Easy Homemade Tartar Sauce is a creamy, tangy homemade condiment for seafood - and more! It can be made in minutes and is far better than anything store-bought. It's a quick blend of kitchen staples including mayonnaise and dill pickles.
Homemade tartar sauce is the perfect complement to Old Fashioned Salmon Patties and proof that sometimes the simplest recipes are the best!
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⭐ Why Melinda Loves Easy Homemade Tartar Sauce
It's super easy to make in minutes while your seafood cooks or bakes and it's adaptable! (Scroll down for substitutions.)
You can make it fresh anytime you need tartar sauce and the ingredients are all items you will likely have on hand.
No need for store-bought tartar sauce in a jar, this recipe is ready to serve in 5 minutes!
🥣 Ingredients to Have on Hand
Mayonnaise: For the very best results, use a high-quality mayonnaise. Although I enjoy Miracle Whip on sandwiches, I find regular mayo is best in tartar sauce. I like to keep a jar of mayo on hand for many recipes including Red Potato Salad and English Pea Salad.
Dill Pickles: Chop and dice either whole pickles or spears of dill pickles into small very small pieces. These add the distinctive tang to tartar sauce plus a little crunch. Dill pickles are delicious to serve with Buttermilk Chicken Tenders and Cheeseburger Pie with a Flaky Crust, so lots of great recipes to use them for!
Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice is best, you'll need 2 teaspoons of juice. I like to buy 2 or 3 lemons at a time and plan to slice one or two into wedges to serve with the seafood.
Scroll to the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
📖 Substitutions for Homemade Tartar Sauce
Here are ingredients you can blend in with homemade tartar sauce to give it a little extra "zing," boost the tanginess or adjust how tart the sauce is. Mix and match, I recommend using two or three of the options below.
Old Bay Seasoning: Add 1 teaspoon of this classic seafood seasoning to boost the flavor of tartar sauce.
Fresh Dill: Chop a tablespoon of fresh dill and stir it into the tartar sauce to boost the flavor of the dill pickles. You can replace parsley with this herb or use both!
Lemon Zest: In addition to the lemon juice, add a teaspoon of fresh lemon zest. This helps to brighten up the flavor and add a little more tanginess to tartar sauce.
Bread and Butter Pickles: You can use Bread and Butter pickles in place of dill pickles if you prefer a sweeter, spicer version of homemade tartar sauce.
Capers: Add a tablespoon of capers, rinsed and chopped, for the salty, distinctive flavor of capers. These are best with dill pickles.
👩🏻🍳 Step-by-Step Instructions
This recipe is so easy, we hardly need step-by-step instructions, but here are two photos of how everything comes together in one bowl! So easy.
Step 1: Place all of the ingredients into a small bowl: one cup of mayonnaise the chopped pickles, the mayonnaise, chopped onions, diced onions, parsley and lemon juice. (Photo #1) As an option, you can also add salt.
Step 2: Stir to combine everything. Serve right away from the bowl or cover and refrigerate for an hour - or overnight - to blend the flavors. (Photo #2)
💭 Recipe FAQs
Sure! Sweet pickles, also known as bread and butter pickles are delicious in tartar sauce. (Scroll up to "substitutions" for more details.")
Store-bought relish includes ingredients besides just pickles so the flavor will be different than when using chopped pickles.
🦐 What to Serve with Homemade Tartar Sauce
Seafood: Fried seafood such as my recipe for Ivar's Copycat Fried Cod or even Salmon Smoked on a Pellet Grill are delicious with tartar sauce! Skillet-Glazed Salmon is tasty with a few wedges of fresh lemon and a few dollops of homemade tartar sauce!
French Fries: We usually think of ketchup as the condiment of choice for french fries, but Fry Sauce and Homemade Tartar Sauce are delicious with crispy fries. Fun Fact: There are areas of the Pacific Northwest - especially in Washington State - where tartar sauce is often served with french fries!
🥣 Leftovers and Storage
Store leftover homemade tartar sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Stir the sauce before serving to blend the ingredients in case there is any separation from the liquid ingredient. (Lemon juice.)
I don't recommend freezing tartar sauce since mayonnaise can separate once thawed which changes the texture.
💭 Pro Tip
Homemade Tartar Sauce is delicious served right away, but for an even deeper flavor, make it a day ahead to let the flavors blend and mingle in the fridge.
🍽 Other Tasty Sauces, Dips and Dressings
Easy, Homemade Tartar Sauce is a classic condiment for seafood and beyond - and here are more dips and sauces that I think you'll enjoy!
If you make Homemade Tartar Sauce I'd love to hear how it turned out. Please leave a 🌟 star rating and a comment below. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
Recipe
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
Admin Melinda's rating. This is a recipe my family loves! I look forward to hearing what you think of it too!