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
ngl im not sure ifi will be able to remember that method
Hi Ron, the recipe will stay on the blog when you’re ready to make it.
Simply the best tarter sauce recipe.
I’m so glad to hear it, Dee! Thank you for your great review!
Just finished making the salmon patties and tartar sauce…delicious! The mayonnaise really helped bind the patty. Thank you I’ll be making this again…maybe tomorrow!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for that awesome feedback, Dr. B
My 13 yr old loves this. I think he has me make salmon cakes for the dip only. I add about 1/3 cup of homemade milk kefir and skip the lemon because I’m not sure if it’ll curdle. He’s none the wiser and gets probiotics. Plus I cut back on some of the mayo. Thanks for this.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed this!
I’ve been cooking since I was 9 years old, and now, in my mid 70’s, I learned a new trick!!! When my daughter wants finely minced onions, she uses the grater plate on her mandolin!!! I’m impressed, since two of my four girls like onion, but hate feeling it on their tongue! I love your site!!!
That’s genius! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
So yummy! Make it every time I make the salmon patties.
The best combination! Thank you for stopping by!
This is without doubt our favourite tartare sauce recipe, so simple and so easy. Tartare sauce is one of the few things we really miss since relocating to Portugal, so thank you
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
I just made the tartar sauce went exactly by the directions and went to eat it taste like I was eating Dillpickle’s not very good at all
Hi Randy, you should be able to taste the dill pickle in there and that is normally a good thing. Did you maybe add too many pickles or maybe cut them too large?
I’m not a dill pickle lover, so I use a dill pickle, & sweet relish too! I also add some horseradish, but that’s just me!!! I like a little zing!
How long can you keep Tarter Sauce in refrigerator.?
Hi Barbara, the tartar sauce keeps covered and refrigerated for 5 to 7 days
Just made this. Substituted dill relish for the chopped pickles and sugar… So yummy!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This is sheer perfection!!! I’m yelling omg with every bite!
That’s just awesome!!!
Tartar sauce absolutely luv it why would you put Sugar in an age old traditional recipe and where are the must have Capers I luv your recipes but this time you definitely got it wrong If It Ain’t broke Dont Fix It SUGAR Doesn’t make things better it just makes them Fatter
I love the negative reviews, such as “it just tasted like dill pickles” or “why add sugar and where are the capers”…I guess these people don’t eat much tartar sauce, tarter sauce is basically mayo, pickles, and lemon juice. And I’m sorry but as much as I love capers and do put them in my tartar sauce, they are not “must have” in tartar sauce, they’re not even classically in the recipe. This tartar sauce is good.
Thank you for sharing your feedback with us, John!
I’m a stickler for good grammar and using punctuation marks. Your’s is awful and diminishes whatever you’re trying to say. I was reading reviews for the recipe and had to let you know so you can improve it.
Thank you for that feedback, Gina.
Gina you are rude AF and could have kept that to yourself.
Gina,
Your’s is?
When you are indicating possession, yours is the correct choice—not your’s. You do not need an apostrophe to indicate possession because yours itself is a possessive pronoun.
In this sense, yours is similar to other possessive pronouns like its, whose, and ours. None of these words requires an apostrophe since they are already possessive.
We’re all entitled to our opinion, but we should be grateful that Natasha has shared such a wonderful recipe with us!
My family loves this recipe, but I hate to say I’ve adjusted it just a bit. We do not care for a “sweet” tartar sauce, so we omit the sugar. We only use 1/4 cup finely diced dill pickles, but add about 1/4 tsp (or more!) of hot horseradish sauce. We always add the finely diced onion. Again, this is a personal preference. Thank you so very much for such a delicious alternative to store-bought, artificial tartar sauce!
I am glad that it worked great with some adjustments that you made. Thank you for sharing that with us and for providing a great review!
Wow.
“Your’s” is awful?
Your comment was intended satire, I hope.
I haven’t tried making the salmon patties yet but I did try the tartar sauce which I loved. I was wondering though if the cup of pickles to a cup of mayo was not too much, It tasted lovely just that I got the impression that maybe it should have been half to two thrids cup pickles and more lemon juice. Would it be wrong to add a little more lemon juice, and parsley?
My question, how do you fit in cooking for your family, caring for the kids and then answering all your fans comments??? It must be so overwhelmingly time consuming and tiring to sift through the myriad of comments, and answer each one. And for all the recipes that you have too!!! Do you have someone helping you with that as in m y mind, I cannot wrap it around the amount of time it would take to answer all those comments. But thanks for taking it!! And for your wonderful recipes and videos.
Hi Elizabeth, you can definitely change that up to your taste preference and it should still work fine. It has grown into something bigger than we could handle on our own and I have 3 assistants that help me behind the scenes to manage our community. There is no way I could possibly do it all alone. My assistants are amazing and help me so much.
The best tartar sauce I have ever tasted. Kudos Natasha and all the best. God bless you.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
I just made this tartar sauce and it was fabulous. One question: how long does it keep?
Hi Lorraine, the tartar sauce keeps covered and refrigerated for 5 to 7 days.
Darn, I was hoping for longer since it makes so much. Thanks
Wonderful! Quick easy and sooo good! Added onion powder and used dill relish.
I’m so glad you enjoyed that! Thank you for sharing that with me!
Sorry. Comment intended for the salmon patty recipe. DUH!
That’s okay! Thank you for that awesome feedback!
You’re a cook after my own butter-loving heart. These are delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed that, David! Thank you for that great review!
I followed the recipe exactly and that tasted nothing like good tarter sauce ugh
Hi Joseph, I haven’t had that happen but I am more than happy to troubleshoot. Was anything altered in this recipe by chance?
I just made this to go with lunch, som fish fillets I cooked in my Air Fryer. Easily the best tartar sauce I’ve ever had! The only things I changed was adding a little bit of onion powdee (instead of diced onion) and I added a bit golf celery seed.
I’m so happy to hear that, Sierra! Sounds like you found a new family favorite!
I’m making your Tartar Sauce.
How long will this keep in the refrigerator?
Thank you.
Hi Judy, the tartar sauce keeps covered and refrigerated for 5 to 7 days.
Have kept this in the frig for months, still good
Ooh yep
.. that’s a cracker tartare!
So easy and it’s spot on I reckon!
I dropped in a tblspn of sweet mustard pickles and a tblspn of sugar and it was super sickly sweet.
No dramas It was easy to get it back under control with more mayo.
Beutifull …
I did get pumped on it so much that I tucked buck into the fridge a then snuck in a tblspn of cream also just coz I’m fiesty for experimental opportunities with my cooking.
Regards.
Killer job
I’m glad you enjoyed that Kym. Thank you for that feedback!
I realized too late we were out of Tarter Sauce to go with our fish. I Googled and found your receipe. It is 10x better than store bought like most things are better homemade. I don’t know why I waited so long to try making it. It was so good. My family loved it. Now I am looking at your other receipes to try. Thank you!
Sounds like you found a new favorite Dorothy! Thank you for that awesome review!