Tartar Sauce

By Genevieve Ko

Published July 14, 2021

Tartar Sauce
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Victoria Granof.
Total Time
5 minutes
Rating
5(542)
Comments
Read comments

Packed with crunchy, sharp zing from onion, and tang and savoriness from capers, this homemade tartar sauce delivers bold freshness. Once you’ve mixed the base below, you can stir in more of whichever ingredients you most enjoy. And if you don’t like the bite of raw onion, you can soak it in cold water for 10 minutes and drain before stirring it in. Thick yet spreadable, this works as a dip, too.

Featured in: Sauce Recipes That Will Transform Any Meal

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:About 1 cup
  • ½cup mayonnaise
  • ½cup finely chopped dill pickle
  • 2tablespoons finely chopped white onion
  • 2teaspoons capers, finely chopped
  • 1teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • ½teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill or parsley (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

410 calories; 45 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 27 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 0 grams protein; 728 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by
Cooking Newsletter illustration

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, pickle, onion, capers, lemon juice, mustard and dill, if using. Use immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

  2. Step 2

    Use as a dip for fried fish or other seafood, fries, chips, pita chips and crudités. Mix into tuna, egg or potato salad, or spread onto bread for tuna, egg or chicken salad sandwiches, as well as for roast beef and fried chicken or fish sandwiches, and salmon burgers.

Ratings

5 out of 5
542 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Potter

I have been using a version of this smeared over olive oil drizzled salmon or haddock before I "speed cook" the fish. I use an Advantium oven, but you can roast or bakes usual. My recipe is without the pickle, just generous capers, half the mayo adding whole-fat Greek yoghurt for the other half plus course ground Dijon..parsley/dill optional. Lemon is on the side.

barbara

I add a little horseradish and sour cream.

Julia

This was delicious just the way the recipe was written.

GazeboQueen

Increase the mayo or yoghurt. It's runny as written. Used shallot instead of white onion and next time will add a pinch of lemon jest.

Tartar sauce

I make this but use lemon juice instead of mustard, and add dill weed or fresh dill and parsley, finely chopped. It’s outstanding. Also, if there are leftovers, stir the sauce into a can of tuna for a delicious salad or sandwich filling.

Art Saffran

I'm not usually a fan of tartar sauce but I loved this. Easy to make and delicious. I pickled minced scallions in apple cider vinegar before straining and adding them to the sauce. This is a winner!

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.