Once you learn how to make tartar sauce, you'll never buy it at the store again! This lightened-up version is super creamy, tangy, and delicious.
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When I told Jack I was working on a homemade tartar sauce recipe, he replied, “Oh, are you using cream of tartar?” I immediately burst out laughing, but I really can’t blame him for his mistake. I mean, tartar sauce is creamy. It kind of makes sense, right?
In reality, the two have nothing to do with one another. Cream of tartar is a powdery baking ingredient that you’d find in sweets like cookies or meringues. Tartar sauce, on the other hand, is super savory, rich, and tangy. It’s typically served with seafood, but trust me – this delicious condiment can do so much more. Lately, I’ve been using it as a dip for my crispy air fryer cauliflower, and the leftovers never go to waste. We slather the sauce on sandwiches, pile it onto baked potatoes, and dollop it onto grilled veggies. You’ll find more serving suggestions in the post below. But really, anytime you feel like a dish needs a rich, tangy pop of flavor, you can make this tartar sauce recipe to brighten it up.
Tartar Sauce Recipe Ingredients
Mayonnaise is the primary ingredient in traditional tartar sauce, but I lighten mine up by using a mix of mayo and Greek yogurt. The yogurt makes this recipe for tartar sauce extra-tangy and creamy. These other key ingredients amp up the flavor even more:
- Lemon juice – It makes the sauce nice and bright.
- Capers and diced dill pickles – They add salty, briny flavor.
- Dijon mustard – It adds extra tang and a peppery bite.
- Fresh garlic and onion powder – For sharp, savory depth of flavor.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Tartar Sauce
Ready to cook? Here’s what you need to do:
- First, prep the ingredients. Dice the pickles, mince the capers, grate the garlic, and measure the mayo, yogurt, onion powder, and mustard.
- Then, mix it all together! Add the ingredients to a small bowl, and stir until everything is thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper, garnish with fresh chives, and enjoy.
That’s it!
Homemade Tartar Sauce Serving Suggestions
Tartar sauce is traditionally served with seafood dishes like crab cakes and fish and chips, but in our house, we eat it with veggies instead! Here are a few of our favorite ways to enjoy it:
- With crispy baked (or air fried) veggies. I’d take crispy veggies over fish sticks any day! I love serving my air fryer cauliflower, air fryer French fries, and baked zucchini chips with homemade tartar sauce for dipping.
- On a crudité platter. Serve it as a dip with your favorite fresh veggies and pita bread.
- With grilled or roasted veggies. Dollop the sauce onto grilled corn, grilled zucchini, roasted cauliflower, roasted broccoli, or grilled veggie kabobs.
- On a sandwich. It’d be excellent in all sorts of sandwiches, but I especially love it in place of the remoulade sauce in this Crispy Cauliflower Po’ Boy.
- In a baked potato.Move over, sour cream! A scoop of this sauce is fantastic inside a piping hot baked potato.
How do you like to use homemade tartar sauce? Let me know in the comments!
More Favorite Sauces and Spreads
If you love this recipe, try one of these yummy sauces next:
- Homemade Caesar Dressing
- Tzatziki Sauce
- Vegan Ranch Dressing
- Cashew Sour Cream
- Green Goddess Dressing
- Creamy Chipotle Sauce
- Romesco Sauce
- Tahini Sauce (4 ways!)
Tartar Sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
Serves 4 to 6
This homemade tartar sauce recipe is creamy, tangy, and super easy to make! See the post above for my favorite ways to serve it.
Instructions
In a small bowl, stir together the mayo, yogurt, lemon juice, capers, pickles, mustard, garlic, onion powder, and pepper. Season to taste with pinches of salt.
Garnish with chives, if desired, and serve using any of the suggestions in the post above.
FAQs
Wondering what's in tartar sauce? It's typically made with mayonnaise, chopped pickles or relish, lemon juice, and herbs (like tarragon and dill). There are also a handful of optional ingredients you can add that take the tartar sauce's flavor to the next level. For example, this recipe includes yellow mustard.
What goes best with tartar sauce? ›
Tartar sauce is traditionally served with seafood dishes like crab cakes and fish and chips, but in our house, we eat it with veggies instead! Here are a few of our favorite ways to enjoy it: With crispy baked (or air fried) veggies.
