How to make quick and easy tartar sauce at home? Follow these simple steps for creamy results!

Making Some Sauce

Alright, so I needed some tartar sauce the other night, you know, for some fish. Didn’t want to run to the store, figured I’d just whip some up myself. It’s really not hard, honestly.

First thing, I grabbed the mayo from the fridge. Good ol’ regular mayo, nothing fancy. Scooped a good amount into a small bowl, maybe like half a cup?

Then, the important stuff. Gotta have that tang and crunch.

• Pickles: I took two decent-sized dill pickles out of the jar. Chopped ’em up pretty fine. Didn’t measure, just eyeballed it until it looked right. You want little bits, not huge chunks.
• Onion: Didn’t have shallots, which some people swear by, so I just used a little bit of regular white onion. Minced it super, super fine. Like, really fine. Onion can overpower things quick if you’re not careful. A tablespoon, maybe?
• Lemon: Squeezed in some fresh lemon juice. Adds that brightness, you know? Started with maybe half a small lemon.

Mixing Time

Okay, got all the main bits in the bowl with the mayo. Then I added a pinch of salt and a few twists of black pepper. Some folks add capers or parsley or dill weed. I wasn’t feeling that fancy, just kept it simple this time. Maybe a tiny splash of pickle juice too, for extra zing.

Then I just stirred it all together. Used a fork. Mixed it up really well, making sure the pickle and onion bits got everywhere in the mayo. Took like, what, 30 seconds?

Gave it a little taste. Perfect. Had that creamy, tangy, crunchy thing going on. If it was too thick, I might’ve added a touch more lemon juice. If too thin, maybe a bit more mayo, but it was just right.

And that was it. Dumped it into a little serving dish. Took maybe 5 minutes total? Way faster than driving to the store, that’s for sure. Went great with the fish. Simple stuff, but gets the job done.