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!
What is 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. It is a mayo base with some sort of pickles and mustard.
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 and cocktail sauce, but that is another story).
What’s In Tartar Sauce?
The ingredient list is pretty short and quite frankly, probably items you already have in the fridge.
- Mayonnaise- Homemade or store bought. I haven’t experimented making this recipe with plain yogurt base, but it is possible.
- Pickles or cornichons- Minced super small, these are the little green bits. Customize your sauce by using speciality pickles like habanero honey or bread and butter.
- White wine vinegar- This is our secret ingredient and serves two purposes. In addition to mustard, it gives a slightly acidic and “wow” factor to this famous dipping sauce. It also thins it our a tad for a better dippable consistency. Sometimes straight mayo can be a little too thick.
- Dijon mustard– For this sauce I use a smooth Dijon, but coarse can also add interest and texture. Experiment with other varieties and use a basic yellow mustard if that is all you happen to have.
- Coarse kosher salt– Salt brings out the natural flavors in all of the ingredients.
- Ground black pepper– Or opt for white pepper if you’d prefer a less peppery taste.
To make it, simply combine in a bowl and whisk! You can also give it a few blitzes in a mini food processor, but don’t let it whirl too long or the pickles bits will pulverize and be non-existent.
Like most sauces, tartar sauce will taste even better if the flavors have time to marry. You can eat it right after making, but if you happen to have an hour or more, let it sit in the fridge for a bit.
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.
Variations
This sauce is super easy to customize, adding more or less of the flavors you love or can do without. Here are my favorite add-ins to pair perfectly with whatever dish you plan to serve it alongside.
- 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
What Does Tartar Sauce Go With?
The correct answer is just about anything you want! It is traditionally served with seafood and fish, but here are a few more ideas.
- Blooming Onion
- Onion rings
- French fries
- Fried fish
- Fish sticks
- Lobster rolls
- Fried shrimp
- Maryland crab cakes
- Burgers
- Sandwich spread
- On a baked potato
- Fried Green Tomatoes
Make Ahead & Storage
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.
Store in an airtight container for up to a week. Stir well before using.
Can I freeze tartar sauce? I do not recommend freezing any mayonnaise based foods.
More easy recipes:
Homemade Tartar Sauce
Equipment
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 the mayonnaise, pickles, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk until combined.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was the comment or star ratings!
Video
Notes
- minced capers
- hot sauce
- parsley
- pimento (minced roasted red peppers)
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!