From the YummyYucky team, founded by Nancy Nash

Can Babies Eat Tzatziki? Yes, Homemade From 6 Months

Tzatziki is yogurt with grated cucumber, garlic, olive oil and herbs, and a homemade, no-salt bowl works from about 6 months. Grate the cucumber finely or blend it in, soften the garlic, and give plain yogurt on its own first, since tzatziki counts as milk. Store tubs are salted, so they are a small spoonful for toddlers rather than a baby staple.

When to introduce

Around 6 months, made at home with no added salt and the cucumber finely grated or blended in

Common allergen?

Yes, milk (a top-9 allergen). Tzatziki is mostly yogurt.

Texture

Smooth and scoopable. The raw cucumber is the only texture, so grate it finely or blend it in.

Key nutrients

Protein, fat and calcium from the yogurt. Very little iron.

Yes, from about 6 months, made the baby way. Tzatziki is Greek yogurt stirred with grated cucumber, garlic, olive oil and dill or mint, sometimes with a squeeze of lemon. The base is the easy part: the AAP names whole-milk yogurt and Greek yogurt as ways to bring dairy into a baby's diet.¹ The changes are small. Leave out the salt that store tubs and USDA's own recipe use,⁸⁶ peel the cucumber and grate it finely or blend it in, because raw cucumber is firm,⁹¹¹ and soften the garlic in the olive oil so it is less fierce. Plan the first day too, since tzatziki is a milk food. What you end up with is a cool, tangy, herby dip that turns a soft wedge of sweet potato into an event.

Prep School: how to prepare tzatziki for baby-led weaning (BLW) and purées

Is tzatziki safe? Choking & prep

Tzatziki is mostly yogurt, so start with the milk. Milk is one of the nine major food allergens,⁴ and the AAP lists yogurt and other dairy among the allergenic foods to start once your baby is ready for solids, typically at about 6 months, adding that there is no evidence that delaying them prevents allergies.¹ Tzatziki is several new foods in one bowl, and the AAP's advice is one new food at a time,¹ so give plain whole-milk yogurt on its own first and bring in the tzatziki after. Once milk is in, keep it in your baby's diet routinely.¹ If your baby has severe eczema or an egg allergy, talk to your pediatrician before starting allergens.¹ After a new allergen, watch for about two hours. Call 911 (or your local emergency number) right away if any of these show up soon after a food, on their own or together: swelling of the lips, face, eyes, or tongue; swelling or tightness in the throat, or trouble swallowing; vomiting; hives that spread beyond the mouth and face; trouble breathing, noisy breathing, or wheezing; a cough that keeps going; a hoarse voice; skin or lips that turn pale or blue; or a baby who goes floppy or limp, or is suddenly sleepy or hard to wake. If the only sign is a new rash or a few hives around the mouth or face, stop the food, watch your baby closely, and call your pediatrician. If anything else about your baby worries you, call 911.¹⁴¹⁵¹⁶ Salt comes next. USDA's food database builds its tzatziki from a recipe with a teaspoon of salt (6 g) for about 2 cups of Greek yogurt, and lists the finished dip at 307 mg of sodium per 100 g, about 46 mg in a tablespoon.⁶ Store tubs vary a lot: the labels in USDA's database run from about 70 to 710 mg per 100 g.⁶ For babies 7 to 12 months, the National Academies set the adequate intake for sodium at 370 mg a day from all food and drink,⁷ so one tablespoon of USDA's tzatziki is about an eighth of the day. The NHS says babies should not eat much salt, as it is not good for their kidneys, and not to add salt to a baby's food,⁸ and the AAP suggests limiting processed foods made for adults, which often contain more salt.² Leave the salt out at home and the sodium that remains is mostly what the yogurt brings, about 34 mg per 100 g of plain whole-milk Greek yogurt, since peeled cucumber has about 2 mg.⁶ Read the ingredients on a store tub as well. Some brands add sugar, and the CDC says infants and young children should not have added sugars.⁶³ A few plant-based tzatziki-style dips are made from almonds or cashews, which are tree nuts, another major allergen.⁶⁴ Then there is the cucumber. Yogurt is smooth, so the raw cucumber is the only real texture in the bowl. The CDC lists pieces of hard raw vegetables among choking hazards, and the AAP lists raw vegetables such as carrot sticks among foods to avoid or modify for young children.⁹¹⁰ The NHS suggests grating firm vegetables for very young children, and peeling, which makes them easier to swallow.¹¹ So peel the cucumber, grate it on the finest holes and squeeze it dry, or blend it smooth into the yogurt for a baby just starting out. Keep dippers soft as well: soft-cooked vegetable spears, and from about 9 months soft pita strips. The CDC's list includes potato or corn chips and similar snack foods, so crunchy pita chips wait.⁹ Keep your baby sitting up while eating and watch them the whole time.⁹ The yogurt has to be pasteurized. The CDC says not to give your child unpasteurized milk, yogurt or cheese.³ Under the FDA's standard for yogurt, the milk has to be pasteurized before the cultures go in,⁵ so a supermarket tub is covered. Check the label on tzatziki from a farm stand or market, and if you make your own yogurt, start with pasteurized milk. Last is the garlic. Raw garlic is the sharpest flavor in tzatziki, and garlic is not one of the nine major allergens.⁴ For a baby, warm finely grated garlic in the olive oil for a minute and let it cool before stirring it in, which mellows it, or leave it out at first.

