Creamy Vegan Tartar Sauce Recipe for Fish Alternatives

This homemade vegan tartar sauce is creamy, tangy, and incredibly flavorful. It’s perfect alongside vegan shrimp, as a dip for vegetables, or even as a salad dressing. With just a few simple ingredients, this easy recipe makes a bright, satisfying sauce you’ll want to keep on hand.

Vegan tartar sauce being lifted out of a small white ramekin on a silver spoon.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

This recipe is quick and simple—just a handful of ingredients and a few minutes of prep yields a delicious tartar sauce.
It’s allergy-friendly by default: vegan, so dairy- and egg-free, and naturally gluten-free. If you choose a soy- and nut-free vegan mayo, the sauce can be free of the most common allergens.

Chef’s Tips

For best flavor, make the sauce ahead and chill it for one to two hours so the ingredients meld. If you’re pressed for time, it still tastes great served immediately.
If you don’t need the recipe to be vegan, regular mayonnaise works just as well for a classic-tasting tartar sauce.
While tartar sauce is traditionally paired with seafood, it also makes a tasty dip for raw or roasted vegetables and a creamy, tangy salad dressing. For a fully vegan seafood-style meal, serve it with plant-based shrimp or fried fish alternatives.

Vegan tartar sauce on a piece of vegan breaded and fried fish.

Other Vegan Recipes You’ll Love

Vegan Latkes
Easy Vegan Tofu Cream Cheese (4 Flavors)
Vegan BBQ Sauce
Easy 10-Minute Vegan Garlic Bread
The Best Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Chickpea Salad Sandwich

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Vegan Tartar Sauce

Prep: 5 minutes

Cook: 0 minutes

Chill (Optional): 2 hours

Total: 2 hours 5 minutes

This creamy, homemade vegan tartar sauce comes together in minutes and beats store-bought every time.

Cheryl Malik

9 servings

Ingredients

½ cup vegan mayo
½ cup dill pickles finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
½ teaspoon sugar optional
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Equipment

1 medium bowl
1 large spoon

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a medium bowl and stir until fully combined. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Cover and chill for up to two hours to let flavors meld, or serve immediately.

Notes

Some refined sugar is processed with bone char and may not be vegan. Choose sugar labeled vegan if that is a concern.
Make it Keto: Replace sugar with a sweetener like erythritol, stevia, or monk fruit, or omit it entirely.
Make it Whole30: Omit the sugar and use compliant mayonnaise and Dijon mustard.

Nutrition Information

Servings and nutritional values are approximate and depend on exact ingredients and portion sizes.