• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Southern Discourse

Southern Discourse

Food, Faith & Southern Hospitality!

  • Recipes
    • Appetizers & Snacks
    • Beverages
    • Bread
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Casseroles
    • Desserts
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches
    • Sauces & Dressings
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
    • All Recipes
    • Recipe Collections
  • Hospitality
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Fall
    • Winter
    • Everyday
  • Shop
  • About
  • Subscribe
Home › Recipes
2 Comments

Tasty Homemade Tartar Sauce

Stacey Pirtle

by Stacey Updated: Jul 9, 2023

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

This post may contain affiliate links.

Forget the store-bought stuff or waiting until you go to your favorite fish house to enjoy cool and creamy tartar sauce. You can make the BEST at home in just 5 minutes with ingredients you probably already have! This zippy Homemade Tartar Sauce recipe is extra creamy, tangy and loaded with crunch from just the right amount of onions and pickles.

Homemade tartar sauce is not just mayonnaise, but a sweet/savory mayo-based dipping sauce flavored with pickles, onions, garlic, lemon and Worcestershire sauce.


What is Tartar Sauce?

Many people ask if Tartar Sauce is just mayonnaise. It isn’t! It’s a sweet and savory mayo-based fish and seafood dipping sauce made with pickles, onions, garlic, lemon and Worcestershire sauce.

RELATED RECIPES: Louisiana Remoulade Sauce, Homemade Cocktail Sauce

Made right, classic Tartar Sauce has loads of flavor and is the perfect partner for fried catfish, white perch, salt water fish, shrimp, crab, salmon and all your favorite seafood dinners (that even includes fish sticks). I love to dip my French fries, onion rings and cornbread hush puppies in it too!

You’re Going to Love Serving Homemade Tartar Sauce With:

  • Spicy Creole Shrimp Foil Packets
  • Easy Southern Salmon Patties
  • Homemade Cornmeal Fish Fry Mix
  • Crab Cakes Sliders
  • Low Country Shrimp Boil
Tartar sauce is made of mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, onions, garlic, lemon, salt, pepper & Worchestershire sauce.

Classic Tartar Sauce Recipe Ingredients

  • real mayonnaise
  • sweet pickle relish
  • yellow onion
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • garlic powder
  • fresh lemon juice
  • salt & coarse ground black pepper
Making homemade tartar sauce is easy using common kitchen ingredients and only takes about 5 minutes.

How To Make Easy Homemade Tartar Sauce for Fish & Seafood

Making this sauce couldn’t be any easier, but the taste benefits are off the charts! I’m not kidding when I say the store bought stuff can’t touch it!

Measure & Dice. Measure out the ingredients and dice the onion.

Mix & Chill. Stir it all together and chill in the fridge before serving. That’s it!

Pro tip for creating the best flavor in tartar sauce.
Tartar sauce is a classic fish and seafood condiment that's easy to make.

Recipe Variations & Add-Ins

  • Because we love a chunky tartar sauce with lots of crunch, I sometimes finely dice a few sweet pickles to add to the relish.
  • Add a little fresh dill, parsley, or chives for more herby flavor.
  • If your prefer dill pickles over sweet, use a dill relish. Most recipes that use dill relish also add 1 teaspoon sugar to their recipe.
  • Looking for an extra punch of savory flavor? Think about adding a teaspoon Dijon mustard.
Tartar sauce is perfect for dipping fish, shrimp, seafood, even french fries, crab cake and salmon patties.

Making It Ahead & Storing Tartar Sauce

Homemade tartar sauce is ideal for making in advance because the flavors only become more intense with time. Make this sauce 1-2 days before your big fish fry to serve a winning sauce!

This tartar sauce recipe usually lasts 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator if kept covered. However, if it’s served at a shrimp boil or fish fry and has sat outside for any length of time, it shouldn’t be served again.

Make homemade tartar sauce and let it sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour before serving for best results.

