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Try just one taste of this Traditional Tartar Sauce Recipe and you'll say goodbye to store-bought forever! It's creamy, full of flavor, and ready in minutes. Whip up a batch and you'll find yourself using it as a dip for everything from chicken wings and fish sticks to french fries and more!
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Tartar Sauce Recipe
Honestly, when I'm out for fish and chips, what I'm after is a good excuse for tartar sauce! It's the perfect mix of creamy, tart, and tangy, with just enough crunch to elevate every bite. Even talking about it makes me crave some fish sticks just for dipping!
It used to be that I would settle for store-bought tartar sauce, but then I discovered how easy homemade tartar sauce is to make, and everything changed. With easy ingredients and barely any steps, you won't ever want to buy it bottled again!
Once you make it, you'll be using it for everything, trust me. Slather it on fish sandwiches, use it as a dip for shrimp and french fries, or even toss with with lettuce for a unique salad dressing. You can't go wrong!
Traditional Tartar Sauce Ingredients
- Mayonnaise: If you want to leave out the mayo, try using greek yogurt, sour cream, and a bit more pickle juice.
- Dill Pickles: If you don't have whole pickles, dill relish or any other pickle relish work great.
- Dill: Fresh or dried dill both work well for this recipe, so use what you have on hand.
- Fresh Parsley: You can leave out the parsley, or replace it with more dill.
- Lemon Juice: Fresh lemon juice always works best. I don't recommend using bottled, as the flavor is not the same.
- Sugar: Use white granulated sugar.
- Black Pepper: Freshly cracked black pepper tastes best, but pre-ground also works!
Optional:
- To make this easy tartar sauce recipe vegan, just swap the mayo out for your favorite vegan mayo substitute, such as olive oil mayo!
- Tartar Sauce with Capers: A classic way to serve tartar is with capers. Stir in 1 tablespoon capers to the sauce to add a strong tang!
- Dijon Mustard: 1 teaspoon dijon mustard adds a fun twist of flavor!
- Worcestershire sauce: The anchovies used to make Worcestershire bring out a delicious umami that make for a classic tartar sauce flavor!
- Garlic and Onion Powder: Classic seasonings you can't go wrong with. Onion powder adds a sweet and savory flavor while garlic powder will add garlicky flavor without fresh garlic.
- Tarragon: If you can find it, a little tarragon brings in a unique herbal aroma.
- Chives: Or green onion, if you have it! Chop in just a little bit (teaspoons at most) to bring in a tiny onion flavor that isn't overpowering.
- Salt: If you add salt, I recommend using sea salt flakes.
How to Make Tartar Sauce
- Start by finely chopping the dill, parsley, and pickles, then set them aside. Next, mix the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and sugar in a bowl until the sugar dissolves.
- Add in the chopped herbs, pickles, and pepper, and mix until well incorporated.
- Store in a container in the fridge until ready to serve, recommended at least 2 hours.
Easy Tartar Sauce Recipe Tips
- Let the sauce rest for the best flavor! The flavors in the sauce will meld together with time, making for an even more delicious tartar sauce.
- Adjust the flavors to your taste by adding more lemon juice for a more tart sauce, or mixing in some sour cream or Greek yogurt.
- Make it sweet by using sweet pickles or sweet pickle relish!
- Fresh dill or dry will work for this recipe. If you're using dry, use half the amount of each. Tartar made with dry herbs will need to rest in the fridge.
- Add a splash of pickle juice to thin the sauce to your preference!
Traditional Tartar Sauce Recipe FAQs
Traditional tartar sauce is made from mayonnaise, pickles, lemon, and herbs! Extra flavorings such as sugar and pepper can be added as well to add extra dimension. Alternatively, relish can be used instead of whole chopped pickles.
While similarly named, cream of tartar is completely unrelated to tartar sauce. Cream of tartar is a powdered byproduct from the process of fermenting grapes, named after tartaric acid. It's primarily used in baking for adding stiffness to meringue or tang to cookies. Tartar sauce, in comparison, is a creamy sauce popular for seafood, named after the French dish Steak Tartare.
Tartar sauce is defined by a creamy consistency and strong dill flavor! It's balanced out with tart lemon juice and mellow mayonnaise, plus just enough sugar to keep it from being too sour.
How to Store Homemade Tartar Sauce
- Fridge: Store tartar sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week!
- Freezer: Due to being a mayo-based sauce, I do not recommend freezing tartar sauce, as it will split and have a lumpy texture once thawed.
What to Serve with Tartar Sauce
- Air Fryer Shrimp
- Shrimp Empanadas
- Fried Chicken Wings
- Crispy Baked Potato Wedges
- Crispy Fried Oysters
If you enjoyed the recipe, leave a comment and a rating below!
Traditional Tartar Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Mayonnaise
- ¾ cup Dill pickles - finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Dill - finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Parsley - finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
Instructions
- Finely chop the dill, parsley, and pickles, and set aside. Then add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and sugar in a bowl, and mix until the sugar has dissolved.1 cup Mayonnaise,1 teaspoon Lemon juice,½ teaspoon Sugar
- Add in the chopped herbs, pickles, and pepper, and mix until well incorporated.¾ cup Dill pickles,1 Tablespoon Dill,1 Tablespoon Parsley,¼ teaspoon Black pepper
- Store in a container in the fridge until ready to serve, recommended at least 2 hours.
Notes
Tartar Sauce Homemade Recipe Tips
- Let the sauce rest for the best flavor! The flavors in the sauce will meld together with time, making for an even more delicious tartar sauce.
- Adjust the flavors to your taste by adding more lemon juice for a more tart sauce, or mixing in some sour cream or greek yogurt.
- Make it sweet by using sweet pickles or sweet pickle relish!
- Fresh dill or dry will work for this recipe. If you're using dry, use half the amount of each. Tartar made with dry herbs will need to rest in the fridge.
- Add a splash of pickle juice to thin the sauce to your preference!
Tartar Sauce Substitutions & Variations
- Pickles: If you don't have whole pickles, dill relish or any other pickle relish work great.
- Parsley: You can leave out the parsley, or replace it with more dill weed.
- Mayo: If you want to leave out the mayo, try using greek yogurt, sour cream, and a bit more pickle juice.
- Vegan Tartar Sauce: To make this easy tartar sauce recipe vegan, just swap the mayo out for your favorite vegan mayo substitute, such as olive oil mayo!
- Tartar Sauce with Capers: A classic way to serve tartar is with capers. Stir in a tablespoon of capers to the sauce to add a strong tang!
Janis Neill says
Love your recipes!
Isabel Laessig says
Thank you so much, Janis!