Tartar sauce is a sharp, salty, tangy condiment most commonly served alongside fish. But a little goes a long way… So, what do you do with the leftovers?
Can You Freeze Tartar Sauce?
Yes, you can freeze tartar sauce for up to 1 month. Add it to a rigid plastic container, filling it up to 80% of the way. Once the tartar sauce is in the container, seal it tightly, label it with the correct date, and freeze it.
Do Does Tartar Sauce freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Tartar Sauce? No
How to Freeze Tartar Sauce
Tartar sauce is a particular type of liquid – an emulsion. This means that freezing it takes a little special care to ensure you can reform it when you thaw the sauce. So, follow our steps for the best results:
- Prepare Your Container: You need to select a container that has enough room for the tartar sauce to expand into but without the container being too large.
- Transfer Sauce: Transferring the tartar sauce to the container youāre using is a simple step. The only thing we suggest is that you avoid spilling any tartar sauce on the rim of the container youāre using, which can hinder the sealing.
- Seal: Sealing the container well is vital, as tartar sauce has a distinct smell and flavour that is liable to spread throughout the container youāre using over time. If the container is open, the smell can also permeate your freezer
- Label: Labelling the tartar sauce with the correct date is vital, as the proteins within the sauce will break down with exposure to cold.
- Freeze: Finally, once you’re happy the container is sealed and labelled, pop it into the freezer.
3 Tips for Freezing Tartar Sauce
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing tartar sauce to have the best results:
Re-Blend
Post-thawing, youāll need to put the tartar sauce through a blender or food processor to be sure that it regains its texture. Consider these extra steps before freezing tartar sauce – is it really worth it?Ā
Don’t Bother
With the base of tartar being mayonnaise, it simply will not freeze well or for long. After just a month, it will be ruined. Instead, just keep it in the fridge.
Use Solid Containers
A container made from weak plastic could crack or break during expansion, leading to a messy spillage in your freezer. That is certainly best avoided!Ā
How Long Can You Freeze Tartar Sauce?
You can freeze tartar sauce for up to 1 month. The reason we wouldnāt recommend freezing for any longer than that is that the proteins within the sauce will change under exposure to cold.
This will lead to the emulsion not reforming as well when the sauce thaws. You’ll be left with a grainy and oily sauce.
When kept in a jar with a tight-fitting lid or a bottle with a tight-fitting cap, tartar sauce will last for around 6 months in the fridge.
How Do You Defrost Tartar Sauce?
The best way to defrost tartar sauce is to leave it in the fridge overnight. Once there, it should thaw to a liquid consistency without spoiling, as it may if kept at room temperature.
If you try to speed this process up, you’ll exaggerate the changes to the texture that will have already occurred.
Can You Refreeze Tartar Sauce?
Technically, yes, you would likely be able to refreeze tartar sauce as often as you like. However, over time the emulsion would deform more and more.
This means that we would advise against doing it overall, as the texture will get worse over time.
Does Tartar Sauce Freeze Well?
No, tartar sauce does not freeze well.
As it is mayonnaise-based, the sauce will split into a lumpy, grainy and oily mess. You’ll have to work hard to re-emulsify the sauce. You can also only freeze it for a month or so when you could just pop it in the fridge, instead, and for longer!
Related FAQs
If youāve still got questions about freezing tartar sauce or tartar in general, then these may help:
We advise against freezing shop-bought tartar sauce, especially when you can just pop it in the fridge for around 6 months.
Like other mayo-based sauces, cocktail sauce will not freeze well. It can be frozen, but it is simply not worth it. 
