Tartar Sauce

Enhance your seafood experience with the best tartar sauce recipe! Quick and easy to make, you can throw it together in a pinch.

It’s so much better than the store-bought stuff. Delightfully creamy and herby, this homemade tartar sauce is fresh and flavorful. It boasts the ideal taste and texture with the perfect amount of tanginess. It’s a recipe inspired by a seafood restaurant in San Francisco, California!

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WHAT IS TARTAR SAUCE?

Tartar sauce is a tangy seafood condiment that originated in France. It’s a mayonnaise-based sauce featuring diced pickles, onion, capers, and spices. Specific ingredient combinations vary from recipe to recipe.

Some versions include one more of the following: grated hard-boiled egg, chives, dried mustard, whole-grain dijon mustard, olives, granulated sugar, paprika, Champagne vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies in oil.

Another flavorful twist: add a few splashes of tangy malt vinegar. You’ll feel like you’re in a British pub enjoying fish and chips with mushy peas. This is a recipe you can easily adjust to satisfy your taste buds and cravings.

ABOUT THIS RECIPE

Say goodbye to jars and squeeze bottles of tartar sauce sitting on grocery store shelves, or packets of the stuff from fast-food restaurants.

Instead, bring home the fresh vibrant flavors of coastal cities and towns. The recipe I’m sharing today is crisp and zesty! If I could hop into a bathtub filled with this sauce and bathe myself it in, I just might. It’s so darn good!

Tartar sauce is the ideal condiment for beer battered fish, salmon, scallops, chicken tenders, crab cakes, grilled shrimp, fried clam strips, and fish sticks. You can even use it in the mixture for tuna salad sandwiches.

It’s also a tangy sandwich spread for hamburgers, fish sandwiches, veggie burgers, and chicken sandwiches. Drizzle it over pork chops, asparagus, or roasted potatoes. Enjoy it as a dipping sauce for French fries, onion rings, hushpuppies, fresh veggies, fried zucchini sticks, and pretzels!

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

These are the common refrigerator and pantry items you’ll need to assemble a small batch of this delicious condiment. For feeding a crowd, double or triple this easy recipe.

• Mayonnaise (real, whole-fat mayo)
• Sour cream
• Kosher dill pickles
• Pickle juice from the jar
• White onion
• Fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley
• Fresh dill
• Non-pareil capers
• Lemon juice
• White pepper
• Sea salt
• Garlic powder

INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS

When cooking during stay-at-home times, use the ingredients you have on hand. Here are some great substitutions for this tartar sauce recipe.

• SOUR CREAM: To maintain this recipe’s beautiful tang, use 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Another option: plain Greek yogurt.
• KOSHER DILL PICKLES: Good substitutes for this ingredient are cornichons, gherkins, or dill relish.
• LEMON JUICE: Lime juice is the best substitute.
• WHITE ONION: Use yellow onion, red onion or shallots. You can also use dried onion flakes.
• FRESH HERBS: Use dried herbs instead. Refrigerate the sauce for 2 hours before serving to give the herbs time to rehydrate and bloom.
• WHITE PEPPER: The best substitute is black pepper. But keep in mind, white pepper has more complexity with a mild, earthy taste. Black pepper has a different flavor profile. It’s also spicier! Start by adding a pinch of black pepper, then adjust to taste.
• GARLIC POWDER: A great substitute is granulated garlic. Just crush it up. Or use a small amount of finely minced or pressed fresh garlic.

RECIPE PREP

Everyone needs this easy recipe in their kitchen arsenal! It comes together with minimal work and chopping. It takes less than 10 minutes to prep the ingredients for this super tasty condiment!

• STEP 1: Dice the kosher pickles.
• STEP 2: Mince the white onion.
• STEP 3: Finely chop the Italian parsley and dill.
• STEP 4: Roughly chop the capers.

how to make tartar sauce

This is the condiment your taste buds have been begging for! Here’s how to make this fresh and tasty dressing at home:

• STEP 1: In a small mixing bowl, stir the mayo and sour cream together. Set the bowl aside.
• STEP 2: Add pickles, capers and onion to the bowl.
• STEP 3: Sprinkle in the fresh parsley and dill.
• STEP 4: Squeeze lemon juice into the bowl. Add pickle juice and spices. Mix well. Refrigerate for 1 hour before use. This gives the mixture time to thicken, chill, and become extra flavorful.

FOOD PROCESSOR: If desired, this recipe can be assembled in a food processor. Add the pickles, capers and onion to the bowl. Pulse briefly to mince. Add the remaining ingredients. Pulse again until blended.

tips for THE BEST TARTAR SAUCE

These expert tips will help you achieve the taste you’re looking for.

• FRESH INGREDIENTS: For the best-tasting condiment always use fresh ingredients to include firm crunchy pickles and un-wilted herbs.
• MAYONNAISE: Do not substitute low-fat mayo or dressing for this important ingredient. Your taste buds will notice the difference!
• TANGY VS SWEET: Kosher pickles give this recipe a delightful tang. But if you desire a sweeter taste, use sweet pickles or sweet relish. Or sprinkle in a teaspoon of granulated sugar.
• WANT A KICK OF HEAT? Stir in a pinch of cayenne pepper!
• HOW TO STORE TARTAR SAUCE: Transfer to a glass salad dressing bottle or a small container with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate.
• HOW LONG DOES TARTAR SAUCE LAST? When made with fresh crisp ingredients and refrigerated, it can be kept for up to 1 week.

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Friends say this is the best tartar sauce recipe! It has the flavor profile of tartar sauce served with fresh seafood platters in restaurants along the California coast. If you agree, give it a 5-star rating in the comments.

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HOMEMADE TARTAR SAUCE > JOIN THE CONVERSATION

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