Healthy Tartar Sauce (no mayo!)
Creamy, spicy tartar sauce is the perfect accompaniment to anything fried (or baked with panko breadcrumbs to resemble the crunch of being fried, like our Crumb Topped Salmon) and just about any piece of fish like our Oven Baked Salmon.
It's no wonder that this sauce it virtually synonymous with fish and chips!
(If you want more Seafood recipes, check out our very favorite Seafood Cookbook from a three-Michelin-starred chef that makes cooking fish feel totally doable!)
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What’s the deal with Tartar Sauce?
Unfortunately, tartar sauce is normally mayonnaise based.
Commercially made mayo is traditionally made with soybean oil or other not-very-health-optimizing cheap oils. It's best to avoid these types of oils.
While you can now find avocado- or olive oil-based mayo, some of these mayonnaises still have soybean or canola oil as the first ingredients. They just add a bit of avocado oil or olive oil as a tricky marketing ploy.
Others are made entirely with better oil, which is great for your health, but they can clock in at $9 or $10 for a small jar. Wow!
You could alternatively make your own mayonnaise (here's a cool recipe on how to make your own).
But instead of putting in all that work, why not try this recipe, which use Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise? The result of using Greek yogurt produces a creamy, dreamy sauce with a slightly different taste than traditional Tartar sauce. I think you will find that it is just as, if not more, delicious than standard Tartar sauce.
Note that since mayonnaise has sugar in it, so we have added some (optional) honey to this recipe to get the taste to be more similar.
It is still heavily spiced, cool and creamy, and the perfect sauce for any steaming dish!
How to make this tartar sauce
This sauce could not be any quicker or easier!
You will spend a few minutes gathering your ingredients and chipping pickles into tiny bites.
After that, you just dump it all into a bowl and stir, stir, stir until perfection.
We recommend that you chill it for a bit before serving.
The Flavor Profile for this Tartar Sauce
Here's what you can expect from this sauce.
It will be tangy and creamy. The Greek yogurt provides a creamy base (similar to mayonnaise but much healthier). This Dijon mustard and lemon juice add some delicious tanginess.
Expect for some herby and savory components. The dried dill, garlic powder, and onion powder help this dip taste savory and complex.
You will also notice a crunchy pickle flavor. The finely diced dill pickles add a great crunch and a pop of sourness.
Taste Before you Serve
Before serving this healthy tartar sauce, make sure to taste so that you can adjust the seasoning if needed.
For example, depending on what type of pickles you use, you might want a bit more salt or lemon juice. If the sauce tastes too sour for your liking, feel free to add in some addition honey. (Note, thought, that tartar sauce should be a bit sour. The honey should just serve to balance the dip.)
Is Tartar Sauce Part of the Mediterranean Diet?
We think so! Especially because the Mediterranean Diet is different from Mediterranean cuisine or Mediterranean flavors.
Mediterranean cuisine is the foods and flavors that are traditionally eaten by people living in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Does tartar sauce fall into this category? No. This food is not considered traditional in Mediterranean Cuisine.
However, the Mediterranean Diet is a set of principles. In the 1960s, scientists noted that people living in the Mediterranean had the lowest instances of heart disease and other lifestyle-related ailments. These researchers studied their ways of eating and came up with the Mediterranean Diet principles.
The principles include eating more plants, less red meat, more olive oil, less low-quality seed oils, more fish and less sugar. (More principles here.)
Thus, foods can fit into the set of principles that make up the Mediterranean Diet, even if the flavors are not traditionally Mediterranean. Feel free to eat this tartar sauce, knowing it is a great substitute for any tartar sauce made with mayonnaise.
What's Next?
Love sauces, dips, and dressings? Don't miss Our Guide to Essential Mediterranean Sauces.
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I made the Greek Yogurt Tartar Sauce. Excellent!
I did not have Dijon Mustard but substituted creamy horseradish and only had dill relish. They both worked well. This also tasted good as a veggie dip.