This Easy Tartar Sauce is one way to make your frozen fried seafood taste like you made everything from scratch. It’s a quick way to make a weeknight meal using what you already have in your fridge. Tartar sauce also tastes great on many different types of pan-fried and grilled seafood.
Pre-made sauce not worth the hype
While the pre-made bottled shelf-stable tartar sauces are convenient, you’re only saving about 5 minutes of time. You might also not use up all the bottle because they are sold in larger amounts.
Making your own does require you to have a few ingredients, but they all can be used for other recipes so you can have some variety and the ingredients are less likely to go to waste.
Homemade tartar sauce health benefits
This homemade sauce recipe has extra vitamin C from the lemon juice which also gives it a great fresh flavor. You can add the zest if you have a zester or grater for more lemon flavor and to use up the entire lemon to minimize food waste.
You can use full fat mayonnaise made with olive oil to get the benefit of this hearty-healthy fat. Alternatively, you can use light mayonnaise if you are watching your fat intake. They both taste great.
Make it budget friendly
Lemons can be pretty expensive. You can save money by buying bottled lemon juice which is often found right next to the fresh lemons. It’s a budget-friendly alternative that keeps for a few weeks (or longer) in the fridge once you open it. This tartar sauce will taste just as good!
Make more sauces at home from scratch and give these recipes a try:
Easy Tartar Sauce
Equipment
- 1 small cutting board
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 medium bowl
- measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise (olive oil or light versions preferred)
- 1 tbsp capers rinsed and diced
- 2 tbsp relish
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (juice of about ½ of a large lemon)
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix until well combined.
- Use immediately or refrigerate for an hour for the flavors to meld.
