Try this homemade tartar sauce, and you’ll never want store-bought again. This has amazing flavor and texture with every bite. It’s perfect as a dip for fish sticks, crab cakes, or a spread for seafood sandwiches.
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Homemade Tartar Sauce
I was frustrated with store-bought tartar sauce; one disappointing can after another. Solution: homemade tarter sauce. Making your own is really easy. It’s fresh and amazing for these salmon cakes fish sticks or breaded fish fillets.
My Aunt Anna taught me how to make this Tartar Sauce recipe – she learned it in culinary school, and this is the recipe they made in their restaurant. I’ve probably made this a hundred times, and my fishstick-loving teenage son makes it regularly. It’s our go-to because it’s so easy to make, has simple ingredients and keeps really well in the fridge.
See those fish sticks in the photo – yeah, those are from Costco. Maybe one day, I’ll make my own fish sticks, but for now, these are really good (the Trident brand). Sometimes, I find that I eat more tartar sauce than fish sticks (sounds gross, but this sauce is THAT GOOD!). This recipe stays fresh in the fridge for a few days.
Tartar Sauce Video
Watch my easy video tutorial, and you’ll have this recipe memorized in no time!
Ingredients for Tartar Sauce
- Real Mayonnaise – you can use your favorite storebought mayo or homemade mayonnaise
- Dill pickles – I prefer baby dills for extra crunch since they have more surface area.
- Dill (or) Parsley – you can use fresh or frozen – it adds freshness.
- 1 tsp lemon juice – freshly squeezed is best
- 1 tsp sugar – this balances the sauce, but you can add it to taste
- Pepper – freshly cracked smells and tastes the freshest
- Onion – it’s 2 Tbsp of chopped onion, and it’s optional (I usually skip it when I’m feeling lazy to chop an onion).
How to Make Tartar Sauce
This is really complicated, so pay attention. Are you ready?…
1. Combine everything in a mixing bowl and give it a good stir. Done!
Serve Tartar Sauce With
There are so many great uses for Tartar Sauce, from a dipping sauce to sandwiches. Outside of fish sticks, we love it with:
- Crab Cakes
- Shrimp Cakes
- Fish Tacos
- Salmon Patties
- Onion Rings
- Air Fryer French Fries
- Grilled Salmon Sandwich
Storing Tartar Sauce
Homemade Tartar Sauce keeps really well in the refrigerator. Transfer to an airtight container or jar and refrigerate. It is best enjoyed within 1 week but can last up to 2 weeks.
Tartar Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise*
- 1 cup dill pickles, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp dill, fresh or frozen, OR 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 2 Tbsp onion, finely chopped, optional
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.
- Add more lemon juice or pickles if desired.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
My quick and easy method, which is sorta similar:
About a tablespoon each of sweet and dill relish (use a fork drain most of the liquid off
A teaspoon of dijon mustard,
A couple grinds of pepper,
A half cup or so of Mayo to make the right consistency.
Hi Bob! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m so glad we have this community to share unique twists on recipes. I hope you loved our version!
Whoops! Sorry, I meant to lead with thanking you! YES, I love yours very much! Thank you!
I cannot eat fish without this tartar sauce. I’ve made this numerous times, exactly as written, and will never buy tartar from the store again. This is a perfect recipe!
Thanks, Patty! Glad to hear that this is always your go-to-recipe.
So easy!!! I used fresh dill and included the onion in mine and the flavor was amazing. Thank you!!
You’re very welcome, Delicia! So glad you loved it.
Omg this is the best tartar sauce i have had in a long time!
Hi Thomas! I’m so glad you loved it.
Is this correct that you use a whole cup of pickle with 1 cup of mayo?
Hi Barbara, that is correct!
This Tartar sauce recipe is not only easy but absolutely delicious!
I used Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise because that’s what I had on hand otherwise I followed the recipe as written.
The leftovers I used as a dip for potato chips so the sauce didn’t last very long, not even a day.
That’s great to hear, Noni! So glad you enjoyed it.
Hello! I’m making tarter sauce for my family’s seafood Christmas. Do use use fresh or bottled lemon juice?
Hi Tiffany. We prefer fresh lemon juice, it tastes better.
So delicious! So much better than anything you can buy at the grocery. I make it whenever we do certain kinds of fish or want it for fries/tots. Deserving of 5 stars!
Yay thanks so much for the 5 stars and review!
I made this tarter sauce about 3 to 4 weeks ago and it is amazing. It was so easy to put together and wow it sure does taste so much better than what is in the stores. The one thing I don’t understand is why do you say it only stays fresh for a few days. We had some last night with fish and it tasted as good as it did the day I made it. I keep it in a small mason jar with the lid on it. Thank you so much for the recipe. Another one of your keepers for sure.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Paul!
I love this simple and delicious tartar sauce! The texture with the chopped pickles and the subtle sweetness with the added sugar makes this recipe a keeper!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Lu!
It’s AMAZING! I’m a tartar sauce connoisseur and this is probably the best one I’ve ever had. Thanks
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Mark!
This is a great recipe. The 2nd time I made it I added in some capers. It was delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Angel!
This is the recipe I’ve used for decades, only about 1/3 of the amount, Except, I add dill pickle juice instead of lemon and I grate a small amount of onion instead of chopped (it’s a must for me).
Love all your recipes! I just made your Crockpot Chili tonight and I have salmon in the freezer so eyeballing your salmon patties! 🤤 And of course I’ll make “our” tarter sauce! ☺️
Love you!
Thank you so much for sharing, Kelly! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes.
The best tartar sauce ever! I also left out the diced fresh onions.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Larry!
I’m going to make your chicken soup recipe.
I’ll let you know how it goes.😜
You asked about how to avoid onion tears.
I use swim goggles🤣
My husband teases me about it but I don’t care.
That works, I have tried that LOL. Thanks and looking forward to your feedback!
Wet a paper towel and set it next to the onion on the cutting board. No more tears! Onion are attracted to water molecules. Easy fix!
Wet a papertowel, doesn’t have to be dripping but moister then ringing out completely, put it on the edge of the cutting board, no tears. promise.
The best tartar sauce ever! My family was upset that I didn’t make more
So glad it was a hit!
I used dill relish. Added a touch of garlic powder as well as onion powder. Didn’t add the onion but I might add a little as it seems slightly runny. It’s chilling in the refrigerator now so we will see how it goes.
Thanks for sharing, Jake! I hope you love it.
Oh yeah I forgot you can use onion powder and or garlic powder as spices too….maybe Old Bay seasoning – I just thought of that.
Thanks for sharing!
I use purchased sweet pickle relish in mine (drained) instead of the dill pickles since I like a sweeter taste, also you can use dill weed and celery seed and lemon pepper for some seasoning in addition to salt and sugar, some sour cream too mixed in….
I tried for the very first time. I purchased some tarter sauce from my local market.
R u ready?
Very good!
Used dill relish as a substitute. It’s fantastic on Shrimp Cake “Sandwich’s”. The onions work for sure.
That’s great, Bo!
Can you tell me how much dill relish you used? Since it is just for two of us, I will be cutting the recipe in half. Thanks!