Tartar sauce is a simple mix of mayonnaise and chopped pickles, but fresh dill, capers and lemon make it taste far brighter than anything from a jar.
Make it ahead: a short rest lets the pickles and herbs flavor the mayonnaise.
Classic Tartar Sauce
Creamy homemade tartar sauce with pickles, capers, lemon and fresh dill. Ten minutes to make and much brighter than the jarred kind.
- Prep
- 10 mins
- Total
- 40 mins
- Makes
- About 1 cup
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Ingredient substitutions
- Fresh dill → 1 tsp dried dill
- Dill pickles → sweet relish for a sweeter sauce
- Capers → extra pickles
Flavor variations
- Add 1 tbsp chopped shallot for more bite.
- Add a pinch of cayenne for gentle heat.
Tips and troubleshooting
- Chop the pickles finely so every spoonful has some crunch without large chunks.
Storage and food safety
- Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
What to serve it with
- Fish and chips and fish sandwiches
- Crab cakes and fried shrimp
- Fries
Recipe
Classic Tartar Sauce
- Prep
- 10 mins
- Chill / rest
- 30 mins
- Total
- 40 mins
- Yield
- About 1 cup
- Serving
- 2 tablespoons
Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp dill pickles, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp capers, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Pat the chopped pickles and capers dry with a paper towel so the sauce stays thick.
- Stir all the ingredients together in a bowl.
- Cover and chill for 30 minutes, then taste and adjust the lemon and pepper.
Vehama Recipes — https://vehama.com/tartar-sauce/
