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Whip up a batch of homemade tartar sauce in minutes with this easy recipe. Made from scratch with simple ingredients it’s perfect to serve with all of your favorite seafood dishes.
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Tartar sauce is such a classic condiment and any well stocked fridge should have some on hand. Skip the store bought sauce though and make your own in minutes.
It’s so much more fresh and flavorful, it’s perfectly creamy and tangy with flavors of onion, relish and mustard.
Serve it up with crab cakes, salmon patties and all your favorite seafood dishes.
Why you will love this recipe!
- Quick and easy: Ready to use in 5 minutes, just mix the ingredients together and you are good to go.
- Simple ingredients: You just need 5 main ingredients to make this sauce tartar.
- Healthier: Because this easy tartar sauce is homemade you can control exactly what goes into it. Made with no sugar and less salt than store-bought, it also doesn’t contain preservatives to keep it shelf-stable.
Tartar Sauce Ingredients
Tartar sauce is made of a few simple ingredients and comes together in less than 2 minutes.
- Mayonnaise: For a rich and creamy texture. I prefer to use full fat. For a lighter sauce with fewer calories, you can swap the mayonnaise for light mayo or plain yogurt.
- Sweet pickle relish: This adds a great tang and gives us that signature gherkin flavor. If you prefer, you can use dill pickle relish.
- Red onion: Red onion is milder than white or yellow so can be used raw. Dice / mince it finely so that it’s not overpowering.
- Lemon juice: Use fresh lemon juice for the zingiest and freshest flavor.
- Dijon Mustard: For tang and a little hint of heat.
How to make tartar sauce
Here is what you need to do for this easy tartar sauce recipe:
- Prep your ingredients
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
- Cover and chill until ready to serve.
That’s it!
How long does it keep?
This homemade tartar sauce will keep well for around 7 days when stored properly. Keep it covered, either with plastic wrap or in a sealable jar and keep it refrigerated. It’s best not to freeze this sauce.
How to serve
- Tartar sauce is traditionally served with fish dishes, its tanginess sits really well next to all of your seafood favorites – Crab Cakes, Roasted Salmon, Salmon Patties, Fish Sticks. There are lots of other uses for it as well!
- It’s great as a spread to add extra flavor to sandwiches, tacos, or
- Use it as a dip with crudites, chicken wings, sweet potato fries, and potato wedges.
- It’s super nice when drizzled over roasted veggies – roasted cauliflower, zucchini fritters, and roasted carrots.
Recipe Variations
The beauty about making your own sauces and condiments is that you can make them exactly to your tastes.
- Instead of full-fat mayo, you can use light or mayo with avocado oil. Or try making this simple tartar sauce with sour cream or plain yogurt instead.
- Add fresh herbs. Dill or parsley make great additions.
- If you don’t have red onion, use 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder instead.
- Capers add a great flavor to this tartar sauce recipe, if you have some in the fridge, feel free to toss them in!
TIPS FROM NELI’S KITCHEN
Recipe Notes and Tips for Tartar Sauce
- Use fresh lemon juice for the best flavor.
- This homemade tartar sauce can be used straight away, but I like to chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes to really allow the flavors to develop.
More Dips and Condiments
Tartar Sauce
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INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1-1/2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
- 1 tablespoon minced red onion
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
TIPS & NOTES
- Use fresh lemon juice for the best flavor.
- This sauce can be used straight away, but I like to chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes to really allow the flavors to develop.
NUTRITION
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We have been really enjoying baked beer battered fish from Costco. We had been buying the Trader Joe’s Tartar sauce, but I have wanted to know how to make it myself. Great recipe.