Learning how to make tartar sauce is a fundamental part of cooking. Let’s be honest: tartar sauce recipes aren’t the most exciting recipe out there. But is it ever worth it? Why, yes!

That is why we’re here to bring all of the fun recipes and the important ones too. This is our tasty tartar sauce recipe.

An admission: there is an ongoing battle in our house! Should we dip our fried fish fillets in tartar sauce or ketchup? Help!

Like us, these are the real-life choices that we all have to ponder at some point. Still, you can use this easy tartar sauce on fish tacos, with crispy fish sticks or battered fish, or as with our family fried catfish. Try adding this simple tartar sauce to deviled eggs or chicken salad as well.

What is tartar sauce made of?

Tartar sauce is made of a few essential ingredients. It’s made out of mayonnaise, pickle, lemon, and additional optional spices.

How long does homemade tartar sauce last?

Homemade tartar sauce will last up to two weeks if kept cold in the refrigerator. The trick to making tartar sauce made from scratch last is not to allow it to sit out at room temperature for more than a few minutes before getting it back in the refrigerator.

Recipe variations

Instead of sweet pickle relish, you could use dill pickle relish.
Add in minced yellow onion for a bit of flavor and texture.
Add in tarragon instead of lemon pepper.
Use fresh dill instead of dried dill
Add red pepper flakes for a bit of spice
Add twang to the recipe for tartar sauce by adding a dash of Worcestershire sauce
Try making tartar sauce with yogurt instead of mayo.

How do you make tartar sauce from scratch?

Making tartar sauce from scratch is quite simple to do. The foundation ingredient in tartar sauce is mayonnaise. Pickles add flavor and crunch to the tartar sauce. Lemon juice helps thin the sauce and adds zest. From there, it’s really about adding additional spices. All that you do is add in the ingredients and mix. We then recommend that you chill the tartar sauce before serving.

Ingredients in tartar sauce:

Mayonnaise – We recommend buying full-fat mayo for this recipe. This is not the time to use something such as Miracle Whip. Only use real mayo on this one.

Pickles – We like to use sweet pickle relish, but you can also dice up dill pickles or use dill relish.

Pickle juice – We add in a teaspoon of pickle juice for flavor and consistency in texture.

Lemon juice – Lemon juice is a critical ingredient in any tartar sauce recipe. It adds twang, and it helps thin out the mayo.

Herbs and spices – This is where you can get creative with your tartar sauce recipe. We like to add horseradish, lemon pepper, and Dijon mustard.

The bottom line

If you run out of tartar sauce or find the store-bought version slightly on the bland side, start making your own tartar sauce recipe at home. It’s so easy to make, and it should taste so fresh. After you start making it at home, you’ll find that it’s so fast and delicious that you’ll never buy a pre-made tartar sauce again!