This easy remoulade sauce recipe is one of my favorite ways to dress up all sorts of dishes from seafood and meat to veggies and starches.
Rich, and full of layers of flavor from horseradish, lemon, garlic, onion, mustard, and a blend of seasonings, this mayo-based sauce is a winner on nearly anything you add it to.
Besides the fact that it’s absolutely delicious, it’s also great to make if you’re in a hurry. The total time to whisk this all together is mere minutes — you can’t beat that!
What is Easy Remoulade Sauce?
Remoulade sauce originated in northern France and is a creamy, mayonnaise-based condiment seasoned with horseradish and aromatics like onion and garlic. Other ingredients can be incorporated as well from anchovies, capers, and pickles to mustard, citrus, or spice blends.
Why You’ll Love Easy Remoulade
This creamy, versatile sauce is easy to love!
- So Much Flavor – From bright citrus and spicy horseradish to smoky paprika and earthy Dijon (plus the addition of Old Bay), this sauce has a complex flavor profile that makes it a perfect pairing for so many foods.
- Quick to Make – It only takes a minute or two of prep time to make this super easy sauce.
- Perfect for Making Ahead – You can easily whip up this simple sauce early in the week and have it on hand when you want to dress up your lunch and dinner during the week.
- Easy to Modify – This sauce is great for home cooks who like to get creative in the kitchen. There are tons of ways to make this sauce your own.
Ingredients
Simple ingredients are all you need to make this stellar remoulade sauce.
- Mayonnaise – Mayo is the creamy base of the sauce. You can make your own homemade mayonnaise or buy your favorite brand — just be sure that it has a fairly neutral flavor so that it doesn’t overpower the other ingredients.
- Dijon Mustard – Dijon gives the remoulade an earthy tanginess.
- Grated Garlic – Fresh garlic adds a pleasantly pungent flavor to the creamy sauce.
- Fresh Lemon Juice – Citrus brightens the remoulade, balancing all of the other ingredients.
- Prepared Horseradish – Horseradish adds zesty spiciness to the sauce.
- Old Bay Seasoning – The blend of herbs and spices in this seasoning makes it perfect for seafood but it pairs well with other proteins, starches, and vegetables, too.
- Worcestershire Sauce – While it’s easy enough to buy this sauce at the store, you can also make your own homemade Worcestershire sauce.
- Onion Powder – Just a little bit of this powder gives the sauce a mild onion flavor.
- Smoked Paprika – This version of paprika adds a hint of smokiness to the sauce.
Variations
There are all sorts of tasty ways to jazz up this simple sauce!
- Mayo – To make this sauce egg-free, choose a vegan mayonnaise.
- Paprika – For a less smoky flavor, opt for sweet paprika.
- Garlic – While freshly grated garlic is superior to other options, you can use garlic powdered or jarred garlic in a pinch.
- Soy – For additional salty and umami flavor, add a dash of soy sauce.
- Mustard – To add texture, try using stone ground mustard in place of some or all of the Dijon mustard. Or, for a more Louisiana-style remoulade sauce, try using creole mustard.
- Old Bay – While I prefer to use Old Bay seasoning, you can swap it for another Chesapeake-style blend of herbs and spices.
- Seasoning – Replace some or all of the Old Bay with cajun seasoning or creole seasoning.
- Herbs – Add other herbs like dill, parsley, or tarragon.
- Onion – Instead of onion powder, try incorporating sliced green onion. Chives also work well.
- Pickles – Stir in pickle relish made from dill pickles for more flavor and texture.
- Spiciness – Whisk in cayenne pepper or hot sauce to add a little (or a lot) of heat to the remoulade.
- Yogurt – Make a tangier sauce by using plain Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.
- Method – To get a super smooth sauce, toss all of your ingredients into a food processor or blender and pulse until all ingredients are combined and the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
What To Serve Easy Remoulade Sauce With
Since it has seafood seasoning in it, I love to spoon remoulade sauce on top of crab cakes and seared scallops or into fish tacos. You could also use it as a base for shrimp salad, lobster salad, or tuna salad.
Remoulade is also a great dipping sauce for veggies, french fries, fried green tomatoes, and it works well with other proteins like sirloin steak, baked chicken, chicken skewers, turkey sliders or pork tenderloin. And don’t sleep on slathering it on wraps, buns, and slices of bread for sandwiches and burgers.
How to Make Homemade Remoulade Sauce
This sauce is so ridiculously simple to make it might become a staple that you keep in the refrigerator on the regular.
- Mix. Place all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together until completely combined.
- Chill. Refrigerate briefly before serving.
- Serve. Stir the sauce to ensure all ingredients are combined and serve cold.
Storage
If you have leftover sauce, be sure to refrigerate it. Unfortunately, it does not maintain its temperature when thawed, so I do not recommend freezing it.
Can I Make This Sauce Ahead of Time?
The remoulades flavor deepens when it’s refrigerated so it’s perfect for making ahead. Just mix the ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to use.
How to Store Remoulade Sauce
You can store the remoulade in an airtight container in the fridge for three to five days.
Common Questions About Easy Remoulade Sauce
The base of remoulade sauce is mayonnaise and it almost always has horseradish. From there, other spices or spice blends can be added, as well as an acidic component. Other ingredients like capers, anchovies, or pickles — or sauces like hot sauce, mustard, or Worcestershire — may be included, too.
Tartar sauce is not a remoulade. Remoulades often contain quite a few more ingredients than tartar sauce and therefore have a deeper flavor profile.
Remoulade has more layers of flavor from various ingredients while aioli tends to rely primarily on garlic for its flavor.
Other Savory Sauces
If you know me, you know I love a good sauce. Here are some of my favorites that I know you’ll love too/
Bearnaise Sauce Recipe
Beurre Blanc Sauce Recipe
Lemon Caper Sauce Recipe
Easy Remoulade Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning or similar seafood seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Combine the mayo, Dijon, garlic, lemon juice, horseradish, Old Bay, Worcestershire, onion powder and paprika in a bowl, whisking until combined.
- Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Stir again before using.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Nutrition
This is so delicious and so easy – it worked so well with some broccoli croquettes I made last night.
I made this sauce for some cold roasted shrimp I had at a dinner party the other night. I used it as a dipping sauce and it was delicious. I used the leftovers as a spread for roast-beef sandwiches the nest day. I just love versatile recipes like this. We will be making it again soon.
I love this so much on roast beef! It’s a favorite in my house.
I tried crab cakes for the first time yesterday with tartar sauce and it felt like they were missing something. Today I made this and tried them and it was sooooo good!
I’ve heard of remoulade before but never tried it. After reading the ingredients, I’m thinking this is definitely a sauce I want to learn how to make!