DIY Tartar Sauce

Last Updated on February 22, 2023 by Kayla

Making your own homemade tartar sauce is surprisingly easy and requires just a few simple ingredients. Plus, when you make your own tartar sauce, you can avoid inflammatory oils when you substitute healthier alternatives.

My favorite bases to use for this DIY tartar sauce recipe are Sir Kensington’s avocado oil mayonnaise or Primal Kitchen mayo made with avocado oil.

Beware of labels that say “made with avocado oil” as they tend to use a mixture of oils including seed oils. Always review the ingredients list!

What are “seed” oils?

Seed oils are highly processed and prevalent in many foods. Seed oils have been linked to chronic inflammation which can lead to a host of health problems including obesity and heart disease.

Seed oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids which are largely inflammatory. You’ve likely heard of omega-3 fats which are healthy and anti-inflammatory. Omega-6 fats like those found in seed oils are the opposite.

Seed oils are extracted from plant seeds and are also known as vegetable oils. Seed oils are cheap and commonly found in highly processed, packaged foods.

You might recognize some of the following seed or vegetable oils:

• Canola
• Corn
• Cottonseed
• Grapeseed
• Rice bran
• Safflower
• Soybean
• Sunflower

These oils require HEAVY processing in order to extract and make the oil edible. Think about corn, for example. We typically think of corn as a carbohydrate or starch, not a fat source. You can imagine the amount of processing required to make this happen!

It’s important to remember that not all plant oils are harmful though, and better choices for cooking include:

🫒 Olive oil

🥑 Avocado oil

🥥 Coconut oil

🧈 Butter or ghee (AKA “clarified” butter) is another great non-plant fat source for cooking!

For a complete list of my preferred macronutrient choices including my top picks for healthy fats, download my free dietitian-approved grocery list which includes a mini-series on macros for weight loss!