tzatziki with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 8 ✓
- 1 cucumber
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 garlic cloves
- 500 g quark
- 100 g natural yoghurt (3.5% fat)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 3 black olives
Instructions 0 / 3
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1
Chop the cucumber.
Peel the cucumber, cut into pieces, add to the mixing bowl with the salt and chop using the spatula for 5 sec / speed 5. Transfer the cucumber to a sieve (or the steamer basket) and leave to drain for at least 10 minutes.
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2
Chop the garlic.
Peel the garlic, add to the mixing bowl and chop for 5 sec / speed 8. Scrape down with the spatula.
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3
Combine and garnish.
Add all remaining ingredients except the olives and combine for 10 sec / reverse direction / speed 3. Transfer to a bowl and serve garnished with the olives.
Tip: Goes brilliantly with grilled or pan-fried meat, vegetables or potatoes.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why the cucumber goes into the mixing bowl first
A cucumber is over 95 per cent water. If you blend it straight in with the quark and yoghurt, you dilute the base and end up with a runny bowl within 30 minutes. We chop the cucumber on its own at speed 5, then transfer it with the salt to a sieve or the steamer basket. Leave it to drain for at least 10 minutes. The salt actively draws out the moisture. The longer you wait, the firmer the result. If you want a really compact tzatziki, press the drained cucumber firmly in the sieve with the back of a spoon as well.
Quark as the base: more stable than yoghurt alone
We use quark as the main base, not Greek yoghurt on its own. Quark contains less whey and sets the tzatziki more firmly. The natural yoghurt at 3.5 per cent fat comes in as a complement and brings a lightness that quark alone does not have. If you swap the quark entirely for Greek yoghurt at 10 per cent fat, you get a slightly smoother, more authentic texture. Low-fat versions with less fat mean more whey and therefore more liquid in the finished dip.
We run the final step on reverse direction at speed 3. Not speed 8, not a burst of Turbo. The reverse direction folds the ingredients together rather than blending them smooth. The tzatziki stays chunky and you can still see the cucumber pieces.
Garlic: adjust to taste rather than leave it out
The recipe calls for three garlic cloves. For 4 servings that is punchy but perfectly manageable. One thing to bear in mind: the Thermomix® chops garlic at speed 8 very finely, finer than a knife, and more finely chopped garlic releases more heat. If you prefer a milder result, start with two cloves. We recommend leaving the tzatziki in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. The garlic spreads more evenly and tastes rounder than it does straight after preparation.
Tzatziki goes straight alongside oven-baked gyros with the Thermomix® or freshly baked pitta bread with the Thermomix®. If you are putting together a Greek spread, add hummus with the Thermomix® as a second dip.
When the tzatziki turns watery or tastes too salty
Watery tzatziki almost always has the same cause: the cucumber was not drained long enough or was not pressed out. If it has already happened, stir in a tablespoon of cream cheese using the gentle stir setting on reverse direction. That binds the excess liquid quickly. Over-salted tzatziki happens when you salt the cucumber generously and then add more salt to the finished dip. Stirring in extra quark or yoghurt fixes it without any loss of flavour.
Homemade tzatziki keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for two to three days. Freezing is not worth it: quark and yoghurt separate on thawing and the texture turns grainy.
More sauces, dips and spreads with the Thermomix®? Our sauces collection brings together 13 recipes.
What we do differently
Most Thermomix® recipes use 500 g of Greek yoghurt at 10 per cent fat on its own, plus 70 g of olive oil in some versions or just 2 tablespoons in others. We deliberately combine quark with natural yoghurt: the quark sets more firmly than yoghurt alone, the yoghurt brings the freshness. That way the tzatziki stays stable even after hours in the fridge. For draining we allow 10 minutes rather than 30, because we also press the cucumber actively in the sieve. We do not blend olive oil into the mixture. We drizzle it over just before serving, so the fruity aroma stays fresh rather than getting lost in the quark.
Serve with: flatbread.
