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Easy Tartare Sauce

Feb 24, 2023 | 0 comments

This fresh, zingy, ultra-creamy tartare sauce recipe is all you need to elevate any seafood dish. It’s SUPER easy, uses ingredients you probably already have, and takes just 5 minutes. Just chop, mix and you’re done!

Tartare sauce dripping off a small spoon into a glass bowl.

Tartare sauce is one of those sauces when once you realise it truly takes less than 5 minutes to make, you’ll never go back to store-bought. Not only is it A LOT cheaper to make it yourself, but it’s genuinely so much more delicious. It’s fresh, packed with flavour and elevates anything it’s paired with.

I, of course, love it with any kind of fish – it’s great dolloped on the side of miso and maple glazed salmon, or served with these quick salmon rice bowls, or even as a topping on this salmon sushi bake. In the photo below I’m serving it slathered onto the cutest, mini crispy beer battered fish burgers, but it’s also great as a dipping sauce. Try it with crispy oven fries, loaded wedges or roast potatoes.

Ingredients

All you need is a few regular cupboard staples to make this delicious sauce.

Tartare sauce ingredients laid out on a grey marble background and labelled.
  • Aioli. I love the rich depth of the flavour that aioli (garlic mayo) brings here, but you can just use regular mayo if you like. I’m using my easy egg-free vegan aioli if you’d like to give it a try.
  • Capers. These little salty morsels pair naturally with seafood, so they work so well here. If you’re not a capers fan or you can’t find them, you can just use more pickles.
  • Pickles. These tangy, zingy pops of flavour complement the sauce so well. Try to go for whole pickles, and chop them up nice and finely. Likewise with capers, if you don’t like or can’t find pickles, use more capers. These are also known as gherkins.
  • Lemon. We’ll use lemon zest and juice here, so do try to use a fresh lemon if you can, rather than bottled juice. It brings a very welcome fresh zing to the sauce.

How to make it

This sauce truly could not be simpler. All you have to do is chop up your capers, pickles, spring onion and parsley, crush some garlic, then add that all to a small bowl with aioli (or mayo), plus your lemon zest and juice.

I like to mix it with a fork because it acts as a mini whisk and will make sure everything is mixed through evenly. Once you’ve got a thick, creamy sauce, you’re done. Serve with your favourite fish (I’m dolloping it onto super cute mini fish burgers here!)

Got a question?

What’s the difference between tartare and tartar sauce?

Nothing at all! Tartare is the spelling used in the UK/New Zealand/Australia/South Africa, while tartar sauce is the spelling used in the US. Same sauce, with one letter difference.

How long will the sauce keep?

It will last well for 5 days, stored in the fridge in an airtight container.

I don’t like capers, can I use something else?

Just use more pickles or cornichons in place of the capers – you just want that lovely salty, zingy flavour.

Can I use mayo instead of aioli?

Yes! I love to use aioli because it means you don’t have to add garlic (since aioli is garlic mayo), but you can absolutely use mayo and then just add 1 crushed garlic clove.

Is the tartare sauce vegan?

If you use my easy vegan aioli as your base, then yes! You can also use any store-bought vegan mayo or aioli as your base here.

Like this recipe? You might enjoy these other quick sauces

If you make this sauce, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave me a comment below.

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Tartare sauce dripping off a small spoon into a glass bowl.

Easy Tartare Sauce


  • Author: Kate Alexandra
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 cup 1x
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

This fresh, zingy, ultra-creamy tartare sauce recipe is all you need to elevate any seafood dish. It’s SUPER easy, uses ingredients you probably already have, and takes just 5 minutes. Just chop, mix and you’re done!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup aioli (try my easy egg-free vegan aioli, or use mayo)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped capers
  • 4 pickles, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Make the tartare sauce. Add all the ingredients into a small mixing bowl, and mix well with a fork to combine into a thick, creamy sauce. And that’s it!

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES: Because we’re using lemon zest and juice, try to use a fresh lemon, rather than bottled if you can. The flavour is so much better and then lemon zest is really crucial to the flavour. Pickles = gherkins in the UK/AU/NZ.

SUBSTITUTIONS: If you don’t like capers, use more gherkins, and if you don’t like gherkins, use more capers! You can use mayo instead of aioli if you like.

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: The tartare sauce will keep well for 5 days, stored in the fridge in an airtight container.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Tartare sauce is traditionally enjoyed with fish – those zesty, zingy flavours pair with it perfectly. You could also use it as a topper for loaded bowls (it’s great with these salmon sushi bowls), as a dipping sauce for crispy oven fries, loaded wedges or roast potatoes

  • Prep Time: 5
  • Category: sauces
  • Method: no cook
  • Cuisine: american

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 tablespoon

Keywords: tartar sauce, creamy tartare sauce

Welcome!

I’m Kate, the creator behind Dished. I love creating flavour packed, simple (ish) recipes for you, designed for every day and special occasions.

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