Name: Homemade Remoulade Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: ½ cup mayonnaise; 1 Tablespoon lemon juice; 1 Tablespoon sweet relish; ½ Tablespoon paprika; 2 Tablespoon dijon mustard; 1 teaspoon hot sauce; 1 teaspoon creole seasoning; 1 teaspoon horseradish; 1 clove garlic (grated)

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This homemade remoulade sauce recipe is so delicious, creamy, and flavorful and it’s the perfect addition to your favorite seafood, like crab cakes. Wonderfully tangy, it's made for dipping! Ready to use in minutes, this is sure to become a family favorite!

remoulade sauce in white bowl on white plate

You’ll find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Be sure to check out the blog post itself for extra tips and tricks!

Remoulade sauce was something I only ever had at restaurants, and almost always next to a plate of crab cakes. Once I started making crab cakes at home, I needed a remoulade I loved just as much. I played around with the ingredients until I landed on this one: creamy, tangy, and bright, with enough going on to stand up to anything fried.

I keep it on the mild side so the whole family can eat it. If you like a kick, it's easy to turn up the heat (see Variations below).

Happy Cooking,

Tanya

For a full seafood night, pair it with my Air Fryer Crab Cakes, Maryland Crab Cakes, Crispy Air Fryer Fried Shrimp, or Shrimp Po'Boy Sandwiches.

homemade remoulade sauce in a bowl from above

Remoulade At a Glance

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: none
Makes: about ¾ cup
Flavor: creamy and tangy, a little sweet from the relish, with mild heat from the horseradish and hot sauce
Serve with: crab cakes, fried shrimp, po'boys, fried green tomatoes
Keeps: up to 1 week in the fridge

Ingredient Notes

Ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions are on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Mayonnaise. The base of the sauce. I use full-fat mayo because it gives the creamiest, smoothest texture.
Dijon mustard. Gives the sauce its tang and a little bite. A lot of Louisiana remoulades use Creole mustard here.
Lemon juice. Brightens everything up. I prefer to use fresh, but bottled works if that’s what you got. For bottled, look for brands that are 100% lemon juice.
Sweet relish. Adds a touch of sweetness and little bits of texture, so the sauce isn't just smooth mayo.
Horseradish. Brings the heat you feel in your nose, not on your tongue. Use prepared horseradish from the jar, not horseradish sauce, which is already creamy and much milder.
Creole seasoning, hot sauce, and paprika. The Creole seasoning is where the Louisiana flavor comes from, the hot sauce adds flavor more than heat, and the paprika gives the sauce its pale orange color. Creole seasoning brands vary a lot in how salty they are, so taste before adding anything else.
Garlic. One clove, grated. Grating it means it disappears into the sauce instead of leaving sharp raw chunks.

How to Make Remoulade Sauce

Please see the recipe card below for the full printable recipe, ingredients, and instructions. Here you will find step-by-step photos of how to make this recipe.

Step 1: Grate the garlic. Use a microplane or the small holes of a box grater. If you mince it with a knife instead, mince it very fine. Big pieces of raw garlic will taste harsh in a sauce that isn't cooked.

Step 2: Whisk the base. In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice until smooth.

Step 3: Add everything else. Add the relish, horseradish, hot sauce, Creole seasoning, paprika, and garlic. Whisk until the color is even and there are no streaks of paprika.

Step 4: Taste it. Taste before you serve it. If it needs more tang, add a squeeze of lemon. If you want more heat, add hot sauce a little at a time. Don't add salt until you've tasted it, because the Creole seasoning may already have plenty.

Step 5: Serve. I usually serve it right away. You don't have to chill it first. If you're making it ahead, cover it and keep it in the fridge, then give it a stir before serving.

ingredients for remoulade sauce on white table

Variations

Make it spicy. I keep this one mild, but you can add some cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes, or more hot sauce, until it's as hot as you like.

Serving Suggestions

This remoulade is made for dipping and drizzling. It goes with seafood and anything fried.

Make Ahead and Storage

Make ahead. It's fine to make it ahead. Keep it covered in the fridge and stir before serving. It keeps up to 1 week, so count from the day you made it.
Fridge. Store it in a jar or airtight container for up to 1 week.
Don't freeze it. Mayonnaise separates when it thaws, and the sauce turns oily and grainy.
At a party. Don't leave it out for more than 2 hours. It's made with mayo, so it needs to stay cold.

Tanya's Top Tips

Use a whisk, not a spoon. It's faster and gives you a smoother sauce.
Grate the garlic. Chunks of raw garlic are harsh in a sauce that never gets cooked.
Taste before you salt. Creole seasoning is usually salty, so you may not need any extra.
Prepared horseradish, not horseradish sauce. The sauce is milder and already creamy, so you won't get the same bite.

More Homemade Sauces

Tanya Harris