Easy Yogurt Dip

This veggie dip with yogurt is both flavorful and very healthy. It provides probiotics and prebiotics and is naturally rich in protein.

• Go straight to the Recipe Card or
• Read on for relevant info and step by step pictures (about 1 min)

Ingredients for Veggie Dip with Yogurt 

You will need the few simple ingredients listed below, a knife and a cutting board, a bowl and a couple of minutes.

• plain yogurt – creamy, cultured in the cup works best
• olive oil – use extra virgin for more flavor 
• garlic – cloves or if you like a milder flavor – garlic chives
• dill 
• salt – sea salt is best

How to Make Yogurt Sauce

I grew up eating this vegetable dip weekly, if not daily and it was one of the first things I learned to make as soon as I was allowed to use a knife. It’s truly easy.

All you have to do is mince or press the peeled garlic cloves, finely chop the dill and combine them with the rest of the ingredients using a fork or a spoon. The whole process takes less than five minutes.

I like to mix together all the ingredients except for the yogurt first. They come together in a vibrant looking concoction and then once I add the yogurt they easily blend in.

Store the yogurt sauce covered and refrigerated. 

 

Culinary Side Notes

A curious fact I want to share is that this exact yogurt dip forms the base of a Bulgarian cold yogurt soup known as tarator. It is ultra refreshing on a hot summer day and so tasty. Every Bulgarian eats tarator. It is a great starter dish or meze.

Another curious fact is that if you add diced cucumber and lemon juice to the dip you will swear it is tzatziki. This is because Bulgarian and Greek cuisines have multiple commonalities. Over the centuries vast parts of Greece were Bulgarian territories, later both countries were under Ottoman rule for many years and then during multiple Balkan wars Bulgarian and Greek lands changed hands frequently. Hence the shared food traditions and culinary heritage of the modern countries. 

TIP: You don’t have to use dill. Substitute with mint, parsley, oregano, or thyme. 

To me without dill yogurt sauce simply doesn’t taste right. You go ahead and add whatever herb you want if dill is not your thing. Lucky, unencumbered you:)

Easy Yogurt Sauce Serving Suggestions

We keep a bowl of yogurt sauce in the fridge at all times. My favorite ways to consume it are: 

• Dip veggies – fresh or grilled in it (English cucumber sticks are especially good to that end)
• Dip Lamb & Feta Meatballs in it or Lamb Lollipops
• Serve a dollop of it over or next to thinly sliced roasted eggplant or zucchini or avocado slices
• Dip homemade fries in it
• Use it as a dressing for potato salad
• Serve it with chicken skewers
• Serve it alongside Pan Seared Salmon
• Use it as a meat tenderizing marinade (for example tough cuts of lamb smothered in this dip become amazingly tender after a few hours)

Health Benefits of Vegetable Dip with Yogurt & Garlic

I’ve been making this exact veggie dip throughout my entire adult life. Before I ever realized how beneficial it was for the body, before there was genetic sequencing to study the multitudes of bacteria residing in the human body and make sense of how essential probiotics and prebiotics are to every aspect of our health. 

• Because it is packed with probiotics (good bacteria rich plain yogurt) and prebiotic (garlic) this dip can perform wonders for your gut micro flora and as a consequence for your overall physical and mental health.
• It can also combat the negative effects of sugar consumption.
• And don’t forget the anti-inflammatory properties of extra virgin olive oil.
• A couple of the lactobacillus strains contained in yogurt are associated with weight loss and control. 

You Need to Be Eating (A Lot of) Yogurt Veggie Dip If

• You are a huge craft beer drinker like us or frequently enjoy other alcoholic beverages.
• You consume high glycemic index food or beverages on a daily basis.
• You have taken or are taking antibiotics.
• You have eaten a Western diet with a lot of processed foods for most of your life.
• Are trying to loose weight.
• Feel bloated or depressed – not joking, I’ve experienced the blissful effect of yogurt dip on well-being numerous times (mind gut connection).

Below is a list of books that can help you understand the full scope of health benefits brought about by consuming probiotics and prebiotics. The subject matter is nothing short of fascinating and these three books are the best I have read on gut health.

The Mind-Gut Connection – How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health by Emeran Mayer

Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain–for Life by David Perlmutter

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong