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Home » Recipes » Sauces/Dressings

Dill Pickle Tartar Sauce

Stacey – May 18, 2021 – 15 Comments

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Piece of fish with Dill Pickle Tartar SauceNo fish fry is complete without the perfect tartar sauce – and boy do I have you covered with this one. My Dill Pickle Tartar Sauce recipe is packed with tons of dill pickle flavor but only calls for 5 simple ingredients. 

Piece of Fish being dipped into Dill Pickle Tartar SauceTo me, dill pickles are a must in tartar sauce so I decided to amp up that pickle flavor and make it even more pickle-y by adding a whole cup of finely diced dill pickles. The result is a creamy tartar sauce that’s bursting with pickle flavor. It’s great with my Lemon Pepper Fried Catfish or any fried catfish, for that matter. Heck, it’s good with any fried fish at all. It’s even good on fish sticks, french fries, and hush puppies. Who am I kidding? This stuff is even good on potato chips! ????

Small bowl of Dill Pickle Tartar Sauce

A few things to note:

My recipe calls for grated onion, which I prefer, but finely minced onion will work as well. I grate my onion by cutting it into chunks and running it over a box grater. A small food chopper will work, too. 

When it comes to that mayo base, y’all know that there’s only one brand of mayo at my house and that’s Duke’s. 

This recipe benefits from some time in the fridge to let all the pickle and onion flavor combine with the mayo. An hour or so should be enough time; just be sure to stir it up well before you serve it. And if you use another brand of mayo, a little salt and pepper might be needed then as well. 

This keeps for about a week in the fridge, but again make sure you stir it well before serving. 

Try it with my Lemon Pepper Fried Catfish:

Pieces of Lemon Pepper Fried Catfish with lemons

Piece of Fish being dipped into Dill Pickle Tartar Sauce
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5 from 3 votes

Recipe Card

Dill Pickle Tartar Sauce

Course Sauce
Cuisine American, southern
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 6
Author Stacey Little | Southern Bite

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 cup finely chopped dill pickles, well drained
  • 2 tablespoons grated onion
  • 2 teaspoons dill pickle juice
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, stir the ingredients together until well combined. Cover and store in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to develop. Keeps for about 1 week.
Piece of Fish being dipped into Dill Pickle Tartar Sauce
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Dill Pickle Tartar Sauce - collage image for Pinterest 

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  1. Nadia

    January 30, 2023 at 12:17 am

    Haven’t tried this yet but will this week! Is there anything I can sub or use instead of the Dijon? Don’t want to have to run out this week when our temps hit the single digits 😉

    Reply
    • Stacey

      January 30, 2023 at 3:37 pm

      A smaller amount of yellow mustard might work – or you could just leave it out altogether. Hope you enjoy it! Stay warm!

      Reply
  2. Carol Ann Baughman

    October 4, 2021 at 12:00 am

    My husband and I have been married 34 yrs and I have prepared and served fish exactly three times. And the only reason I served fish at all was because our kids asked for it.
    Then, early in August my husband learned that he has substantial plaque buildup in the arteries, leading to his heart. Although my general health is fine and my cholesterol results were very good, I decided to immediately begin changing “our” unhealthy eating habits.
    Neither one of us like the taste of fish…any type of fish. However, because our friend have always recommended that we try salmon, I was determined to at least try a few recipes. The day after we received his diagnosis, I picked up a couple small (6oz) Salmon steaks…thinking, we wouldn’t be wasting much if we didn’t eat it.
    I was so worried about serving the fish to my husband, that I decided to find a recipe for tarter sauce, hoping it would help mask the flavor. After searching the Web, I found southernbite.com, and this tarter sauce recipe. After chilling the tarter sauce for a couple hours, I grilled the salmon in our George Foreman Grill, using a sprinkle of lemon pepper.
    When I served my husband his plate, he stared at the salmon for a minute or so, then he gave me a blank stare. I said, “Just try a bite with a little tarter sauce. If you don’t like it I’ll run out and pick up a hamburger for your dinner. He continued staring at me until I took a bite of my salmon, with a dollop of your tarter sauce. And, I loved it!! I gave my husband a big smile and again suggested that he take “just one bite.” It took several nudges to get him to try that one bite. But he finally gave in, after I asked him if he’d considered yet, what type of wood I should request for his casket, after he passes away.
    He frowned for a minute, then he took a bite of his salmon…with a healthy dollop of tarter sauce.
    He then took another bite. And, before I had a chance to finish my dinner, he was asking for more salmon.
    Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe! I’m sure without the tarter sauce my salmon experiment would have surely failed.
    We have had salmon three times since that evening. And, I’m sure we’ll have it many times in the future. I just need to make sure there is plenty of tarter sauce in the fridge!

    Reply
    • Stacey

      October 12, 2021 at 12:21 pm

      Thanks so much for the laugh, Carol Ann! The comment about the wood for the casket tickled me! I’m so glad to hear you both enjoyed it!

      Reply
  3. Kristy

    September 23, 2021 at 3:11 pm

    I make my tarter sauce very similar. I mince a couple green olives to add with the pickles. I wish I could say it was my ideal, but it was what a tavern/restaurant that was extremely popular for their fish made to serve with their fish. It is still the best I have ever eaten.

    Reply
    • Stacey

      September 24, 2021 at 4:23 pm

      Love the green olive idea! I’ll have to try it!

      Reply
  4. Bruce

    July 7, 2021 at 12:08 pm

    What kind of onion?

    Reply
    • Stacey

      July 7, 2021 at 8:17 pm

      Any kind will work, but I typically like the flavor a sweet onion, like a Vidalia, gives the sauce.

      Reply
  5. John Kamansky

    June 30, 2021 at 8:20 pm

    I make this almost the same. I leave out the mustard and add a squirt or two of lemon juice, and I also can eat it by itself! Lol. Next time I’ll try it with the mustard too, since I like mustard also! Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Stacey

      July 1, 2021 at 9:57 am

      Thanks, John! I’m like you – could just eat it all by itself!

      Reply
  6. Kim

    June 12, 2021 at 8:45 pm

    I add lemon juice and paprika. Yummy

    Reply
    • Stacey

      June 14, 2021 at 2:12 pm

      Sounds great!

      Reply
  7. Wayne Deacon

    May 25, 2021 at 7:43 am

    Tried this recipe with some catfish last night. Very good flavor. I could and did eat it by the spoonful. Definitely a keeper. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Stacey

      May 25, 2021 at 10:51 am

      Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it!!

      Reply

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Stacey Little of Southern Bite

Hey, y’all! I’m Stacey…

Feeding people makes me happy. Few things in this world delight me more than my family and friends gathered around my table enjoying a meal. Pull up a chair and join us! Read more…

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