What is McDonald's tartar sauce made of? ›
Tartar Sauce
Ingredients: Soybean Oil, Pickle Relish (diced Pickles, Vinegar, Salt, Capers, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate [preservative], Calcium Chloride, Spice Extractives, Polysorbate 80), Egg Yolks, Water, Onions, Distilled Vinegar, Sugar, Spice, Salt, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate (preservative), Parsley.
Why does tartar sauce taste so good? ›
It typically has a creamy and tangy profile with ingredients like mayonnaise, pickles, capers, onions, and lemon juice. These elements add a combination of creaminess, acidity, and a hint of sweetness that complements the mild and delicate flavor of fish.
What is the difference between tartar sauce and tartare sauce? ›
Tartar sauce (French: sauce tartare; spelled tartare sauce in the UK, Ireland, and Commonwealth countries) is a condiment made of mayonnaise, chopped pickles and relish, caper, and herbs such as tarragon and dill.
Is tartar sauce healthier than mayo? ›
No.
The classic seafood condiment tartar sauce continues the trend that creamy sauces belong toward the bottom of the list. But, it has less than half the calories per tablespoon as ranch and one-quarter the fat content of mayonnaise.
Does tartar sauce contain vinegar? ›
Tartar sauce is a rich, creamy, tangy condiment typically served cold made of mayonnaise, chopped pickles (gherkins in the UK), capers, lemon juice and herbs such as dill, chives, tarragon and/or parsley. Some variations include olives, onions or shallots and apple cider vinegar.
What is a substitute for cream of tartar sauce? ›
The 6 Best Things to Use If You Don't Have Cream of Tartar
- Lemon juice.
- White vinegar.
- Baking powder.
- Buttermilk.
- Yogurt.
- Copper bowl.
- No substitute.
Opened bottles of tartar sauce should remain good for up to six months as long as they're kept in the refrigerator. If you suspect your tartar sauce is going bad, check the bottle for an expiration date. If it has a strange odor or appears to have lost its texture, it's probably time for a new bottle.
Is tartar sauce unhealthy? ›
Tartar sauce is relatively high in fat—especially when compared to other condiments served with fish, such as ketchup or vinegar. There are 4.7 grams of fat in a serving of tartar sauce. About 0.9 grams is saturated fat. About 1 gram is monounsaturated fat and 2.5 grams are polyunsaturated fat.
Add Sour Cream For A Thicker, Tangier Tartar Sauce
By adjusting the amount of sour cream you can customize the sauce. Start by adding one or two dollops at a time and incorporate more until you discover the perfect portion.
What kind of fish is Burger King fish sandwich? ›
Burger King's Big Fish Sandwich is 100% Wild Alaskan Pollock, breaded with crispy panko breading and topped with sweet tartar sauce, tangy pickles, all on top of a toasted brioche-style bun... just right for tonight!
Does Burger King use tartar sauce? ›
Score a catch of marvelous flavors of your tastebuds with this delightful burger. A succulent fish fillet is embraced by a whole slice of American cheese, and then topped with tangy tartar sauce to accentuate the fish's flavor and it's all served between a toasted sesame bun.
How to make tartar sauce Gordon Ramsay recipe? ›
For the Tartar Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon of Gherkins, chopped.
- 50 Grams Creme Fraiche.
- 200 Grams Mayonnaise.
- 3/4 Shallot Diced.
- Lemon Juice (about 1 Teaspoon)
- Hot Sauce (Optional)
Cooking instructions
- In a large bowl, mix both flours, baking powder and sugar.
- Add soda water, lager and salt.
- Mix together only until the batter binds together and is smooth. ...
- Cover your fish with a dusting of plain flour, then drop into the batter and coat completely.
- Pre-heat vegetable oil in deep fryer to 180C.
Ideal for breaded and fried foods, barbecue, hamburgers, tacos, rice, etc. Tartar sauce is a popular condiment in Western cuisine. It is popular as a dip in European Chinese Restaurant dishes such as prawn toast and spring rolls. Marinating the chicken with this sauce and then grilling on a barbeque is fantastic..
