If you find yourself unable to use an entire bottle of tartar sauce before the expiration date, making some homemade tartar sauce might just be the solution.
Tartar sauce is a must-have for nearly any dish with seafood or fish. Why buy it from the store when you can make this tasty homemade tartar sauce in seconds with just a handful of ingredients?
This tartar sauce recipe is easy to whip up just hours before dinner and tastes better than anything you’ll find in the store!
Make sure you PIN Tartar Sauce!
Tartar sauce. It’s a condiment pretty high on the “love it or absolutely hate it list”. Either you think it belongs with nearly every fish or seafood dish you make, or you don’t even want it in the house.
As a child, ketchup was the only thing that belonged anywhere near my fish sticks but as an adult, I’ve grown to love and appreciate tartar sauce (and also remoulade, but that is another story).
Speaking of fish sticks.. want to hear a funny fact about me? For some reason, I associate fish sticks with inclement weather and being stuck inside.
So the running joke in my house is going to the store for the “essentials” before a snow storm or hurricane always includes fish sticks.
And quite frankly, that is the only time I eat them. LOL. It is weird, I am aware of that. Nostalgia I suppose.
Or, at least, I’ve grown to love and appreciate homemade tartar sauce. The store bought versions have nothing on this customizable homemade tartar sauce recipe.
Figuring out how to make tartar sauce was pretty simple. This super easy recipe is actually fairly standard, though I did add a few options for making it with a bit more “pizazz”, like adding minced capers or hot sauce to the recipe.
History of tartar sauce
The sauce and its name have been found in cookbooks since the 19th century. The name derives from the French sauce tartare, same as beef tartare and the such.
You can also find a similar sauce with different names throughout England and Turkey, so the actual origins of the sauce itself are unknown.
The original variations used finely chopped capers and dill instead of dill pickles or gherkins.
I like adding those additional ingredients for dinners like battered fish fingers to give the meal even more added flavor.
One thing I love about making a homemade tartar sauce recipe is that you can make as little or as much of it as you need.
This great recipe makes 4 servings, which is generally just enough to go with tonight’s fish dinner but can easily be doubled or tripled to accommodate for more servings.
It also means that if you only need tartar sauce every few months, you won’t be throwing half a bottle out because you didn’t finish it before the expiration date.
While tartar sauce is typically served with fish, if you’re a real tartar sauce fan it can go on so much more. Basically anything fried, from fried shrimp to onion rings, can be dipped in this homemade tartar sauce.
It also tastes delicious with some non-fried seafood and fish dishes.
I experimented with several different recipes in my quest to find the best tartar sauce recipe and I can definitely say this is the best one by far!
Since you like this homemade tartar sauce, you may also like these other easy condiment recipes:
Tools For Making Tartar Sauce:
Mini Food Processor– I use this thing daily! It is by far my most used kitchen appliance, it is small and I throw all the parts into the dishwasher, well except the base and cord, of course!
Questions you might have about how to make tartar sauce:
Can I make tartar sauce ahead of time? Sure! This condiment is perfect made in advance. I would say about 24 hours, keep it chilled until ready to serve and then give it a quick stir before serving.
Can I freeze tartar sauce? I do not recommend freezing any mayonnaise based foods.
What variations can I add to my tartar sauce? To add some pizzazz , consider adding these tartar sauce ingredients:
- minced capers
- hot sauce
- parsley
- pimento (minced roasted red peppers)
- dill relish
- sweet pickle relish
- fresh dill weed or dried dill
- pickle juice
- green onions (scallions)
- lemon juice
Does tartar sauce have raw egg? If it is made with mayonnaise, then yes.
Is tartar sauce gluten-free? My version of tartar sauce is gluten free, but make sure to check each individual ingredient, as different companies may use different ingredients.
Is tartar sauce spicy? Generally speaking, no. However the presence of Dijon mustard and vinegar gives it a zingy flavor. If you are looking for a spicy tartar sauce, then just adds a few dabs of hot sauce.
Does tartar sauce have dairy? My recipe does not contain any dairy. For some reason people think eggs (mayo) are dairy. They are not.
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Homemade Tartar Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons pickles or cornichons , minced
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- pinch kosher salt
- pinch ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small food processor and blend to desired consistency.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
Video
Notes
- minced capers
- hot sauce
- parsley
- pimento (minced roasted red peppers)Â
Just made this ahead for the dinner for later, I loved that I had everything on hand and it took less than 5 minutes. Delicious and easy is something I need in my life. Making the fish later and can’t wait to have my LO and Hubby try it. Thanks again =)
Thanks so much for coming back to let us know, Sara! Enjoy the sauce.
Excellent recipe and super quick and easy. I did add garlic and it took it over the top! Soooo yummy 😋
Glad you loved and came back to let us know!
Hello 🙂 Prior to finding and making your recipe, I never thought I would give a 5 five star review to any tartar sauce recipe! Mainly because I am SUPER grossed out by all 3 condiments. Looking at them is bad enough but smelling and actually measuring them is a whole other level of gross out!! But I did the research and made the recipe as a surprise for mom. We were having fish sticks and I realized we had no tartar sauce on hand, and could not head to the market. Those 2 together are such a happy combo for her and I wanted to give to her some of the light she gives to so many.
We did not have pickles on hand, thankfully, but I used an equal amount of relish. We also don’t have white wine vinegar but I used regular vinegar. It was soooooo quick and simple to put together and worked absolutely fine with a whisk, thankfully (since we don’t have a food processor). Those facts alone would have given you 5 stars but the main reason was my mom’s reaction. I wish you could have seen/heard her. She went ON about it!!!! You made her smile so very much and it took already yummy fish sticks to a new level! It even made my too plain (oops!) mashed potatoes more tolerable. My sibs got back later and tried some at mom’s insistence. They also enjoyed it!
One more big point for you: how very easy it is to reduce or increase! That is going to come in very handy, especially on fridays during lent. I have a feeling, tartar sauce will never be on our shopping list again but the condiments will be at some point. And I have a feeling I accidentally made myself the official tartar sauce maker of the family :p not sure how I feel about that, but I may need to invest in nose plugs :p
LOL. You have no idea how hard I just laughed. I HATE TARTAR SAUCE TOO! And I made it this weekend for my husband and basically said.. you know I love you cause I made this. But he adores this recipe too. We made some frozen fish filets in the AirFryer with everything bagel seasoning on this. I just used malt vinegar. Glad you (he) loved it!
I am delighted to know that there are others like me out there! I give you major points for making/sharing this recipe for people like my mom, and my sis who is limited because some other brands add garlic which she can’t have.
I was amused by your comment to your husband, since mom and I had a similar exchange. It really meant a lot to her that I did that!
Also try my special cocktail sauce- I love this stuff! https://www.savoryexperiments.com/classic-cocktail-sauce/
We love tartar sauce, but never thought to make our own. This recipe was so easy!
Such a great recipe! Can’t wait to pair this with dinner tonight!