Easy Tartar Sauce

This easy tartar sauce has just three ingredients but it’s my absolute favorite to accompany any fish from cod to salmon, whether deep fried, baked, poached or pan-fried.

If you'd like to make the salt and vinegar chip crusted cod fingers you see with the tartar sauce in these photos, the link is here. So crunchy and delicious! Even better, they are baked not fried! 

I have a personal rule that if a restaurant menu has fish and chips on it, I have to order that. It’s a family favorite and we spend much time discussing the merits of 1) the flakiness of the fish 2) the crunchiness of the coating 3) the batter to fish ratio 4) the crisp outside vs fluffy inside of the chips aka French fries and 5) the texture and flavor of the mushy peas. 

No one else seems to like tartar sauce so I judge that completely on my own. For me, that tartar sauce is a must-have side for dipping but rarely does a restaurant sauce match the one I make at home. 

Easy Tartar Sauce

I recommend using a microplane to grate the onion if you have one. If not, use the smallest holes on your normal grater. Personally, I don’t want to crunch on a piece of onion. Aside from the capers, I don’t like bits in my tartar sauce. And speaking of the capers, you can substitute the larger ones for the non-pareils but chop them up with a sharp knife so they are better distributed in the sauce. 

Ingredients

about 1 tablespoon finely grated onion

1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons non-pareil capers, plus pickling juice

3/4 cup or 173g your favorite store-bought or homemade mayonnaise

Method

Grate the onion directly into the bowl so you don’t lose any of the onion juice. (See note above about the grater to use.) Add in the capers. 

Stir in the mayonnaise along with a tablespoon of the pickling juice from the caper bottle. 

Cover with cling film and chill until ready to use but at least 30 minutes so the flavors can meld. 

Serve with your favorite fish! 

Enjoy!

Pin this Easy Tartar Sauce!

 .