Red Lobster Tartar Sauce Copycat Recipe

June 26, 2016 by Stephanie Manley, Last Updated January 19, 2021 31 Comments

Red Lobster is known for its delicious tartar sauce, but it is hard to get some extra to go. You can make some copycat Red Lobster tartar sauce at home.

Nothing enhances the flavor of seafood like tartar sauce. It is the perfect condiment for everything from fried or baked fish to crab cakes.

This version takes a basic tartar sauce and raises it to the next level by adding onions for a more distinctive bite along with the sweetness of carrots to soften the overall sharpness of the sauce.

Once you try this simple recipe, you won’t ever go back to premade tartar sauce from the store!

Table of Contents

What’s in Red Lobster Tartar Sauce?

You might wonder what is in this recipe. It is very simple: you use mayonnaise, chopped white onion, pickle relish, and chopped carrots. This combination together makes for a slightly sweet tartar sauce that is has a nice crunch to it. The carrot adds a nice texture to the tartar sauce that you are going to love.

How to Make Red Lobster Tartar Sauce

Simply combine the ingredients in a bowl. Then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

That’s it! Easy to make and no cooking involved.

A Brief History of Tartar Sauce

American tartar sauce is quite different from the original French recipe. During the 18th century, sauce tartare began to appear on menus and in cookbooks as an accompaniment to the dish known as beef tartare, a highly spiced raw minced beef dish.

Sauce tartare called for nothing more than mayonnaise mixed with minced shallots and chives. Soon the sauce’s made its way to England where the British found it went exceedingly well with fried seafood.

Over time, the British created their own version of the sauce made from mayonnaise, capers, gherkins pickles, dill, and lemon juice, and renamed it, tartare sauce.

In the 1920s, Hellmann’s combined relish with its famous mayonnaise and sold it as tartar sauce nationwide. Hellmann’s version of the sauce soon became the standard on this side of the Atlantic.

Up Your Tartar Sauce Game By Making Your Own Mayonnaise

While it’s fine to make tartar sauce from jarred mayonnaise, homemade mayonnaise will give your tartar sauce an unmatched flavor. If you want to try making mayonnaise at home, it is straightforward:

Place the yolk of a room-temperature egg in the bowl of a food processor. Add a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and a teaspoon of seedless Dijon mustard.
Run the food processor at the lowest setting until everything is completely combined. With the food processor still running, slowly start to drizzle 1 cup of neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola, into the bowl. Continue until all the oil is gone.
Scrape down the bowl and season the mayonnaise with a pinch of salt and another teaspoon of lemon juice.

Extra Tips For Making and Serving Tartar Sauce

Keep the flavor and reduce the sharpness of onions by chopping them as per the recipe and then soaking the onions in ice water for ten minutes. Make sure to dry them thoroughly before using them. Soaking onions helps to mellow them out while adding a bit of extra firmness.
Serving tartar sauce at room temperature will enhance its flavor. Take the tartar sauce out of the fridge 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Remember to put any leftover sauce in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Use up your remaining tartar sauce within a few days.

Tartar sauce is so wonderfully diverse. It’s a delicious dipping sauce and sandwich spread. This tartar sauce tastes wonderful with fried fish, baked fish, on fish sandwiches, and it even tastes great on a hamburger.

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