Homemade Tartar Sauce
Posted: 07/05/2021
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Creamy homemade tartar sauce is a huge step above commercial tartar sauce. With fresh dill and lemon juice, it has loads of flavor!
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: It’s 100x better than store-bought!
How long it takes: 10 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: just a bowl and knife!
Servings: 10 two tablespoon servings
Table of Contents
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Homemade tartar sauce is unexpectedly good. This “old fashioned” sauce is totally amped up with dill pickles, red onion, and fresh dill. Lemon juice adds just the right acidity and tang to the sauce.
Tartar sauce is perfect for shrimp, crab cakes, fish & chips, fish sticks, fish tacos, and salmon. It also makes an amazing spread for fish fillet sandwiches and po’ boys!
And why limit it to seafood? Use it as a lemon dill dip for crispy sweet potato fries or to top baked potatoes instead of sour cream. Tartar sauce is great on a black bean burger, too.
I served this sauce as a dip for crispy air fryer breaded shrimp (look for the recipe in a couple of days!) and it would also be fantastic on coconut shrimp. While the shrimp were really, really great, my husband just kept saying, “This is the best tartar sauce I’ve ever had!”
And it actually is that good! Have you ever heard anyone exclaim over tartar sauce from a jar or plastic bottle? Yeah, probably not.
About this creamy tartar sauce
Homemade tartar sauce with lemon is so much fresher tasting than store bought and just plain easy to make. All it takes is a little chopping, a squeeze of lemon and a grind of black pepper. Add all that to mayonnaise and it’s ready to serve.
Look for the complete printable recipe at the end of this post.
What you need
- Mayonnaise: This is a mayonnaise based sauce. If you like low-fat or olive oil mayo, that will work fine. Please don’t use Miracle Whip as it is sweeter and will change the flavor too much.
- Lemon Juice: You’ll love the tangy brightness that a bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice adds to your tartar sauce.
- Fresh Dill: This fresh herb makes all the difference in the world. You can substitute dried dill but don’t use as much (use 1 teaspoon instead).
- Dill Pickles: You’ll find that tartar sauce is more flavorful without relish. Relish can add too much liquid and the pickle is so finely processed that you can hardly taste it. Chop dill pickles for a lot more pickle-ness (!).
- Red Onion: The sharp tang of finely chopped onion is sort of an unexpected, but very welcome, flavor.
- Black Pepper: for just a bit more seasoning.
How to make tartar sauce
Begin by a little chopping. Finely mince red onion, dill pickle, and fresh dill. How finely you chop the onion and pickles depends on how you like your sauce: larger pieces mean you’ll have a chunkier sauce, smaller pieces mean your sauce will be a bit smoother. Totally up to you!
In a small bowl or large measuring cup, stir the mayonnaise with the rest of the ingredients.
Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to use your homemade tartar sauce.
Tartar sauce makes a delicious dip or spread!
FAQs
Is tartar sauce healthy?
If you’re looking for a sauce that is low fat, tartar sauce probably isn’t a good choice because it’s mayonnaise-based. As part of a healthy diet, tartar sauce is fine in limited quantities, with just over 100 calories per serving (2 tablespoons). It is keto friendly.
How do you thicken tartar sauce?
Tartar sauce will thicken a bit when it’s chilled. If you find that your tartar sauce turns out runny or too thin, try reducing the lemon juice next time. Make sure you always drain the pickles well. If it’s still too thin, try adding a bit more mayonnaise.
How can you tell if tartar sauce is bad?
Smell the tartar sauce. If it smells off, or different from when you first made it, throw it out. If the color has changed or you see mold (yikes!), definitely toss it. It should keep a week, properly chilled, but please don’t take any chances.
How to make this sauce your own
- Instead of dill pickles, make it with capers, bread & butter pickles, sweet pickles, or pickle relish.
- Prefer a smooth sauce? Put all the ingredients into a small food processor and process until no chunks remain.
- Like a little zing? Add a 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard or hot sauce. A dash of ground red pepper is great too.
Make Ahead Ideas
Homemade tartar sauce is actually better if you make it a day ahead to let the flavors blend. Store it in a tightly covered container in the fridge. If it separates slightly, give it a good stir.
Storage Suggestions
The sauce can be stored covered in the fridge for up to a week. Please don’t freeze tartar sauce because mayonnaise doesn’t fare so well in the freezer.
Leftover Love
If you’re bored with dipping, try mixing leftover tartar sauce with a bit of buttermilk to create a salad dressing!
More homemade sauces
Add pizzazz, flavor, and nutrition to your favorite dishes with homemade sauces. Try:
- Chipotle Salsa (easy blender recipe)
- How to Make Salsa Verde
- Homemade Tzatziki Recipe (Cucumber Yogurt Sauce)
- Fry Sauce – Easy French Fry Dipping Sauce
- Easy Cheese Sauce – Microwave or Stovetop
- Creamy Enchilada Sauce Recipe – so easy!
- Tahini Sauce Recipe – 3 Ingredients
- BBQ Sauce Recipe – easy homemade barbecue sauce
- Jalapeño Ranch Dip (or dressing)
- Healthy Ranch Dressing Recipe
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
servings
Creamy homemade tartar sauce is a huge step above commercial tartar sauce. With fresh dill and lemon juice, it has loads of flavor!
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
- ⅓ cup finely chopped dill pickles
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, dill, pickles, and red onions. Sprinkle with black pepper and mix together thoroughly.
- Cover and store in fridge for up to one week.
Notes
- Makes 1 1/4 cups
- Instead of dill pickles, make tartar sauce with capers, bread & butter pickles, sweet pickles, or pickle relish.
- Prefer a smooth sauce? Put all the ingredients into a small food processor and process until no chunks remain.
- Like a little zing? Add a 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard or hot sauce. A dash of ground red pepper is great too.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 2tablespoons, Calories: 104kcal, Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 6mg, Sodium: 137mg, Potassium: 13mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 22IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 4mg, Iron: 1mg
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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