Easy Tartar Sauce Recipe

Easy Tartar Sauce is the PERFECT sauce to pair with seafood, made with mayonnaise, dill relish, lemon juice, and seasoning with fresh chopped dill, ready in 5 minutes!

This is a really easy way to elevate the flavor of a seafood dinner without much effort! For more ideas, check out this Dill Pickle Dip, and Cream Cheese Shrimp Dip!

This Easy Tartar Sauce Recipe is tangy and creamy, with crunchy pieces of pickles along with fresh lemon juice and dill. It’s the perfect classic condiment that’s paired as a dipping sauce with your favorite seafood dishes like Parmesan Crusted Tilapia, or Crispy Air Fryer Salmon. This beats any store-bought sauce, and goes perfect with most fish recipes!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Mayonnaise. This is the base of this recipe. You want to use regular full-fat mayonnaise, because it adds a lot of creamy texture that you’d expect from tartar sauce. You can also use some sour cream. If you’re looking to lighten this up, use plain greek yogurt and whisk it well. 

Relish. Regular dill pickle relish works perfectly for this recipe, but you can also use sweet pickle relish if you like a sweeter flavor. Drain the relish if there’s a lot of liquid.

You can also chop up dill pickles into small pieces instead, or pulse them in a food processor a few times until they’re the right consistency. . 

Mustard. Regular yellow mustard adds a more traditional flavor for this sauce. You can also use dijon mustard for a different flavor. In a pinch, you can use a teaspoon of dried mustard.

Dill. I like to use fresh dill because it adds a really nice flavor. You can also use dried dill. The rule is 1 teaspoon of dried herbs per 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs in a recipe. 

Spices. There’s really not a lot going on when it comes to spices in tartar sauce, just some onion powder. You can also use minced fresh onion. Try using a sweet onion like Vidalia. 

You don’t need kosher salt, because the pickles already add enough of it. You could add some black pepper or cayenne pepper if you’d like to make it spicy. 

Lemon Juice. This adds a nice, bright flavor and balances the savory notes from the onion powder and mustard. You could also try using some lime juice.

Worcestershire Sauce. Make sure the brand you use is gluten free, because this can vary by brand. This adds a nice savory note to the sauce. 

How to Make Easy Tartar Sauce

1. Add all ingredients to a medium mixing bowl. 
2. Whisk everything together until well-combined. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container for 30 minutes to an hour to let the flavors come together, or until ready to serve. 

Frequently Asked Questions

More Seafood Recipes

• Air Fryer Tilapia (cut into strips for gluten free fish sticks!)
• Gluten Free Crab Cakes
• Oven Fried Fish
• Baked Coconut Shrimp
• Low Country Shrimp Boil

Storage

Refrigerate this easy tartar sauce recipe for 3-4 days in an airtight container. 

I don’t recommend freezing homemade tartar sauce. It’s best to make it fresh right before serving. 

Recipe Variations

• Add cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or a dash of hot sauce to make this spicy. 
• Use tartar sauce instead of plain regular mayo if you’re making a fish sandwich! 
• You can make this lighter with low fat mayo, but it won’t have the same creamy texture and flavor. I would swap out for nonfat plain greek yogurt.

Cooking Tips

• Gently whisk everything together. Mixing too much will make the tartar sauce thinner and less light. 
• Make sure to drain some of the liquid from the relish if it appears to have extra liquid. 
• Make this ahead of time and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour to let the flavors come together. 

If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!

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