This easy tartar sauce recipe with pickles is creamy, tangy, and made with just four simple ingredients: mayonnaise, minced dill pickles, pickle juice, and onion. It takes only a few minutes to mix together and gives you a thick homemade dipping sauce with plenty of pickle flavor.
I especially like serving it with Crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders because the cool creamy sauce works so well with a crisp coating. You can also serve it beside Potato Cheese Balls, or make the pickle flavor from scratch with my Refrigerator Dill Pickle Recipe. For more easy dinner pairings, browse my Easy Chicken Recipes for Dinner.
What makes this tartar sauce especially easy is that it doesn’t need capers, fresh herbs, or a long ingredient list. The dill pickles add crunch and tang, the pickle juice loosens the mayonnaise just enough, and the finely minced onion gives the sauce a little bite without taking over.
What Is Tartar Sauce?
Tartar sauce is a cold, creamy condiment most commonly served with fish and other crispy savory foods.
Many versions start with mayonnaise and add ingredients such as pickles, relish, onion, lemon, herbs, or capers. This version keeps things especially simple with mayonnaise, dill pickles, pickle juice, and minced onion.
Instead of using bottled relish, finely chopped dill pickles give the sauce small pieces of crunch while the pickle juice spreads that tangy flavor throughout the mayonnaise.
Table of contents
Ingredients
Let’s Make Easy Tartar Sauce
- Add the Mayonnaise
Place the 2 cups mayonnaise in a medium mixing bowl.
- Add the Pickles and Onion
Add 2 tablespoons finely minced dill pickles and 2 tablespoons finely minced onion.
Keep both finely chopped so you get a little pickle and onion throughout the sauce instead of large pieces.
- Add the Pickle Juice
Pour in 2 tablespoons pickle juice.
This adds acidity and pickle flavor while slightly loosening the thick mayonnaise.
- Mix
Stir everything together until the pickles and onion are evenly distributed through the mayonnaise.
Scrape around the bottom and sides of the bowl so there are no plain pockets of mayo.
- Serve
Transfer the tartar sauce to a serving bowl and serve cold with your favorite crispy chicken, fish, seafood, or fries.
How to Keep Homemade Tartar Sauce Thick and Creamy
The best texture starts with finely minced ingredients.
Large chunks of pickle or onion can make a tartar sauce feel more like a chunky relish than a creamy dipping sauce, so chop both fairly small before mixing them into the mayonnaise.
Measure the pickle juice separately rather than adding very wet pickle pieces straight from the jar. That gives you control over how much liquid goes into the sauce and helps keep the mayonnaise thick.
Mix until the pickle and onion pieces are evenly distributed, but there is no need to vigorously whisk the sauce. You want to keep that thick, creamy texture.
Because this is a mayonnaise-based cold sauce, keep it refrigerated when you’re not serving it. USDA food-safety guidance recommends keeping refrigerators at 40°F (4°C) or below. USDA – Refrigeration and Food Safety Food Safety and Inspection Service
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Adding too much pickle juice: The tested ratio is 2 tablespoons pickle juice to 2 cups mayonnaise. Extra liquid can make the sauce thinner than intended.
Leaving the pickles too large: Finely minced pickles distribute their flavor more evenly through the sauce.
Using large pieces of onion: The onion should add a mild sharp bite without dominating each spoonful.
Skipping the pickle juice: The juice adds acidity and gives the mayonnaise much more of that recognizable tartar-sauce flavor.
Using sweet relish instead of the dill pickles without testing it first: This recipe is specifically built around minced dill pickles.
Serving it warm: Tartar sauce is best served cold, especially beside hot crispy foods.
What to Serve With Tartar Sauce
This easy tartar sauce works particularly well with:
- Fried or baked fish
- Fish sticks
- Fish sandwiches
- Shrimp
- Crab cakes
- Crispy chicken tenders
- Chicken strips
- French fries
- Potato wedges
- Fried seafood
- Breaded vegetables
That creamy, tangy sauce is especially useful beside foods with a crisp breadcrumb or fried coating.
FAQs
Mix mayonnaise with finely minced dill pickles, pickle juice, and finely minced onion until evenly combined.
That’s all this recipe needs.
Some simple versions are based on mayonnaise and relish, but this recipe uses finely minced dill pickles, pickle juice, and onion rather than bottled relish.
Yes.
This recipe doesn’t use relish at all. Finely chopped dill pickles provide the pickle pieces instead.
Yes. This recipe specifically uses 2 tablespoons minced dill pickles, along with some of their pickle juice.
It’s creamy and rich from the mayonnaise, with a tangy pickle flavor and a mild sharpness from the minced onion.
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Easy Tartar Sauce Recipe with Pickles
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Add the mayonnaise to a medium mixing bowl.
- Add the finely minced dill pickles and onion.
- Pour in the pickle juice.
- Stir until everything is evenly incorporated.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and serve cold.
Nutrition
Video
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Let us know how it was!Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
