Tartar Sauce
How to Make the best Tartar Sauce. This homemade tartar sauce recipe is so easy to make at home with pantry ingredients and it’s so much better than anything you can buy at the grocery store!
I’ve been making homemade tartar sauce since I was a teenager working in our family catfish restaurant and this version is our absolute favorite. The best part is that it takes less than five minutes to make!
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Why You Will Love this Recipe
- 2 step recipe with simple ingredients that you probably have on hand.
- This sauce is guaranteed to be better than any store-bought version.
- A great compliment to any fish dinner, crab cakes, fried shrimp or your favorite seafood dishes.
Ingredients for Tartar Sauce
- Real Mayonnaise – if you are a fan of Miracle Whip, you can use that.
- Dill Pickle Relish or Sweet Pickle Relish – adds the classic texture and crunch.
- Capers – Find these near the pickles at any grocery store. They add tangy, briny flavor.
- Lemon Juice – use fresh if you can.
- Dried Dill – or fresh dill if you have it, to add the signature flavor to tartar sauce.
- Granulated Garlic – adds depth of flavor and compliments the dill.
- Black Pepper – adds just enough spiciness.
- Worcestershire Sauce – adds savory flavor to balance out the creaminess of the mayo.
- Kosher Salt – for flavor.
How to Make the Best Tartar Sauce
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- In a bowl, add mayonnaise, pickle relish, capers, lemon juice, dill, garlic, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.
- Whisk together until well combined.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Easy Variations
- Add any fresh herbs that you have on hand. Fresh parsley, cilantro or thyme would be great additions.
- Capers are optional. They add a salty, briny flavor but can be skipped if you don’t have them on hand.
- If you love horseradish, it can really add a lot of flavor to your tartar sauce.
- Add chopped shallot or green onions for a mild onion kick.
- If you like a spicy kick, you can always stir in a few diced pickled jalapeños.
Serving Suggestions
- Fish Sticks or salmon cakes are a weeknight favorite with the entire family. They are so simple to make at home, quick and easy!
- Serve it as a dip for fries or hush puppies.
- Grilled Fish Tacos are smoky and delicious and can be topped with tartar sauce for extra flavor.
- Fried Fish Sandwich from Foodie Crush – I’m craving it now!
- Stir it into tuna salad for extra tang and more flavor.
Tartar Sauce is so easy to make from scratch. Use the ingredients you have on hand. I recommend refrigerating your tartar sauce for an hour or so to let the flavors really come together. However, if you are in a rush, just mix it up while you are cooking the fish. It will still be delicious.
Have you tried this Tartar Sauce recipe? Leave a comment and a star rating to let others know how it turned out.
Tartar Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup pickle relish
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Add mayonnaise into a small bowl with pickle relish and capers, lemon juice, dill, garlic, pepper, salt and Worcestershire sauce.
- Whisk until mixed well.
- Store in an airtight container in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
More Homemade Sauces for Seafood Dishes
Have you tried using Miracle Whip instead of Mayo ?
Hi Ed,
I have in a pinch, my guys like it with Miracle Whip but I prefer mayo.
~Milisa
Very good! It’s my new go to. Hate store bought. Used fresh lemon and minced garlic in the jar. Everything else as the recipe calls for. Lover of the regular Hellmann’s mayonnaise so I used that. Thank you for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed it Tracy! Thanks for stopping by.
~ Milisa
This is the best tartar sauce ever. It’s restaurant quality. So easy to make with ingredients I already had on hand. I wanted to lick the bowl, it was so good.
Hi Sarah,
I an so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by.
~ Milisa