This tartar sauce recipe is a creamy, tangy, and easy Southern-style sauce for fish and shellfish. It’s mayonnaise-based, with dill pickle relish, lemon juice, fresh dill, and red onion. It’s perfect as a dipping sauce for pan fried catfish, shrimp, oysters, crab, fish sandwiches, and hush puppies. Takes about 10 minutes to make.
Quick Look: Tartar Sauce
- Ready in: About 10 minutes
- Yield: 2.5 cups
- Calories:
- Main ingredients: Mayonnaise, dill pickle relish, lemon juice, fresh dill, and sweet onion.
- Method: A no-cook, one-bowl sauce
- Best uses: Dipping sauce for fried fish, shrimp, oysters, crab, fish sandwiches, hush puppies, and seafood platters
- Good to know: This sauce tastes better after it rests in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This allows the flavors to develop.
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Homemade tartar sauce is a Southern staple condiment. Here in the southeastern US, we use it as a dip for just about everything.
And when I say everything, I mean just about everything, including one of my favorites: pan fried bluegill. Or fried fish cakes. Or fried soft shell crabs. Or flounder. Or even your favorite uncle’s smoked pellet grill shrimp. I guess you can just use your imagination.
My point is that this easy tartar sauce is a keeper. Especially on a hot day in the South
Why This Recipe Works
Made for fried seafood: This sauce has just enough tanginess and vegetal pop from the fresh dill to cut through any fried food. Even my weirdly addictive deep fried shrimp heads.
Creamy: Incredibly creamy and versatile enough for fish tacos and fish burgers. You can easily add more mayo to make it even thicker.
Simple ingredients: Mayo, dill pickle relish, lemon, dill, onion, salt, and pepper. That is all you need when the balance is right.
Fresh flavor: None of the fillers that you find in store-bought sauces. Fresh herbs, citrus, and real mayo make the flavors light-years above the premade versions.
Make-ahead friendly: You can make this sauce a couple of hours ahead. This allows the flavors to meld together.
Notes on Ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Mayonnaise: This is the base of the sauce, so use a good mayonnaise from a reputable brand. If you use cheap mayo, expect to have a subpar sauce. I like Dukes or Kewpie.
Dill pickle relish or chopped dill pickles: Either works. I use chopped pickles for extra crunch.
Fresh lemon juice: The lemon juice in the little squeeze jars is fine if you can’t find fresh. But using fresh lemon juice will give you a brighter tasting sauce. The stuff in the bottles is often bitter.
Fresh dill: Nothing replaces fresh dill. Dried dill doesn’t even come close, so I don’t recommend using it.
Red Onion: You have several choices for onions. But red onion gives a sharp flavor you just don’t get with other onions.
Substitutions and Additions
Use chopped pickles instead of relish: Not only do chopped pickles give you more texture, but they also allow you to control moisture. Pickle relish is often water, which in turn can make your sauce on the loose side.
Use sweet relish: If you want a sweeter Southern-style tartar sauce, use sweet relish instead of dill relish. You can always balance the sweetness with lemon zest.
Add capers: Stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of finely chopped capers for a saltier, brinier sauce. By using capers, you can also reduce the amount of pickles or relish.
Add hot sauce: A few dashes of vinegar-based hot sauce add a bit of heat that pairs well with fried fish.
How To Make Tartar Sauce
1. Add the ingredients to a bowl: Add the mayonnaise, dill pickle relish or chopped pickles, lemon juice, fresh dill, finely chopped sweet onion, salt, and black pepper to a mixing bowl.
2. Mix: Mix by hand using a whisk or large fork until fully combined. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Chef Tips & Troubleshooting
- Do not use a food processor. A food processor will make the pickles and onion release too much water. This will cause your sauce to be runny
- Drain the relish. If your relish has a lot of liquid in the jar, drain it before adding it to the sauce. You can always add a splash of pickle juice back in later.
