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This quick and easy garlic yogurt sauce recipe makes a refreshing dip or spread within minutes. It’s light, creamy, flavorful, and infused with dill, garlic, and gherkins.
I love condiments! And they can elevate your dish by leaps. Be it pizza, salad, or marinade for chicken, you cannot do away with a smashing condiment.
If you don’t believe me, try my favorite dipping sauce, smoked salmon dip, ranch dressing, and this tasty garlic yogurt sauce.
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love this recipe
- Ingredients Needed
- How to make garlic yogurt sauce
- What to serve with garlic yogurt sauce
- Tips to make the best recipe
- Flavor variations
- Storage instructions
- Recommended tools to make this recipe
- More mouthwatering sauce recipes to try
- Frequently asked questions
- Garlic Yogurt Sauce (Recipe Card)
Why you’ll love this recipe
The yogurt garlic sauce is primarily made by flavoring yogurt with other aromatics and herbs. It is an incredibly versatile fragrant, cool, tangy, savory dip.
- Simple. No fancy ingredients, appliances, or techniques! This recipe requires you only to whisk together the ingredients.
- Delicious. Made with just a handful of ingredients, this yogurt sauce is finger-licking good.
- Perfect texture. You’ll love the silky smooth texture of yogurt with a slight bite of dill and gherkins.
- Quick. Make this quick sauce by combining fresh ingredients with pantry staples like mayo and yogurt whenever you’re pinched for time.
I love how the bold flavors of dill and garlic are mellowed down by sour cream and yogurt to make a perfect, thick all-purpose sauce (like for burgers). Also, if you have a particularly spicy main, tone it down with the side of this sauce.
Ingredients Needed
This balanced sauce uses just six common ingredients. You’ll find some in the aisles of your market next door, farmer’s market, or kitchen pantry. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Dill. Pick fresh green sprigs of dill and chop them fine. Get rid of any yellow or brown leaves before using.
- Gherkins. Gherkins are pickled baby cucumbers; you can find them easily in supermarkets. They have a fantastic zing that cuts through the flavor of dill wonderfully.
- Garlic powder. For the quintessential garlic flavor. If you prefer using fresh garlic for an intense flavor, ensure you mince it fine before making this sauce.
- Yogurt. This serves as the base for this dip. Use unsweetened plain yogurt for this recipe.
- Sour cream or mayonnaise. I am a big fan of sour cream and its thick, creamy consistency. But if you don’t like added tanginess, substitute it with mayonnaise for a similar texture.
- Salt. For seasoning.
How to make garlic yogurt sauce
Believe it or not, this is a no-cook sauce recipe. No boiling, no whipping, no fuss! This sauce is as simple as it gets!
Step 1- Mix the ingredients
Whisk together yogurt, sour cream, garlic powder, chopped dill, gherkins, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
Step 2- Refrigerate
For a thick consistency, cover the sauce and refrigerate it for at least an hour.
What to serve with garlic yogurt sauce
As I said, it goes excellently with chicken patties, zucchini fritters, and lamb kabobs.
But you can also try making sandwiches, pita pockets, burgers, pasta, salads, and wraps with this delicious sauce. And as always, you can pair it with chicken cutlets, sweet potato, or classic fries.
Tips to make the best recipe
- Adjust the consistency. Use low-fat yogurt for a thinner and lighter sauce. You can also think it out by adding a teaspoon of lemon juice. Use Greek or hung or full-fat yogurt for a thick, rich sauce.
- Finely chop your additions. Finely chop dill and gherkins to get the maximum flavor out of it. Also, it incorporates well into the sauce when diced finely.
- Use an active yogurt. To get the most out of the good bacteria and probiotics, use a yogurt that contains active lactobacilli.
- Remember to refrigerate. If making fresh, refrigerate it for a few hours to get a nice, thick consistency.
Flavor variations
- Use your favorite herbs. Fresh parsley, cilantro, coriander, or mint work excellently with a yogurt base.
- Spice it up. Crank up the heat by sprinkling some smoked paprika or by adding ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes. You can also add finely chopped pickled jalapenos for a punch of heat.
- Make it more acidic. Dial up the acidity by adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to this sauce for a burst of vitamin C.
- Make it with Greek yogurt. Instead of using a mixture of sour cream and regular yogurt, use thick Greek yogurt to save some time.
- Add fresh cucumber. Make the Greek cousin of this sauce- tzatziki by adding grated fresh cucumber instead of gherkins. Be sure to squeeze your grated cucumber before adding it to the yogurt.
Storage instructions
To store. This sauce refrigerates very well. You can keep it closed in the fridge for up to a week. It could separate when chilled. Stir it well before serving.
To freeze. Yogurt-based sauces don’t freeze well. So, I don’t recommend freezing this sauce.
Recommended tools to make this recipe
- Whisk. I love how light and stable this whisk is! Not just for this recipe, but it is great to beat your eggs, cream, and dips.
- Blender. If you’d like a smoother and silky sauce.
More mouthwatering sauce recipes to try
Frequently asked questions
For a vegan sauce, substitute the yogurt with a plant-based one, and use a dairy-free sour cream and egg-free mayonnaise.
Yogurt, by itself, is full of vital nutrients like calcium, vitamin B12, and phosphorus. Also, because it is high in protein and probiotics, you can include it in your healthy diet plans.
I love the slight bite of chopped dill and gherkins. If you prefer a smoother sauce, combine it in a blender.
This sauce tastes like garlic aioli but is less fatty and has no oil. You can expect bold dill, garlic, and cool cucumber flavors.
Garlic Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup sour cream or mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup dill finely chopped
- 1/4 cup gherkins finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
Instructions
- Whisk together all the ingredients until combined.
- Cover the sauce and refrigerate for at least an hour, to thicken.
