Keto Tartar Sauce

This Keto Tartar Sauce is creamy, tangy, and made for seafood. It uses mayo, dill pickles, lemon juice, mustard, herbs, and Old Bay for a quick sauce without sweet relish.

Use this low carb tartar sauce with Keto Crab Cakes, Air Fryer Salmon Patties, Pan Seared Cod, Pan Seared Halibut, or Pan Seared Tilapia. The cool, tangy sauce adds creaminess, crunch, and bright pickle flavor to simple seafood dinners.

What Is Tartar Sauce?

Tartar sauce is a creamy mayo-based seafood sauce usually made with pickles or relish, lemon juice, herbs, and seasoning. It is commonly served with fish, crab cakes, salmon cakes, shrimp, and other seafood dishes. For a keto tartar sauce, the pickle choice matters because many sweet relish options include added sugar.

Is Tartar Sauce Keto Friendly?

Tartar sauce can be keto-friendly when it is made with mayo, dill pickles or sugar-free relish, lemon juice, mustard, herbs, and seasoning. This homemade version skips sweet relish and gets its creamy, tangy flavor from dill pickles, lemon juice, herbs, and Old Bay.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• No sweet relish: Dill pickles give the sauce crunch and classic pickle flavor.
• Ready in minutes: Stir everything together in one bowl, then chill while the seafood cooks.
• Made for seafood: Serve it with crab cakes, salmon patties, crispy fish, shrimp, or air fryer seafood.
• Easy to customize: Use pickle juice for extra tang, fresh herbs for a brighter finish, or horseradish for heat.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Mayonnaise: Use a full-fat mayo you enjoy since it creates the creamy base. Avocado oil mayo also works.
• Dill pickles or sugar-free dill relish: Chopped dill pickles give the best crunch. Sugar-free dill relish is quicker when you can find it.
• Red onion: Dice it finely so it blends into the sauce without large chunks.
• Lemon juice: Adds brightness and keeps the sauce from tasting heavy. Fresh lemon juice gives the cleanest flavor, but bottled works too.
• Dijon mustard: Adds a little sharpness and rounds out the mayo.
• Old Bay Seasoning: Adds seafood-friendly flavor with salt, celery seed, paprika, pepper, and warm spices.
• Fresh herbs (optional): Dill gives the most classic tartar sauce flavor. Parsley works if you want a milder herb taste. I got plenty of dill flavor from the pickles, but you can add more to taste if you wish.

You can get the full list of ingredient amounts and instructions from the full recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Keto Tartar Sauce

Stir Everything Together

Add the mayo, chopped dill pickles or sugar-free relish, red onion, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Old Bay, and herbs to a small bowl. Stir until evenly combined.

Chill Before Serving

Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 to 20 minutes. This helps the pickle, lemon, herbs, and Old Bay blend into the mayo so the sauce tastes more balanced.

Tips for the Best Keto Tartar Sauce

These small details help with texture, tang, and overall flavor without making the recipe complicated.

• Chop the pickles finely: Smaller pieces give you relish-style texture.
• Use pickle juice for extra pickle flavor: A small splash adds tang without making the sauce taste too lemony.
• Add fresh herbs at the end: Dill gives the most classic flavor, while parsley keeps it milder.
• Taste before salting: Old Bay already includes salt, so stir everything together first.

What to Eat with Keto Tartar Sauce

This sugar-free tartar sauce works best with seafood that needs a cool, creamy sauce on the side.

Seafood Cakes

Serve it with Keto Crab Cakes or Air Fryer Salmon Patties. The tangy sauce balances the rich, savory flavor and gives each bite a little crunch.

White Fish

Pair it with Pan Seared Cod, Pan Seared Tilapia, Pan Seared Halibut, or Air Fryer Tilapia. These mild fish recipes are simple enough for the sauce to stand out, especially if you season the fish with something bright like Lemon Pepper Seasoning. It’s also great with crispy cod or keto fish sticks if you make those at home.

Shrimp and Salmon

Use it as a dipping sauce with Pan Seared Shrimp, Lemon Garlic Shrimp Foil Packets, Pan Seared Salmon, or Air Fryer Salmon.

Easy Sides for Seafood Dinners

To make it a full meal, add a simple vegetable or easy side.

• Air Fryer Broccoli: A quick green side for crab cakes, fish, and shrimp.
• Air Fryer Asparagus: Great with salmon, cod, halibut, or shrimp.
• Baked Asparagus: A good oven option if your air fryer is already being used.
• Cauliflower Rice Pilaf: A low-carb side that makes pan-seared fish feel more like a full plate.
• Garlic Butter Rice: A simple non-keto option for family-style seafood dinners.

More Seafood Sauces to Try

For a different seafood sauce, these are helpful depending on the dish.

• Bang Bang Sauce: Creamy and sweet-spicy for shrimp, salmon bites, or crispy seafood.
• Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce: Buttery and bright for pan-seared fish or shrimp.
• Cajun Garlic Butter Sauce: Buttery with Cajun-style heat for shrimp, fish, or seafood bowls.
• Chimichurri Sauce: Fresh and herby for halibut, shrimp, or salmon.

Variations

Keto Tartar Sauce with Sour Cream

Replace part of the mayo with sour cream or plain Greek yogurt for a lighter, tangier sauce. This adds dairy and slightly changes the texture.

Dairy-Free Tartar Sauce

This recipe is already dairy-free as long as your mayonnaise is dairy-free. Mayo is usually made with eggs and oil, not milk.

Extra Tangy Tartar Sauce

Add pickle juice or a little apple cider vinegar instead of more lemon juice. Start small, stir, and taste before adding more.

Spicy Tartar Sauce

For a spicy keto tartar sauce, stir in prepared horseradish ½ teaspoon at a time until it tastes right to you. It adds heat and sharpness, so start small.

Storage

Store leftover keto tartar sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Stir before serving if any liquid separates.

FAQs

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