Low FODMAP Tartar Sauce

Name: Low FODMAP Tartar Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 cup (226 g) low FODMAP mayonnaise; 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish; 1 tablespoon minced scallions, (green parts only); Lemon juice; Kosher salt; Freshly ground black pepper

Low FODMAP Tartar Sauce is the perfect accompaniment to serve alongside our Air Fryer Fish Sticks, or anytime you crave this classic, creamy condiment. Easy to make and better than store-bought.

Let’s look at what tartar sauce is, and why you might consider making it at home while following the low FODMAP diet.

What Is Tartar Sauce?

Great question and depending on how you conduct your research, you will find various answers.

Whenever I have questions about culinary history and need primary sources, if my own library and the Internet do not suffice, I reach out to Matt Sartwell at Kitchen Arts & Letters, an esteemed bookstore devoted to all things food.

He assured me that exacting information is not known, which is what I had been coming up with. Here are our best bets.

Mayonnaise was invented in the 18^th century, and it is the main component of tartar sauce, so we know that it has to post-date that time period.

There is most likely a connection to the recipe for beef tartare, which hails from the early 20^th century. This dish of minced raw beef was served with a creamy sauce, called tartar sauce. The idea was that there was something piquant and creamy to contrast with the cool, rich meat. The concept of eating raw meat in such a manner might be connected to the fact that the Tatar horsemen of Central Asia ate raw horsemeat in the 1200s.

So, we have the Tatars, who ate raw meat, French chefs who converted the idea of raw horsemeat to cow, and served it with sauce, not dissimilar to sauce remoulade (which hails from the early 1800s by some accounts) and called it tartar sauce.

Perhaps.

What Is In Tartar Sauce?

Many classic recipes all for onion – usually white or yellow onion – and this would make the condiment high FODMAP.

Our version is fairly straightforward with mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, scallion greens (in lieu of the traditional onion), a little lemon juice, salt and pepper.

More elaborate versions abound. It is not unusual to find Worcestershire sauce, capers, mustard, olives, hot sauce, red onion, parsley, anchovies, tarragon, dill and/or even chopped up hard-boiled eggs in tartar sauce.

None of these additional ingredients is “wrong” and in fact, every single one of the ingredients mentioned above has a low FODMAP serving size. You can play with variations for your tartar sauce, if you like. Just pay attention to stacking and your own tolerances.

Ingredients

The ingredients are easy to find. Just make sure your prepared pickle relish does not contain any high FODMAP ingredients.

FODMAP Information

Our recipes are based on Monash University and FODMAP Friendly science.

Lemon Juice: Monash University has lab tested lemon juice and it is low FODMAP in ½ cup (125 g) amounts.
Mayonnaise: Both Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have lab tested mayonnaise. Monash has also tested a low fat version. They all agree that a low FODMAP serving size is 40 g or 2 Australian tablespoons (for low fat, too). Some mayonnaise can contain natural flavors that are derived from onion and/or garlic. Neither of the certifying bodies has told us if the mayonnaise they tested did or did not contain such ingredients. Certainly if garlic or onion are listed as line items on the label, you might look for a different brand.
Scallions: The green parts of scallions are low FODMAP as determined by Monash University lab testing and can be used to add onion flavor to your low FODMAP cooking.

Please always refer to the Monash University & FODMAP Friendly smartphone apps for the most up-to-date lab tested information. As always, your tolerance is what counts; please eat accordingly. The ultimate goal of the low FODMAP diet is to eat as broadly as possible, without triggering symptoms, for the healthiest microbiome.

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