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Meet the perfect pairing for all of your favorite seafood dishes! With my homemade Tartar Sauce Recipe you'll have an extra creamy, zesty, flavorful tartar in 10 minutes or less, using only 7 easy ingredients! Make extra- you'll want more!
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Tartar Sauce
Tartar sauce a classic condiment that has a way of fostering incredible memories. Ocean-side fish and chips with my best friend the first time I visited her, dipping our fish in tartar sauce and throwing the chips to gulls. Piping hot and fresh battered fish on the bay to watch the sunset.
When I made this traditional tartar sauce recipe, taking a taste was like a breath of salty beach air! There's nothing like food to keep beloved memories alive. It's all the creamy, tart, zesty goodness of the best tartar sauce you'll ever have, and it's so easy. It'll be done in minutes and so much better than any store-bought variety!
Whether you are frying a fresh catch or serving up fish sticks for your kids, this sauce is exactly what you need for the perfect meal! It's a versatile sauce you will love to have on hand. You can even use this sauce as a dressing, condiment, or vegetable dipping sauce!
So make it a special day! Prep your favorite fried fillet or cozy crab cakes, and while they're cooking, I'm here to make this tartar sauce recipe easy! With a sauce this good, you'll be looking for anything to dip in it.
What is Tartar Sauce?
Tartar sauce is a mayonnaise-based condiment, typically paired with seafood dishes such as fish and chip. It contains a mixture of pickles, relish, or capers, with herbs such as parsley and dill, or tarragon, and may also include additional tart and sweet ingredients such as lemon juice and sugar.
Tartar Sauce Ingredients
- Mayonnaise
- Dill pickles
- Fresh Dill
- Parsley
- Lemon Juice
- Sugar
- Black pepper
Homemade tartar sauce is made from mayonnaise, dill, pickles, parsley, lemon juice, sugar, and a little pepper. The pickles are chopped finely along with the herbs, then combined with the other ingredients into a chunky, flavorful sauce.
My tartar sauce recipe contains the perfect blend of ingredients for a balanced, flavorful sauce recipe you will love serving with fish of all kinds. Follow my steps for how to make tartar sauce for fish fillets, crab cakes, fish sticks, and more - I guarantee you will love this easy sauce recipe!
How to Make Tartar Sauce
- Finely chop the dill pickles and herbs, then add all ingredients to a small bowl.
- Mix well with a whisk until the sugar dissolves, and serve! This is a quick tartar sauce but the flavors will be even more intense when rested in the fridge overnight.
Homemade Tartar Sauce Tips
- Like a little more flavor in your sauce? Add more pickles or lemon juice for tarter tartar, or for extra zest, try finely chopping onions, thyme, and capers for a huge flavor boost!
- For a warmer, earthier sauce, add in a dash of cayenne pepper (be careful, it bites!) and paprika. If you can find smoked paprika, it's extra delicious!
- If you're a fan of a sweeter sauce, swap out the dill pickles for bread and butter pickles. The sweetness of the liquid will nicely balance the lemon juice.
- Make easy vegan tartar sauce by swapping out the mayonnaise for vegan mayo! It's amazing with fried tofu and oven fries!
- As a preference, you can add pickle juice to tartar sauce to thin it.
Tartar Sauce Recipe FAQs
Tartar sauce is a classic dip for fish and chips, and truly shines when paired with seafood! I love it with breaded fish cutlets, but it's also delicious with salmon cakes, crab cakes, home-baked fries, or even paired with rice and skewered chicken for a Mediterranean twist.
Mayonnaise and tartar sauce share the same base, as tartar sauce starts off as simple mayo! However, the flavor of tartar sauce truly comes from the added pickles, lemon juice, herbs, and spices. It's a much more flavorful sauce with a more acidic edge.
If you need tartar sauce and don't have any on hand, it's easy to make at home using simple ingredients. Simply mix together mayonnaise, herbs, and pickles or relish for an irresistible homemade tartar sauce you can use as a substitute. See the exact ingredient measurements in the recipe card.
Though both tartar and horseradish sauces are creamy, mayonnaise-based sauces, they are not the same. Horseradish sauce is very sharp and pungent with a slightly spicy flavor. Traditional tartar sauce uses fresh dill, which is mild in flavor.
How to Store Tartar Sauce
Store tartar sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator. After it's made, homemade tartar sauce is best when left in the fridge for up to one week.
I like to store my homemade tartar sauce in a covered mason jar, which fits perfectly on the shelves in the fridge!
What to Serve with Tartar Sauce
Of course, so many people love the classic combination of tartar sauce with fresh fish and chips, or fish sticks (my kids love homemade tartar sauce with fish sticks)!
But there are so many wonderful ways to serve this sauce - here are a few of my favorites:
- Seafood Dishes
- Crab Claws
- Shrimp Dishes
- Crab Cakes
- Sauce for a Fried Fish Sandwiches or Fish Sticks
- As a Topping for any Fried, Grilled, or Roasted Fish Fillets
Dipping Sauces
Try all of my Dipping Sauce Recipes!
Sauces for Seafood
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Tartar Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Whisk
- 1 medium-sized mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¾ cup finely chopped dill pickles
- 1 tablespoon dill finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon parsley finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add mayonnaise, lemon juice, and sugar. Whisk until sugar has dissolved slightly.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix until incorporated.
- Serve immediately or place into a container and store in the refrigerator.
Notes
- If you like your tartar sauce more on the tart side, add more pickles and lemon juice.
- As a preference, you can add pickle juice to tartar sauce to thin it.
- For differently variations of tartar sauce, try adding ingredients like finely chopped onions, capers, thyme, cayenne pepper, or paprika.
- For a sweeter tartar sauce, try using bread and butter pickles!
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