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Creamy homemade tartar sauce with dill pickles and fresh dill in a white bowl beside a lemon wedge.
TasteWiser

Quick and Easy Tartar Sauce

Creamy homemade tartar sauce with drained dill pickles, fresh lemon, mustard and dill.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Chilling (optional) 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 8 servings (about 2 tablespoons each)
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: American
Calories: 145
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Tartar sauce
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise commercially prepared, full-fat
  • 1/4 cup dill pickles finely chopped and drained
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice plus more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon fresh dill finely chopped; or 1 teaspoon dried dill
  • 1 tablespoon onion finely minced, optional
  • 1 teaspoon capers drained and finely chopped, optional
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • salt only if needed, to taste

Method
 

  1. Finely chop and drain the dill pickles, then measure 1/4 cup. Chop the dill and mince the optional onion and capers.
    Finely chopped dill pickles and fresh dill on a chopping board.
  2. Stir the mayonnaise, lemon juice and Dijon mustard together in a small bowl until smooth.
    Mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and lemon juice being mixed in a white bowl.
  3. Fold in the drained pickles, dill, black pepper and optional onion and capers until evenly combined.
    Chopped dill pickles and fresh dill folded into the creamy sauce base.
  4. Taste with a bite of the food you will serve. Adjust the lemon or mayonnaise gradually, adding salt only if needed. Cover and refrigerate; an optional 20-minute chill lets the flavors blend. Stir before serving.
    Finished tartar sauce showing a thick spoonable texture beside a covered storage container.

Notes

Makes about 1 cup, divided into 8 equal servings. Nutrition is a rounded estimate using full-fat mayonnaise, optional onion and capers, and no extra salt; brands and substitutions change the values.
Refrigerate promptly in a clean covered container at 40°F (4°C) or colder. Use within 3–4 days as a conservative guideline, or sooner if an ingredient label requires it. Do not return served sauce to the storage container. Chilling is optional; total time includes the optional chilling period.