Creamy Dairy Free Tzatziki Made with Cashews

This dairy free tzatziki sauce is ultra creamy and made with a cashew cream base instead of yogurt or a dairy free yogurt alternative! With a little proper planning (soaking the cashews and chilling the cashew cream), it comes together quickly and makes a delicious dip or sauce to accompany your favorite Greek meals. Made with fresh and wholesome ingredients like raw cashews, cucumber, fragrant herbs, garlic, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar. It is entirely plant based, zippy, bright, and has tons of mouth-watering flavor!

The best dairy free tzatziki

I have long been obsessed with making the best dairy free version of whatever sauce strikes my fancy, and this tzatziki is our new homemade sauce fixation!

For this recipe we’re leaning (once again, ha!) into the delight of replacing dairy products with cashew cream.

It’s mild flavor and exceptionally creamy texture pairs perfectly with the grated cucumber, herbs, and garlic.

To mimic the flavor of greek yogurt (which is typically used in tzatziki), the cashews are blended with fresh lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and salt until smooth and zippy.

It’s a similar combination of ingredients that I use in my recipe for Cashew Cream Sour Cream, although for this recipe I amped up the tartness a little bit to really make the sauce *sing* with flavor.

It is thick enough that it makes an excellent dip for pita, crackers, or veggies, but also pairs beautifully with Greek themed meals.

We love making it with dill, mint, and parsley, but any combination of these works just as well as using all 3 would!

If you love yummy homemade sauces as much as we do be sure to check out our recipes for Avocado Herb Green Sauce, Ranch Dressing made with Cashews, 5-Minute Lemon Garlic Tahini Dressing, and Easy-Peasy Garlic Herb Aioli!

Recipe testing notes

Squeezing out the excess moisture in the grated cucumber

The first several times I made this tzatziki, I attempted to find a way to skip a common step of squeezing out the extra liquid in the grated cucumber.

To do this, I tried starting out with a thicker cashew cream, so that the liquid released from the cucumber wouldn’t overly dilute the sauce.

But as it turns out, you can only make cashew cream *so* thick before it won’t catch on the blades and blend in a high speed blender.

So, I’ve decided for the best, THICK tzatziki, squeezing out the cucumber really is essential. It only takes an extra minute or so, and since it’s not a large quantity it’s relatively easy to do and worth the superior result!

Deciding which type of cucumber works the best

I experimented with using both English and Persian cucumbers for this tzatziki to see which one I liked the best.

They both worked well, but because Persian cucumbers have less watery flesh on the inside, they produced a thicker sauce – which is our preference!

The difference was fairly minor, though. If you can’t find Persian cucumbers, English cucumbers also work very well!

I would not, however, recommend using slicing cucumbers because the skin is too thick, the seeds are too big, and the interior is too watery.

Ingredients

This dairy free tzatziki is made with some fresh, wholesome, & pantry-friendly ingredients! You can find the full list of ingredients, along with measurements, in the recipe card below. These are my ingredient notes and recommendations!

Raw cashews

Raw cashews are what is used to make the creamy base for this tzatziki. They have a mild flavor, and after soaking blend into a silky smooth sauce that’s the perfect backdrop for all of the other fresh ingredients.

Lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and kosher salt

These ingredients are blended together with the cashews and a bit of water to mimic the flavorful zing that you typically get from yogurt.

Grated cucumber

I find that a box grater works perfectly to grate the cucumber for this recipe. You could also use the grating blade on a food processor if you prefer.

Persian or English cucumbers work best, Persian being our favorite!

Fresh herbs and garlic

We love a combination of dill, parlsey, and mint, but you don’t need all three!

If I only had to choose one I would opt for dill. Parsley and mint are just welcome extras for a little more nuanced flavor!

Grating the garlic with a microplane grater helps its flavor meld seamlessly into the sauce. you don’t have a microplane it can also be very finely chopped.

How to make dairy free tzatziki

This recipe comes together fairly quickly, although you’ll want to allow a little extra time to soak the cashews and chill the sauce after it’s made. I also always suggest reading through the recipe at least once before you begin so that the recipe flows smoothly.

Step 1: Soak the cashews

Cover 1 cup cashews in a heat-proof bowl with just boiled water to soak for at least 30 minutes, or up to an hour. If you’re in a hurry you can simmer the cashews on the stove top for about 10 minutes, until they are pale and plump.

Step 2: Make cashew cream base

Drain soaked cashews and add to high speed blender with water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and kosher salt.

Blend on high until entirely smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed or use blender tamper to coax it to blend. Move to the refrigerator.

Step 3: Prepare remaining tzatziki ingredients

Using a box grater or grating blade on a food processor grate cucumber. Transfer grated cucumber to a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and set aside.

Chop fresh dill, parsley, and/or mint, and grate or finely chop garlic.

Step 4: Assemble the tzatziki

Remove cashew cream base from the refrigerator.

Using your hands, squeeze out as much excess moisture from the cucumber as you can.

Add squeezed cucumber, fresh herbs, garlic, and olive oil to the cashew cream base and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and plenty of black pepper.

Step 5: Chill before serving

Because the blender will likely make the cashew cream warm, it’s best to chill the tzatziki for at least an hour before serving. The sauce will also thicken up slightly as it sits in the refrigerator.

Storage recommendations

This tzatziki should keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Some of the liquid in the cashew cream may separate during storage; if that happens just mix it together again before serving.

Serving suggestions

This sauce makes an excellent dip for pita, crackers (we love these GF pita crackers!), or fresh cut veggies.

It’s also an excellent sauce to pair with any Greek themed meal that you love!

If you enjoyed this recipe, we’d love it if you would take 5 seconds to rate and review it below! It’s also super helpful for other readers if you share any modifications you made to the recipe. 

Thank you for sharing your kitchen with NK. We’re so grateful you’re here!

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