Tartar Sauce

At a glance

What stands out: Creamy from-scratch tartar sauce is 100 times better than commercial tartar sauce. With fresh dill and lemon juice, it has loads of flavor!

How long it takes: 10 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: just a bowl and knife!
Servings: makes 1 ½ cups

We serve from-scratch tartar sauce as a dip for our crispy air fryer breaded shrimp. While the shrimp are really, great, our husband alway says, “This is a standby tartar sauce we've ever had!”

And it actually is that good! Have you ever heard anyone exclaim over tartar sauce from a jar or plastic bottle? Yeah, probably not.

creamy From-scratch tartar sauce

From-scratch tartar sauce is unexpectedly good. From-scratch tartar sauce with lemon is so much fresher tasting than store bought and just plain straightforward to mix. Our tartar sauce recipe is totally amped up with dill pickles, red onion, and fresh dill. Lemon juice adds just the right acidity and tang to the sauce.

Goes well with any type of seafood. Tartar sauce is reliable for shrimp, mini crab cakes, fish & chips, fish sticks, fish tacos, and salmon. It also makes an memorable spread for fish fillet sandwiches and po’ boys!

Not limited to seafood. Use it as a “lemon dill dip” for crispy sweet potato fries or to top baked potatoes instead of sour cream. Tartar sauce is great on a black bean burger, too. All it takes to level up your meal is a little chopping, a squeeze of lemon and a grind of black pepper. Add all that to mayonnaise and your tartar sauce is ready to serve.

What goes in

• Mayonnaise: This is a mayonnaise-based sauce. If you like low-fat or olive oil mayo, that will work fine. Please don’t use Miracle Whip as it is sweeter and will change the flavor too much.
• Lemon Juice: You’ll love the tangy brightness that a bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice adds to your tartar sauce.
• Fresh Dill: This fresh herb makes all the difference in the world. You can substitute dried dill but don’t use as much (use 1 teaspoon instead).
• Dill Pickles: You’ll find that tartar sauce is more flavorful without relish. Relish can add too much liquid and the pickle is so finely processed that you can hardly taste it. Chop dill pickles for a lot more pickle-ness (!).
• Red Onion: The sharp tang of finely chopped onion is sort of an unexpected, but welcome, flavor.
• Black Pepper: We like to add a few grinds of black pepper for just a bit more seasoning.

How it comes together

Chop onion, pickle, and dill. Finely mince red onion, dill pickle, and fresh dill. How finely you chop the onion and pickles depends on how you like your sauce: larger pieces mean you’ll have a chunkier sauce, smaller pieces mean your sauce will be a bit smoother. You can use a small food processor if you want a smoother sauce.

Combine with remaining ingredients. In a small bowl or large measuring cup, stir the minced onion, pickle, and dill with the mayonnaise and black pepper.

Chill. Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to use your from-scratch tartar sauce. Tartar sauce makes a rich dip or spread!

Ways to change it

• Try a different pickle. Instead of dill pickles, make your tartar sauce with bread & butter pickles, sweet pickles, or pickle relish. Capers add a sophisticated touch.
• Make a smooth sauce. Put all the ingredients into a small food processor and process until no chunks remain.
• Add a little zing. Stir in a ½ teaspoon of Dijon mustard or hot sauce. A dash of ground cayenne is great too.
• Transform it into a dressing. If you’re bored with dipping, try mixing tartar sauce with a bit of buttermilk to create a salad dressing or a drizzle for your favorite bowl meal.

Make Ahead Ideas

From-scratch tartar sauce is actually better if you make it a day ahead to let the flavors blend. Refrigerate it in a tightly covered container. If it separates slightly, give it a good stir.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: The sauce will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator. Please don’t freeze tartar sauce because mayonnaise doesn’t fare so well in the freezer.

• Yield: 10
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Total: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• ⅔ cup mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip salad dressing)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
• ⅓ cup finely chopped dill pickles
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Method

1. In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, minced dill, pickles, and red onions. Sprinkle with black pepper, and mix until completely combined.
2. Cover and chill. You can serve it right away but we find that the sauce tastes better if you chill it an hour or so to let the flavors blend. Stir well before serving. Makes 1 ¼ cups.

Notes

Variations: Instead of dill pickles, try bread & butter pickles, sweet pickles, or pickle relish. Capers are great, too. If you want to add a little zing, stir in ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard, hot sauce to taste, or a dash of cayenne pepper.

Storage: From-scratch tartar sauce can be refrigerated in a covered container for up to a week. Stir well before serving.

Thicker sauce: Tartar sauce will thicken a bit when it’s chilled. If you find that your tartar sauce turns out too runny, add another tablespoon of mayonnaise to thicken it. Be sure you always drain the pickles well so there isn’t extra pickle juice in the sauce. You can also reduce the amount of lemon juice if you prefer thicker sauce.

Smooth tartar sauce: If you’re not a fan of chunky sauce, put all the ingredients into a small food processor and process until smooth.

Tartar sauce dressing: Mix tartar sauce with a bit of buttermilk to create a salad dressing or a drizzle for your favorite bowl meal.