Dill Tartar Sauce with Pickles

This homemade Dill Tartar Sauce is creamy, tangy, and perfect for fish and seafood! It's made with mayo, dill pickles, fresh herbs and lemon.

If you're looking for a dipping sauce that's perfect for all of your favorite fish and seafood dishes, you can't go wrong with a batch of this Dill Pickle Tartar Sauce!

I have a serious weakness for a good sauce. At times, I find the dipping sauce tastes better than the thing that's getting dipped (this is a sign of a truly good sauce).

I love to make my own dipping sauces and dressings. Making your own sauces allows you to customize them to your tastes. A homemade sauce tastes much more fresh and not packed full of preservatives, as is the case with many bottled and jarred sauces.

Homemade tartar sauce is incredibly easy to prepare and made with only a few ingredients. This recipe is creamy, tangy, and full of savory flavors, all of which lend themselves perfectly to any fish or seafood dish.

This tartar sauce is gluten free and made with mayo, lemon juice, garlic powder, crunchy kosher dill pickles, and lots of fresh dill. It's perfect for dipping fish fingers or slathering onto a fish sandwich.

Jump to:

• What Type Of Pickles Are Best For Tartar Sauce?
• Ingredients For Dill Tartar Sauce
• How To Make Homemade Tartar Sauce
• Can I Sub Any Of These Ingredients?
• How Long Does Tartar Sauce Last In The Fridge?
• Can It Be Frozen?
• What To Serve To With Dill Tartar Sauce
• Dill Tartar Sauce with Pickles

What Type Of Pickles Are Best For Tartar Sauce?

There are a number of varieties of tartar sauce out there. Traditional tartar sauce calls for only a few ingredients - Mayo, onions, and capers. These basic elements form the base of a more classic tartar sauce.

The great thing about tartar sauce is that it's easy to customize and most recipes out there build upon that traditional base with additional ingredients and flavors.

Like all sauces there are other elements that will add acidity, sweetness, and a savory bite. Sometimes, tartar sauce is made with the addition of mustard, scallions, or capers.

This recipe is savory of focuses heavily on the flavor of dill. It's made with kosher dill pickles, dill pickle brine, and fresh dill.

For this recipe, I recommend a variety that is tangy and sharp like kosher dill pickles. They provide a great briny flavor that you won't find with sweeter pickle varieties.

This tartar sauce works best when made with whole baby kosher dill pickles. You can pick up a jar in any supermarket. I recommend using whole pickles because you can then customize the texture of the sauce by chopping them as large or as small as you like.

I do not recommend a variety of sweeter pickles such as bread and butter or sweet pickles to make this tartar sauce, as it would alter the flavor.

If you'd like to save some time while making it, feel free to sub the chopped whole kosher dill pickles for kosher dill relish (not sweet relish).

Love dill pickles? Be sure to check out this Dill Pickle Pasta Salad!

Ingredients For Dill Tartar Sauce

It only requires a few ingredients to whip up this homemade tartar sauce. Here's what you'll need to make it.

• Heaping ½ cup Mayo (real mayo, not light mayo or Miracle Whip)
• 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
• 2 tsp. Pickle Juice (or pickle brine)
• 4-6 Baby Kosher Dill Pickles (yields ¾ cup chopped)
• ½ tsp. Garlic Powder
• ½ tsp. Sugar
• 2 Tbsp. Fresh Dill (minced, plus more for garnish)
• ¼ tsp. Kosher Salt
• ⅛ tsp. Pepper

How To Make Homemade Tartar Sauce

The process of making this homemade tartar sauce is simple and only takes about 10 minutes to complete.

It's made by combining mayo, lemon juice, pickle juice, and a few spices with chopped kosher dill pickles and fresh minced dill in a small bowl.

1. Start by finely chopping 4-6 baby kosher dill pickles (this should yield ¾ cup chopped pickles).
2. Mince 2 Tbsp. or so of fresh dill.
3. In a small bowl, combine a heaping ½ cup of mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, 2 tsp. of the pickle juice, ¼ tsp. garlic powder, ½ tsp. sugar, ¼ tsp. kosher salt and ⅛ tsp. pepper. Stir all of these ingredients with a small whisk or fork. Stir until completely combined.
4. Add the ¾ cup of chopped dill pickles to the dressing.
5. Add the fresh minced dill and add it to the bowl. Fold the pickles and the dill into the rest of the ingredients and stir until completely combined.

Feel free to chop the dill pickles finely if you prefer a thinner texture or chop the pickles roughly for a chunkier texture. You can customize the texture of this tartar sauce by how the pickles are chopped.

Can I Sub Any Of These Ingredients?

This tartar sauce has just a great balance of flavor. The lemon juice makes it bright and fresh, the pickles give it a nice pop of crunch and the pickle juice makes it a little briny.

The garlic gives it some pop and the sugar adds a hint of sweetness. The fresh herbs provide this tartar sauce with fresh flavor and color.

Feel free to play around with the flavors until you find a balance and consistency you like. The great thing about sauces is that they're incredibly versatile.

• Dried dill may be substituted for fresh dill (although the flavor will not likely be as robust). Simply sub 2 tsp. of dried dill in place of the 2 Tbsp. of fresh dill.
• Onion powder can be substituted for garlic powder.
• If you like a thinner texture, feel free to thin it out with some extra lemon juice.
• Add more chopped pickles if you like a chunkier tartar sauce.
• Feel free to add more sugar if you prefer a sweeter tartar sauce.
• Kosher dill relish can be used in place of chopped baby kosher dill pickles.

There really is no 'wrong' way to make a sauce like this.

How Long Does Tartar Sauce Last In The Fridge?

This Homemade Tartar Sauce lasts 3-4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Can It Be Frozen?

I do not recommend freezing this tartar sauce as this recipe contains mayo and is best enjoyed fresh or within a few days.

Love dill? Don't miss these recipes!

• Dill Egg Salad
• Smoked Salmon Dill Ricotta Crostini

What To Serve To With Dill Tartar Sauce

Dill pickle tartar sauce is perfect served with all varieties of fish and seafood!

I love it served with some breaded walleye fingers or any type of battered fish. It's perfect slathered on a fish sandwich like this Pan Seared Walleye Sandwich or any kind of breaded, pan-fried, or grilled seafood.

It's also tasty drizzled onto breaded shrimp tacos or crispy fish tacos.

Tartar sauce is perfect served with grilled or roasted shrimp, salmon, crab cakes, or fried calamari.

This is a great all-purpose dipping sauce and delicious with crispy bites like Air Fryer Mushrooms, or breaded, roasted, or fresh veggies like carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower.

I get more excited than I should about this stuff but homemade sauces easy to prepare and totally worth the effort.

Love homemade sauces and dressings? Check out these recipes!

• Fresh Herb Ranch Dressing
• Spicy Thousand Island Dressing
• Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing
• Creamy Lemon Tarragon Sauce
• Herb Tahini Sauce
• Cilantro Lime Sauce

Looking For More Homemade Sauces? Don't Miss These!

Easy Remoulade Sauce

Honey Mustard Sauce

Chipotle Lime Sauce