This vegan tartar sauce is so much better than anything you can buy off the shelf! It’s also ready in 5 minutes and totally divine as a dip.
This homemade vegan tartar sauce makes the best dip. It’s totally divine served as a dip for your fries and it most definitely works wonderfully as a dip for some vegan nuggets (as pictured).
Tartar sauce is often served with fish dishes, so if you have any vegan fish sticks or similar then this makes a perfect topping for that.
It’s also great as a salad dressing. So it has many uses and it’s so easy to make and so tasty that you really might as well make it yourself rather than buying it off the shelf.
Also check out our vegan ranch dressing and vegan yum yum sauce while you’re here because I’m sure you’ll love those too.
How To Make Vegan Tartar Sauce
Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post, this is a summary of the process.
- It’s so easy to make.
- Add vegan mayonnaise to a mixing bowl along with some finely chopped dill pickle, dried dill, onion powder, dijon mustard, fresh lemon juice, salt and ground black pepper.
- Mix it together.
- And that’s it. Your tartar sauce is ready to serve.
Ingredient Notes
Vegan Mayonnaise: A plain creamy vegan mayonnaise is going to work best in this sauce. You can even make your own vegan mayo!
Finely Chopped Dill Pickle and Dried Dill: This adds a huge amount of flavor to this sauce!
Onion Powder: I used onion powder in this sauce to keep things easy, but you can substitute finely chopped fresh onion if you prefer. If you want to go that route then use 1 Tablespoon of finely chopped fresh onion to replace the onion powder in this recipe.
Dijon Mustard: I love the flavor of Dijon mustard in this recipe, but it can also be substituted with any prepared mustard that you have on hand.
Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice: This has the best flavor in this sauce. However, in a pinch you can get away with using bottled lemon juice as well.
Salt and Pepper: Well of course. Taste test and see if it has enough flavor, and if you want to add more than the recipe calls for, go for it.
How To Serve Vegan Tartar Sauce
It’s simply divine as a dip. Serve it with some baked potato fries or chips or fresh veggies for dipping.
Any crumbed vegan nugget – like the vegan chick’n nuggets in the photos – is perfect for dipping into tartar sauce, as is any vegan fish. You can also drizzle it over a salad for a salad dressing.
Make Ahead and Storing
This is actually a great sauce to make ahead of time as the flavors actually get better after a bit of time chilling in the fridge. So if you need to make up a batch a day or two beforehand this works perfectly for this recipe.
Leftovers keep perfectly in the fridge (covered) for up to a week.
More Vegan Sauces and Dressings
- Vegan Hollandaise Sauce
- Tahini Sauce
- Vegan Buffalo Sauce
- Cashew Cheese Sauce
- Vegan Green Goddess Dressing
- Vegan Caesar Dressing
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Tartar Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup Vegan Mayonnaise (240g)
- 2 Tbsp Dill Pickle Finely Chopped
- 1 Tbsp Dried Dill
- ½ tsp Onion Powder
- ½ tsp Dijon Mustard
- 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice Freshly squeezed
- ⅛ tsp Salt
- ⅛ tsp Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Add vegan mayonnaise to a mixing bowl along with the finely chopped dill pickle, dried dill, onion powder, dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt and ground black pepper.
- Mix together well.
- Place into the fridge for at least 30 minutes to chill and for the flavors to blend together.
Notes
- You can use 1 Tablespoon of finely chopped fresh onion instead of onion powder for equally delicious results.
- Dijon mustard is a great flavor blend for this, but you can also use another type of prepared mustard instead.
- This is ideal to make ahead of time as the flavors get even better after a day chilling in the fridge.
- Leftovers keep very well in the fridge for up to a week.
I made this with vegan mayo, salt, pepper, American mustard, lemon juice and chives. Because that’s all I had. It worked out pretty well, so the recipe is flexible. I didn’t measure anything.
What is that food you are dipping into the tartar sauce? It looks delicious!! Do you have that recipe?
Hi Lynn, it’s some vegan nuggets (store-bought), the brand in the pics is ‘Fry’s’.
Can you make this without the pickles?
Hi Vivi, yes you can leave them out if you prefer.