Nutrition

Tzatziki is mostly yogurt, so it brings what yogurt brings. USDA lists tzatziki made with whole-milk Greek yogurt at about 5 g of protein, 6 g of fat and 70 mg of calcium per 100 g.⁶ What it does not bring is iron, about 0.03 mg per 100 g,⁶ so put it next to an iron-rich food. The CDC's list includes red meat such as lamb, poultry such as chicken, and beans and lentils,¹² which is what tzatziki tends to be served with anyway. On flavor, tzatziki is a new idea of yogurt for a baby who knows it plain or with fruit: cool, sour, herby and a little garlicky. Build up to it. Start with plain yogurt and a spoonful of grated cucumber, add dill or mint next time, then the softened garlic. Serve it beside foods your baby already eats happily, like soft sweet potato or flaked chicken, and let them dip, smear and lick their fingers. Log each try in YummyYucky with the date and a yummy, meh or yucky, so you can see whether the face changes.

Goes well with

Pita bread · Lamb · Lentils · Sweet potato · Zucchini · Chicken

Storage & freezing

Keep tzatziki covered in the fridge, and put it back within 2 hours of serving (within 1 hour if it is above 90°F, like a picnic in the sun). Spoon your baby's portion into a small bowl so the tub never meets a used spoon, and toss what comes back on the tray. Homemade tzatziki is best within a day or two: fresh food spoils faster than food from a can or jar, and the cucumber keeps letting out water, so the dip turns runny. For a store tub, follow the date and the after-opening line on the label. Freezing is not worth it, since thawed yogurt turns grainy and grated cucumber goes limp.

Introducing this allergen

• How to introduce tzatziki safely →
• Introducing the big 9 allergens →
• Signs of a food allergy in babies →

Related reading

• Greek yogurt for babies →
• Yogurt for babies →
• Cucumber for babies →
• Garlic for babies →
• Dill for babies →
• Mint for babies →

Common questions

Sources

1. AAP HealthyChildren, When to Introduce Egg, Peanut Butter and Other Common Food Allergens to a Baby (whole milk yogurt or Greek yogurt; one new food at a time; keep allergens in the diet routinely; severe eczema or egg allergy)
2. AAP HealthyChildren, Starting Solid Foods (limit processed foods made for adults, which often contain more salt; fresh foods spoil more quickly)
3. CDC, Foods and Drinks to Avoid or Limit (foods high in salt; no added sugars, including flavored yogurts; no unpasteurized milk, yogurt or cheese)
4. FDA, Food Allergies (the nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, sesame)
5. FDA standard of identity for yogurt, 21 CFR 131.200 (dairy ingredients must be pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized before the culture is added)
6. USDA FoodData Central, per 100 g: Tzatziki dip, FNDDS (2705448) 307 mg sodium, 5.22 g protein, 6 g fat, 70 mg calcium, 0.03 mg iron, 1 tablespoon 15 g, recipe of whole-milk plain Greek yogurt 455 g, cucumber 300 g, olive oil 28 g, lemon juice 15 g, raw garlic 6 g, salt 6 g; Yogurt, Greek, whole milk, plain, FNDDS (2705422) 34 mg sodium; Cucumber, peeled, raw, SR Legacy (169225) 2 mg sodium; Salt, table, SR Legacy (173468) 1 tsp 6 g; Branded Foods: 67 store tzatziki dips, label sodium 67 to 714 mg per 100 g, some listing sugar, plant-based ones listing almonds and cashews
7. National Academies (NASEM), Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019), Summary, Table S-2: sodium adequate intake 370 mg a day at 7 to 12 months and 800 mg a day at 1 to 3 years
8. NHS, Foods to avoid giving babies and young children (salt)
9. CDC, Choking Hazards (Infant and Toddler Nutrition)
10. AAP HealthyChildren, Choking Prevention
11. NHS Best Start in Life, Preparing food safely for babies (grate firm vegetables for very young children; remove skins)
12. CDC, Iron (Infant and Toddler Nutrition): iron-rich foods
13. CDC, Preventing Food Poisoning (refrigerate perishable food within 2 hours, 1 hour above 90°F)
14. NIAID Addendum Guidelines, Appendix D: Instructions for Home Feeding of Peanut Protein
15. ASCIA: Anaphylaxis
16. NHS: Anaphylaxis

Further reading

• American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Starting Solid Foods
• CDC: Infant and Toddler Nutrition
• NIAID: Addendum Guidelines for the Prevention of Peanut Allergy (2017)

Last updated September 2026. Next review December 2026. How we write these: built from current published guidance from the AAP, CDC, FDA/EPA, NIAID, WHO, and other pediatric and public-health authorities, with sources cited on the page. See our editorial and medical policy for how we research, source, and update these, and how we double-check the food advice.

This is general information, not medical advice, and is not individualized for your baby. Always talk to your pediatrician about your baby's diet, introducing allergens, and any reaction. In an emergency, contact emergency services.

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