🥒 Cacık
Cacık is a cool Turkish dish of thick yogurt mixed with finely chopped or grated cucumber, crushed garlic, dill and dried mint, finished with a drizzle of olive oil. It can be thick enough to serve as a dip or thinned with cold water into a refreshing soup, and it is a classic partner for grilled meats, rice and kebabs in summer.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g plain yogurt
- 1 large cucumber (about 300 g)
- 1–2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
- 1 tsp dried mint
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt
- Cold water to thin (optional)
Method
- Grate or finely dice the cucumber, salt lightly and squeeze out excess water.
- Whisk the yogurt with the garlic and a pinch of salt until smooth.
- Stir in the cucumber, dill and half the mint; thin with cold water if you want a soup.
- Chill, then serve with the olive oil and remaining mint on top.
How to make it lighter
- Use low-fat yogurt for a lighter version with the same tang.
- Skip or halve the olive oil drizzle — 1 tbsp oil ≈ 120 kcal.
- Serve it as a side instead of a creamy sauce on grilled meat — it adds volume for few calories.
History
Cacık is eaten all over Türkiye and is a close relative of Greek tzatziki and other yogurt-and-cucumber dishes across the Balkans and the Middle East.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →