Homemade Tartar Sauce

Homemade tartar sauce made from scratch in just 5 minutes! Tartar sauce is traditionally served with crispy fish and chips, and goes so well with any seafood dish. Ditch the store-bought jar, and make your own at home to up your fish fry game!

There isn’t a better combination than crispy fried fish, and creamy tangy tartar sauce. And there is no question about the chips, serving crispy fish without chips or tartar sauce is definitely just not okay!

For seriously crispy and delicious fish, make my beer-battered fish. It’s the BEST! Pair it with healthier oven-baked fries, and this tartar sauce for a delicious dinner meal!

If you’re not a fan of tartar sauce, that’s probably because you have only tried jarred tartar sauce from a store. Try this homemade version, and you will love it!

What is Tartar Sauce?

Tartar sauce or tartare sauce is a mayo-based sauce that is enhanced with lemon juice, pickles or pickle relish (gherkins in the UK), shallots, capers, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. It is often served with seafood such as beer-battered fish, crispy fish fillets, fish sandwiches, salmon burgers, crab cakes, fish sticks, and many more!

Tartar Sauce Ingredients

Tartar sauce is mainly made with mayonnaise, chopped pickles or pickle relish, lemon juice, capers, salt, and pepper. I like to add finely chopped shallot to my tartar sauce for extra texture and flavor, as well as a little bit of dijon mustard.

If you have fresh herbs, then feel free to add chopped dill, chives, or parsley.

How to Make Tartar Sauce

To make the tartar sauce, all you need to do is chop the pickles, shallot, and capers. Add them to the mayo, along with the dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Gently whisk the mixture until well combined, and serve.

TIP: You can easily overmix the mayonnaise, so when whisking the ingredients do it gently, otherwise, you might end up with a runny and messy tartar sauce.

This easy tartar sauce is paleo, whole30, and keto-friendly. It can also easily be made vegan if you use vegan mayo (I have a great recipe for the vegan mayo!).

I recommend letting the tartar sauce sit in the fridge for at least half an hour before serving, this will allow the flavors to settle and it will taste better.

Expert Tips

• Whether you’re using homemade or store-bought mayonnaise, make sure not to overmix it as it can become runny and separate.
• Feel free to add more or fewer pickles, relish, or capers to your taste.
• Add fresh herbs such as chives, parsley, or dill if available.
• It’s recommended to let the tartar sauce to chill in the fridge for at least half an hour before serving to allow the flavors to settle.

Storing Tips

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. It can last a bit longer if stored properly and the ingredients used to make it are super fresh, but always make sure that you taste the tartar before serving to make sure that it’s ok if it was stored for over a week.

I don’t recommend freezing this sauce.

I love making my salad dressings and sauces from scratch! They’re much healthier than store-bought, cheaper, and always taste better! So make sure to check out my homemade ranch dressing, Caesar dressing, bang bang sauce, yum yum sauce, and lime crema.