More Delicious Sauces You’ll Love

  • Homemade Cocktail Sauce
  • Louisiana Remoulade Sauce
  • Campfire Fry Sauce
  • Pineapple Honey Mustard
  • Alabama White Sauce
  • Sweet & Spicy Tennessee BBQ Sauce
If you love tartar sauce & have made this recipe, give it all the stars & leave a fun comment! Or tag me @SouthernDiscourse on social media to be featured. I love hearing from you!
Tartar sauce is a classic fish and seafood condiment that's easy to make.

Tasty Homemade Tartar Sauce

This zippy Homemade Tartar Sauce recipe is extra creamy, tangy and loaded with crunch from just the right amount of onions and pickles.
Print Pin Rate
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Easy Recipe, fish, seafood
Total Time: 5 minutes minutes
Servings: 2 cups
Author: Stacey | SouthernDiscourse.com

Ingredients

  • 1 cup real mayonnaise
  • ½ cup sweet pickle relish, drain away some juice, but not all
  • ½ cup finely diced yellow onion
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • ½ large lemon
Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

  • Add mayonnaise, relish, onion, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt & pepper to a large measuring cup or medium bowl. Squeeze juice from ½ lemon over ingredients.
  • Whisk together. Cover and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving. Spoon into serving dish and serve!

Video

Notes

Chill your tartar sauce for 30 minutes to 1 hour for maximum flavor.
Tartar sauce is a classic fish and seafood condiment that's easy to make.
Did you make my Tasty Homemade Tartar Sauce?Show me how it went! Share on Instagram, tag @southerndiscourse, and use the hashtag #SouthernDiscourse!
Tag on Insta Leave a Rating
Forget the store-bought stuff or waiting until you go to your favorite fish house to enjoy cool and creamy tartar sauce.  You can make the BEST sauce at home in just 5 minutes with ingredients you probably already have!  This zippy Homemade Tartar Sauce recipe is extra creamy, tangy and loaded with extra crunch from just the right amount of onions and pickles.

Share this!

  • Facebook
  • Yummly
  • Email

Filed Under: Recipes, Sauces & Dressings Tagged With: fish, seafood

Meet Stacey

Southern Discourse is a place where you can find southern family dishes, along with special recipes & table settings. Bringing connection & friendship back to the table by wrapping everything in the faith & grace from which true hospitality springs! Read More

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Mail

Join Southern Discourse

Subscribe today to never miss a post!

Reader Interactions

Comments

    5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

    Rate & Comment Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Avatar photoLynda Marie McDuff

    July 1, 2022 at 3:49 pm

    I appreciate all your recipes. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Stacey Pirtlestacey

      July 6, 2022 at 3:13 pm

      Hi, Lynda! You’ve made my day! Thank you so much for being a part of Southern Discourse.

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Meet Stacey

Southern Discourse is a place where you can find southern family dishes, along with special recipes & table settings. Bringing connection & friendship back to the table by wrapping everything in the faith & grace from which true hospitality springs! Read More

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Mail

Join Southern Discourse

Never miss a new post!

Reader Favorites

  • A finished skillet of Dirty Rice.Louisiana Dirty Rice
  • traditional chicken and dressing for a southern holiday mealSouthern Chicken and Dressing
  • Whipped Feta Dip with honeyWhipped Feta with Honey Dip
  • A forkful of sweet potato casserole to show the fluffy texture of the potatoes.Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping
  • pecan pie bars turn traditional pie into an easy dessertBest Ever Pecan Pie Bars
  • Spicy Italian Sub Crescent Ring TitleSpicy Italian Crescent Ring

Recipes by Category

  • Appetizers
  • Beverages
  • Bread
  • Breakfast & Brunch
  • Casseroles
  • Desserts
  • Main Dishes
  • Salads
  • Sandwiches
  • Sauces & Dessings
  • Side Dishes
  • Soups
Southern Discourse
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Mail

Join Southern Discourse

Subscribe today to never miss a post!

© 2025 · Southern Discourse · Privacy · Cookies

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.