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    Home » Recipes » Sauces

    Homemade Tartar Sauce – Quick and Easy

    By Chula King · October 22, 2022 6 Comments

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    Homemade Tartar Sauce.

    Homemade Tartar Sauce is a quick and easy recipe to put together for your fried seafood. It is simple to prepare, and only requires a handful of ingredients. I’ve been making this tartar sauce for years and it never disappoints! 

    Homemade Tartar Sauce with parsley.
    Jump to:
    • Ingredients – Here’s What You’ll Need
    • Simple Steps in Making the Tartar Sauce
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Dishes to Serve with Tartar Sauce
    • Recipe

    Ingredients – Here’s What You’ll Need

    Ingredients needed for Tartar Sauce.
    • The Base: Mayonnaise forms the base for this delicious tartar sauce.
    • The Vegetables: I like to add sweet pickle relish, minced onions, minced parsley, and capers to the mayonnaise.
    • The Liquids: Fresh lemon juice provides not only the perfect amount of liquid for the proper consistency but also the subtle flavor. In addition, Tabasco sauce gives the tartar sauce a hint of heat.

    Simple Steps in Making the Tartar Sauce

    1. First, I added all of the ingredients for the tartar sauce to a bowl.
    Ingredients for tartar sauce in a bowl.
    1. Once I had added the ingredients to a bowl, I stirred everything together to ensure that the ingredients were well combined.
    1. Then, I transferred the tartar sauce to a covered container and put it in the refrigerator for the flavors to blend together.
    Transferring tartar sauce to another dish.

    That’s it – quick and easy with such a simple recipe. Yum!

    Adding tartar sauce to battered fish.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What are capers?

    Capers are the immature, unripened, green flower buds of the caper bush. The caper bush is found in Mediterranean countries as well as in Asia and Australia. Italy, Morocco, and Spain, as well as Asia and Australia. Often, capers are brined and provide both texture and tanginess to tartar sauce.

    Can capers be omitted from the recipe?

    Capers provide an added flavor to the tartar sauce and should not be omitted, at least from this recipe.

    Why is tartar sauce often associated with seafood?

    Tartar sauce contains lemon juice which is acidic. The acid in tartar sauce serves to neutralize the fishy taste of seafood in a manner similar to vinegar.

    How long will tartar sauce last?

    If covered and refrigerated, tartar sauce should last for about a week.

    Why is it called tartar sauce?

    Tartar sauce originated in France as sauce tartare. It was named after the Tatars, who settled in the Ukraine and in parts of Russia. 

    Dishes to Serve with Tartar Sauce

    This absolutely delicious tartar sauce is perfect on Fried Shrimp, Fish and Chips, Shrimp Po’Boy, and other seafood delicacies. I also like to dip french fries in tartar sauce!

    Dipping shrimp in tartar sauce.

    I hope you liked this recipe for Homemade Tarter Sauce as much as I do. If so, please consider rating it and leaving a comment. Also, if you’d like to receive notifications of new posts by email, enter your email address in the Subscribe box.

    Thank you so much for visiting Pudge Factor. I hope you’ll come back!

    Recipe

    Homemade Tartar Sauce.

    Homemade Tartar Sauce – Quick and Easy

    Homemade Tartar Sauce is a quick and easy recipe to put together for your fried seafood. It is simple to prepare, and only requires a handful of ingredients. I've been making this tartar sauce for years and it never disappoints! 
    4.75 from 24 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Condiment
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes
    Servings: 6 servings
    Calories: 176kcal
    Author: Chula King

    Ingredients

    • ⅔ cup (5.38 ounces, 153 grams) mayonnaise
    • 2 Tablespoons sweet pickle relish
    • 1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
    • 1 Tablespoon capers, drained
    • 1 Tablespoon minced onion
    • 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
    • Dash of hot sauce (optional)

    Instructions

    • Combine all ingredients; stir well to combine.
    • Cover and chill several hours before serving.
    • Yield: 1 cup.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 176kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 235mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 135IU | Vitamin C: 1.8mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.1mg
    Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment below and/or give this recipe a rating. On Instagram? Take a picture and tag @pudgefactor or #pudgefactor.

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    Filed Under: Fish and Seafood, Sauces, St. Patrick's Day

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Heidi Farkasdi says

      December 16, 2018 at 6:58 pm

      Very simple to make and quite tasty. Thank you! I may never buy tartar sauce again.

    2. PudgeFactor says

      December 16, 2018 at 8:49 pm

      I’m so glad that you liked it!

    3. Carolyn says

      May 08, 2020 at 6:40 pm

      This is so easy and So good! I will never buy tartar sauce in the jar again! Thank you!

    4. Chula King says

      May 09, 2020 at 7:04 pm

      Carolyn, I totally agree about the tartar sauce. In fact, we had it with fish and chips for dinner. Yum!

    5. Julie B Hicks says

      January 18, 2021 at 3:50 pm

      5 stars
      This is the best tarter sauce ever better than store bought

    6. Chula King says

      January 18, 2021 at 7:47 pm

      This is the only tartar sauce that I ever make!

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