Make homemade tartar sauce for fried fish, shrimp, chicken or fish sandwiches, or a dip for French fries, onion rings, etc. Quick and easy!
I feel strongly that it’s important to know how to make certain food items from scratch. Making homemade tartar sauce is one of those items I am glad to be able to make easily.
We used to keep bottled tartar sauce (from the store) in our refrigerator but found it took up space and sat there for months on end because we don’t use tartar sauce that often.
Once I learned it was easy to make a delicious, homemade tartar sauce that my husband and I BOTH loved, it became my go-to! When we have fried fish or want to use tartar sauce on an “as-needed” basis, I whip up this recipe, which yields about half a cup and that’s enough to serve with the dish.
There are so many recipes for tartar sauce (and how to make it) out there in this big old world. This is my version, so here’s how simple it is to make homemade tartar sauce.
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How To Make Homemade Tartar Sauce
Measure half a cup of cold mayonnaise into a small bowl. Add fresh lemon juice, and crushed dill weed, then stir these ingredients in until combined.
Now add finely chopped dill pickles and finely diced onions to the mayonnaise mixture in the bowl.
Add a small amount of sweet pickle relish, then stir until it’s combined with the other ingredients. I use my homemade zucchini relish for this (shown below), because I keep jars of it year-round stored in our pantry.
Take a tiny little taste of the homemade tartar sauce, then season (to suit your taste) with salt and black pepper, stirring to combine.
Once the ingredients for the tartar sauce are combined, add them to a food processor (or blender). You can also use an immersion blender for this, if you have access to one.
Pulse and/or process the mixture several times to further break down the onions, pickles and relish into smaller pieces. I do this because there is nothing worse in a semi-creamy tartar sauce than biting into a big piece of raw onion!
To Chill Or Not to Chill?
Spoon the homemade tartar sauce into a small dish (the recipe makes half a cup in total). If desired, sprinkle a very small amount of dried dill weed on top.
This homemade tartar sauce can be used immediately after you make it (if necessary), but we think it has more time for the flavors to develop when it is refrigerated.
I recommend covering the tartar sauce and chilling it in the fridge for about an hour (or more) for the very BEST flavor! If necessary, mix it up in the morning and refrigerate it to use later that day.
The tartar sauce is thick, creamy, and has wonderful flavor, especially after it has chilled and the ingredients have “mingled” for a bit!
Serve The Homemade Tartar Sauce
There are many ways to use homemade tartar sauce. Many people use it as a condiment spread for fish or chicken sandwiches, where it adds an additional layer of flavor.
Other people also enjoy tartar sauce as a dipping sauce for onion rings, fried chicken strips or French fries.
Our absolute favorite way of enjoying tartar sauce is to use it on battered fried fish. It tastes great on the fish (along with some Malt vinegar) and really adds GREAT flavor!
However you enjoy using tartar sauce, I hope you will consider making it yourself from scratch. It’s really so very easy, and I like the fact that I can make a small amount to have for a meal when we need it.
I hope you have the opportunity to make homemade tartar sauce and trust you will really enjoy it like we do! The recipe is so delicious and easy to make I don’t think you’ll regret it!
Thank you for taking time out of your day to visit my blog. Please come back again soon for more family-friendly recipes. Take care, may God bless you, and have a wonderful day.
Looking For More SAVORY SAUCE Recipes?
You can find ALL of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have a nice variety of savory sauce recipes, including:
- Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce
- Homemade Hoisin Sauce
- Easy Thai Peanut Sauce
- Homemade Honey BBQ Sauce
- DIY Mexican Mole Sauce
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↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
Make homemade tartar sauce for fried fish, shrimp, chicken or fish sandwiches, or a dip for French fries, onion rings, etc. Quick and easy!
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup dill pickle (finely chopped)
- ½ cup yellow onion (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish
- ¾ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon dill weed (dried, crushed) + more for garnish, if desired
- salt and black pepper, to taste
Place mayonnaise, fresh lemon juice, chopped pickles and onions, sweet pickle relish and dried dill weed in a small bowl. Stir to combine.
Add just enough salt and black pepper to season the tartar sauce to suit your taste; stir to combine.
Add sauce to a food processor (or blender). You can also use an immersion blender, if you have one. Pulse and/or process mixture several times to further break down the onions, pickles and relish into smaller pieces.
Transfer tartar sauce into a small dish (recipe makes ½ cup). If desired, sprinkle a tiny bit of dried dill weed on top (optional garnish). You can immediately use the tartar sauce after you make it, but it has more time for the flavors to develop when it is refrigerated. *I recommend covering the tartar sauce and refrigerate it for an hour (or more) for BEST flavor! Store any leftover sauce in an airtight container in refrigerator. Enjoy!
