Turkish Yogurt Dip aka Cacik is such a tasty dip that makes your mouth water. It is the perfect combination of refreshing yogurt and cucumber. Our favorite go to dip in summer.
With the refreshing ingredients in it, Turkish yogurt sauce called cacik is a staple side dish in Turkish cuisine. We pair it with kebabs, Turkish meatballs and chicken dishes to simple menemen egg dish.
Although there might be slight differences, cacik is mainly the same as Greek tzatziki. You can’t imagine how easy and simple yet so addictive it is.
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What is Cacik?
In Turkish “cacik” means very green and fresh. As the name suggests, with the combination of cucumber and yogurt, this cucumber dip is super refreshing.
Besides being a mouthwatering side dish, this Turkish yogurt sauce with cucumber can be eaten on its own as an appetizer or a mezze accompanying other snacks to serve with beer or raki. Believe it or not, it is the first appetizer to disappear on such a board. We think everyone has a weakness for it. You are missing a lot if you haven't given it a try yet.
Want more recipes with yogurt? Check out Turkish yogurt soup with rice, cold yogurt drink ayran and cilbir aka Turkish eggs.
Ingredients
Besides yogurt and cucumber, we need dried mint, salt, garlic and water to make cacik recipe.
The consistency of this yogurt and cucumber dip might vary. Personally, we find it better when it's thicker and made with strained yogurt, but it's okay to make it with homemade yogurt too.
We find dried mint more flavorful than the fresh one, so we always add dried mint in this Turkish yogurt dip. Even when we use minced fresh mint or dill in the recipe. Fresh dill is an alternative herb that can be used in cacik and we do love it but still we add a little dried mint too.
Garlic in this addictive yogurt and cucumber dip is optional, but we recommend not to leave it out to please your taste buds. You can decrease the amount though. We don't like it too garlicky, so we mostly prefer using just one clove of garlic, finely mashed or pureed. As the recipe is quite versatile, you can test and taste to find your favorite version.
How to Make
Turkish Cacik is a very easy side dish with 4 super easy steps:
First, in a large mixing bowl, put strained yogurt, salt and dried mint. Mix well.
Second, Pour cold water in the bowl and mix well.
Third, add in mashed garlic and mix well.
Finally, add in chopped cucumber and give it a good stir. At this point, taste it and adjust the amount of salt if needed.
Optional Topping
Although it's not very common to have extra topping on cacık, there are meyhane type of restaurants(rakı restaurants) serving it with the following toppings:
- Olive oil
- Dried mint
- Red pepper flakes
- Sumac
These extra additions take this simple yogurt dip to a whole new level.
Notes About Turkish Cucumber Dip
- We prefer strained yogurt for a thicker dip, but it's okay to use plain regular yogurt. You need a little water if you use strained yogurt, but don't add any water if it is regular yogurt unless you want a runny, soup-like cacik.
- There are two ways of adding cucumbers in this dip. 1) Chop them finely 2)Shred it. We prefer chopping it because we discovered that it quickly gets juicy when shredded.
- Unlike Greek tzatziki, we never remove the seeds of cucumber when making Turkish cacik. It might be because of the types of cucumbers in Turkey, their seeds are already super tiny and you don't even feel them in the dip. If the cucumbers you are using are big and if you don't want the seeds, just remove them before chopping or shredding the cucumbers.
Note: As mothers are very creative with the ingredients in their kitchen, there are some different versions of cacik in Turkish cuisine. If you don’t have cucumber on hand and if you don’t feel like going out to buy some, you may use lettuce or purslane instead.
More Turkish Side Dishes
📖 Recipe
Turkish Cacik (Cucumber Yogurt Dip)
A super refreshing yogurt dip with cucumber and dried mint called cacik. Perfect to serve with meat dishes and vegetarian dishes.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: Turkish
- Diet: Low Calorie
Ingredients
- 1 cup strained yogurt (or 1 and ½ cups homemade yogurt)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- ¼ cup cold water
- 1 clove garlic,mashed
- ½ cup cucumbers
Optional Topping:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together yogurt, salt and dried mint.
- Pour cold water into it and mix well.
- Add in mashed garlic, mix well.
- Add in chopped cucumbers and give it a good stir until everything is combined.
- Share it into small bowls.
For the optional topping:
- Drizzle olive oil.
- Sprinkle dried mint, sumac and red pepper flakes.
- Serve cold.
Notes
You can play with the amount of water and yogurt depending on your taste. Thickness of cacik is originally like soup. But if you want it thicker, use strained yogurt. Don't add any water if you use regular yogurt.
Keywords: cacik, Turkish cacik, cacik recipe, Turkish cucumber dip, Turkish yogurt dip
Marielle says
This was great! I did use fresh mint, finely chopped. I grated the cucumber and put it in a piece of cheesecloth and squeezed out the excess water. I dressed it with some nice olive oil and sumac.
I'll be making this again real soon.
★★★★★
Yusuf says
Hi Marielle,
So happy to hear that you loved it!
Fresh mint is so good in cacik! We never remove the juice of cucumber.
Thanks for the tip! That olive oil and sumac on the top make it even tastier. Right?
Marielle says
It looks pretty and the flavours complement the taste of the cacik. Yes i made it again today 😀 and Lavash as well. So good!
★★★★★
Deniz says
Yummmmm is all I can say.. We served this with the stuffed capsicum and omg soooooo good... Thanks for sharing 🙂
Yusuf says
Glad you liked it! Any stuffed vegetable goes perfect with cacik!
Ece says
Zerrin,
Cacik is one of my favourites! As well as dried mint, I also add some "sumac" to cacik. Give it a try! 😉
Hugs & kisses.
Love,
Ece
Zerrin says
Hi my lovely friend,
Sumac is a great idea! Will try it next time for sure.
Big hugs & kisses!
Lydia says
This has always been one of my 2 1/2 year old daughter's favorites! BUT, my adaptation is to keep it thick so it is less messy for a toddler (and me!) to eat. I use about 1 cup thick, strained yogurt, 1 or 2 pressed garlic cloves (depending on size), salt and dried or fresh chopped mint, and one peeled and finely chopped little "perisan" or "japanese" cucumber (the small, slender ones that aren't as watery or seedy as typical cucumbers for sale here in the US ) --either from the international market or a young "Tendergreen" variety from my own garden (a young "burpless" variety of homegrown cucumber is similar to the exotic types), Walmart has started selling a 6 pack of "gourmet" cucumbers for $2.50 which is very suitable and which I used today, since my cucumbers aren't bearing yet. It is more of a cucumber salad than a cold soup for me. But the taste is fantastic! It is also a good dip for vegetables!
kaia says
thanks for this recipe! made it and it was deelicious. also added a dash of black pepper and bit of lemon juice and olive oil. thanks again!
Zerrin says
These are great additions! Can't wait to try it with your version!
Jae Blakney says
Made this once and it was so delicious! Went well with Buffalo wings. Now we're in the Dominican Republic. It's so hot here that it's hard to eat hot food and we are craving creamy-cold cacik. If we can find plain yogurt anywhere, we'll make it.
Mrs Ergül says
yay! And I add another Turkish dish into my repertoire!
JMom says
I like it! Just in time too our cucumbers are at their peak now 🙂
Cajun Chef Ryan says
Oh I like that, looks really great! Thanks!
Miya says
wow ! simple and delicious at the same time.. Thanx alot 🙂
Gera @ SweetsFoods says
A healthy and refreshing appetizer...never tasted both yogurt and cucumber all together 😉
I'd try the cacik soon to know this particular and neat flavor!
Cheers,
Gera