This Homemade Tartar Sauce is slightly tangy, slightly sweet, and the perfect accompaniment for your fish fry, salmon patties, or other seafood dinner. Easy to prepare & ready in minutes! You probably already have most of the ingredients you need on hand and it tastes so much better than anything you can buy at the store.
Homemade Tartar Sauce Recipe
Tartar sauce is a staple for many seafood dinners, from fish sticks and beer battered fish to salmon patties and crab cakes. We eat quite a bit of it in our home, especially now that I’ve perfected my beer battered fish recipe, and I found most tartar sauce from the store to be lacking in flavor.
I prefer to make homemade versions of the condiments we use often when possible and homemade tartar sauce, like most sauces, is incredibly easy to make. Just 7 ingredients whisked together and you’re good to go! I do recommend preparing this a bit in advance, just because the flavors get better when they have time to rest.
What Is Tartar Sauce?
Tartar sauce is a condiment often served with seafood, like fried oysters and shrimp, and fish. It has a mayonnaise base and is usually made with pickles, capers, and herbs plus a little lemon juice. It usually has a slightly sweet, slightly savory, and overall tangy flavor that pairs nicely with fried foods. Some like to take a shortcut and make it with just mayonnaise and relish, but I find that flavor profile to be lacking, so I like to make it myself from scratch.
Tartar Sauce Ingredients
What’s in Tartar Sauce? Though this easy recipe is made completely from scratch, only a handful of common ingredients are needed to make it.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Mayonnaise – Provides the creamy base.
- Dill pickles – Add a nice crunch and flavor.
- Vidalia sweet onion – Provides a sweet onion flavor that pairs well with the dill pickles.
- Capers – Drain and rinse before adding. These can be omitted if desired but do add a nice tangy, salty flavor.
- Dill pickle juice – Helps to thin out the sauce while infusing more dill flavor throughout.
- Lemon juice – Adds a bright pop of flavor to balance the other ingredients and also thins out the sauce.
- Granulated sugar – A small amount of sugar balances out the tanginess and also helps to sweeten the sauce just a touch.
- Black pepper – For flavor.
Recipe Variations
Depending on the flavor you like in your tartar sauce, there are many ways to customize this recipe. Here are a few ideas:
- Skip the onions. Personally, I love the flavor that Vidalia sweet onions give to the sauce but if you’re not a fan of onions, you can easily omit them.
- Add some seasonings. Fresh dill or fresh parsley both add some fresh flavor to the sauce, though I do recommend choosing just one or the other.
- Switch up the pickles. If you prefer a sweeter condiment, try using bread and butter pickles or sweet pickles in place of the dill pickles.
- Add a splash of Worcestershire sauce. For a more complex flavor another option is to add a splash of Worcestershire sauce for its savory umami undertones.
- Make it lighter. For a tartar sauce with fewer calories, you can swap the mayonnaise for a light mayo or plain yogurt. Note that both of these options will affect the creamy texture slightly and the yogurt may give it more tang.
How to Make Tartar Sauce
This recipe for tartar sauce is so quick and easy to pull together.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Combine ingredients. Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Taste and adjust. Give the sauce a taste test and add more seasonings or lemon juice if necessary.
- Refrigerate. For best results, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using. Serve with fish fingers, crab cakes, or anything else you desire.
Serving Suggestions
Nothing goes together quite like tartar sauce and our recipe for beer battered fish! It’s a match made in heaven. This homemade tartar sauce is also great served with salmon patties, crab cakes, and popcorn shrimp. I’ve even seen people dip their roasted veggies and sweet potato fries into it!
How Long Will This Last?
This easy tartar sauce will last for up to a week in the fridge. Keep it stored in a tightly sealed airtight container and give it a good stir before serving again.
More Homemade Sauce Recipes:
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Tartar Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup dill pickles , finely diced
- 2 tablespoons Vidalia sweet onion , very finely diced
- 1 teaspoon capers , drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon dill pickle juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl until combined.
- Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed.
- It can be enjoyed right away, but for best results, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.
- Serve with fish sticks, salmon patties, crab cakes, or anything else you desire!
I love a spicy tartar sauce, so I use OH SNAP Pickling Co “hottie bites”. The spicier the better, I say!
I was reluctant to make this since I have always used sweet pickle relish in my tartar sauce. To my pleasant surprise, this version was so good, I will never go back! Never too old to try new tastes :)
Delicious and easy!