Meet my new favorite summer spread.. Raw Vegan Tzatziki. It whips up in about five minutes, tastes incredible, and is super healthy!
Hemp seeds give the Raw Vegan Tzatziki a creamy texture while adding protein as well. A bit of garlic, lemon juice, and fresh herbs add to the nutritional value of the spread while giving it a flavor profile that is extremely similar to traditional tzatziki made with dairy.
We’ve tried this Raw Vegan Tzatziki recipe with both fresh and dried herbs. It tastes good both ways, but if you have fresh herbs I recommend using those instead of dried. There’s something about fresh herb that’s simply wonderful. They’re so aromatic and I just love the vibrant green color of this mint!
Creamy Raw Vegan Tzatziki
Creamy raw vegan tzatziki that's completely nut-free and oil-free. Packed with fresh herbs and tons of favor, this is a must try! Perfect on Portobello Gyros or as a spread.
Ingredients
- 1 cup hemp seeds
- 2- 3 cloves garlic minced
- juice of two lemons
- 2 tablespoons heaping tahini
- 2-3 persian cucumbers or 1 large
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 4 tablespoons water
Instructions
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Chop the cucumbers into small pieces. In a blend or food processor, combine the hemp seeds, tahini, minced garlic, lemon juice, and water. Blend or process until smooth and creamy. If it's too thick, add water 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
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Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the herbs and chopped cucumber. Serve immediately or keep refrigerated in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
This Raw Vegan Tzatziki tastes amazing as a spread with pita bread. To keep it fully raw, try the Raw Vegan Tzatziki as a dip with fresh veggies. We are experimenting with vegan gyro recipes as well (both raw and cooked) so stay tuned! We will post the cooked vegan gyro recipe next week here and the raw recipe will come soon after that.
Did you make this Raw Vegan Tzatziki? Leave us a comment and tell us how it turned out! While you’re at it, post a photo of your Raw Vegan Tzatziki to Instagram with the tag #carrotsandflowers 🙂 It will make our day!
If you love Raw Vegan Tzatziki and want to check out other delicious raw recipes, take a peek at our Purple Raw’n Cauliflower Hummus and our famous Vegan Pesto!
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Made this for a party and it was terrific– thanks so much. I would love to try this with tofu
Yay thanks Diane! Glad you enjoyed it!
Is there anything I can use to replace tahini? My son is allergic to sesame seeds. Thanks!
Soaked sunflower seeds will make a yummy substitution. Can he have those?
hemp seeds work great in this
Do you think I would get a similar result if I substituted soaked cashews or sunflower seeds for the hemp seeds?
Yes! Either of those will make a wonderful substitution. 🙂
I made this, but replaced hemp seeds for sunflower and pumpkin seeds (I made it on a whim and happened to have those in my pantry) . Big hit all round. I will make this over and over. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
That is excellent! So happy to know you enjoyed it, I’ll have to try it with the pumpkin and sunflower seeds!
This Tzatziki is awesome! My GF and dairy free wife loved it. Thanks for sharing. Paul
Is there anything you could use as a substitute for the hemp seeds. I’m in Australia and it’s actually illegal to eat hemp products here, go figure. You can sometimes buy them but they are really really expensive hence the substitute question. Thanks.
How come it’s white? Made it like in the recipe and yielded a greyish paste, the smell tbh not so appealing but in combination with a couscous salad and grilled veg it was ok, but i wouldn’t like to eat it pure. The colour difference astonishes me quite a bit!
What brand of Tahini did you use?
Gyros were delicious but I found the tzatziki seemed a little bitter. Strong garlic??
Very Good! Surprised and delighted to see the hemp seeds turn into such a nice, creamy base for garlic and herbs. Used hemp seed oil in place of tahini. Good call
Can I substitute hemp seeds with something else? other seeds?
Hi Nada! I recommend substituting hemp seeds with either soaked cashews or soaked sunflower seeds. 🙂
Can it be frozen?
I haven’t tried freezing it, but I believe it will negatively affect the texture. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out!
Did you peel your cucumber? I made it and it was delicious, but mine was green.
How strange! I didn’t peel my cucumbers and got a nice light color. I’m not sure if some cukes give off more color than others. I used small Persian cucumbers in this recipe and the green didn’t bleed into the tzatziki.
Nice Post !!
Thanks for sharing this yummy Recipes
Please share more yummy Creation with us…!
thanks 🙂
The hemp heart tzatziki is AMAZING, and on top of the portobello gyros, INCREDIBLE. Looking for other reasons to use this sauce, like on zucchini pancakes, and can’t wait to serve it to family and friends!