- Squeeze the onions. Onions can release a lot of moisture. You can place the chopped onions in a towel or cheese cloth and then squeeze to remove excess moisture. This will also remove a lot of the bitterness from the onions.
- Fix runny tartar sauce. If your sauce ends up being too runny, whisk in a little more mayonnaise to thicken it up. You can add more fresh dill and lemon zest to enhace the flavors without added moisture.
Tartar Sauce FAQs
How long does homemade tartar sauce last?
Homemade tartar sauce will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. But it’s best used within 2 days of making it to retain freshness.
Can you make tartar sauce without cucumber pickles?
Yes, but it will not taste like classic tartar sauce. Chopped capers are the best substitute. You can also get creative and use pickled okra.
Is tartar sauce good with fish and chips?
Yes. Tartar sauce is one of the best sauces for fish and chips. The cold, creamy sauce balances the hot, crispy fried fish.
What to serve with Tartar Sauce
By now you know the classics, here a few that you may not have thought of.
- Smoked Shrimp: Smoked shrimp is a match made in food-heaven here. It’s like smoked chicken paired with Alabama white BBQ sauce: you gotta have it.
- Oysters: Tartar sauce works with fried oysters and steamed oysters. But the one you shouldn’t sleep on is my smoked oysters recipe.
- Octopus: If you’ve never eaten tender, crispy octopus with a mayo based sauce, you’re missing out. Trust me on this.
- Southern sides: What plate of southern fried seafood would be complete without hush puppies or pan fried cornbread cakes?
Recipes to dip in this sauce
Tried this Recipe? Please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love to hear from readers! And if you have any cooking questions or want to share your latest food photos, give me a shout on Instagram at @larry__white.
Homemade Tartar Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup dill pickle relish or chopped dill pickles
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
- 3/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Add the mayonnaise, dill pickle relish or chopped dill pickles, lemon juice, fresh dill, sweet onion, salt, and black pepper to a mixing bowl.
- Using a whisk or large fork, stir by hand until well combined. The sauce should be thick, creamy, and speckled with small pieces of pickle, onion, and dill.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, black pepper, lemon juice, pickle juice, dill, or pickles if needed.
- Cover and refrigerate until needed. The sauce can be eaten right away, but it tastes better after resting in the fridge for a couple of hours.
NOTES
- Rest in the fridge: You can use it right away, but the flavors are better if you let it rest for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Thicker sauce: For a thicker sauce, place the chopped onions in a towel or cheesecloth and squeeze the liquid out. This will reduce the water content in the sauce.
- Use a high-quality mayo: This sauce will only be as good as the ingredients used. I recommend using a reputable brand like Dukes, Hellmans, or Kewpie.
- Elevating the flavors: Adding lemon zest and fresh basil makes this sauce bright and floral.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutrition is per serving.
Homemade Tartar Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup dill pickle relish or chopped dill pickles
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
- 3/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Add the mayonnaise, dill pickle relish or chopped dill pickles, lemon juice, fresh dill, sweet onion, salt, and black pepper to a mixing bowl.
- Using a whisk or large fork, stir by hand until well combined. The sauce should be thick, creamy, and speckled with small pieces of pickle, onion, and dill.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, black pepper, lemon juice, pickle juice, dill, or pickles if needed.
- Cover and refrigerate until needed. The sauce can be eaten right away, but it tastes better after resting in the fridge for a couple of hours.
NOTES
- Rest in the fridge: You can use it right away, but the flavors are better if you let it rest for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Thicker sauce: For a thicker sauce, place the chopped onions in a towel or cheesecloth and squeeze the liquid out. This will reduce the water content in the sauce.
- Use a high-quality mayo: This sauce will only be as good as the ingredients used. I recommend using a reputable brand like Dukes, Hellmans, or Kewpie.
- Elevating the flavors: Adding lemon zest and fresh basil makes this sauce bright and floral.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutrition is per serving.
