Condiments can drain a grocery budget if you’re not careful. Obviously, you’re going to try to purchase staples, like ketchup, when they’re on sale. Still, there are other sauces we enjoy that can be rather pricey. If you make your own from common condiments, you’ll not only save money, but you’ll also have leftover condiments to use with other meals or to make these sauces again another time.
Tartar Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons of chopped dill pickles (or dill relish)
- 1 teaspoon pickle juice
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion (or dried minced onion)
Mix these items together and chill before serving. Since ready to use tartar sauce costs $2.00 per jar and up, you’ll save by making your own. The cost of store brand mayonnaise ($1.89), plus pickles or relish ($1.29), and onion or minced onion (around 50 cents for one onion or an entire bottle of minced onion) add up to just under $4.00. The beauty of it is that you can make six or more servings and still have leftover ingredients for other meals, for less than the price of two jars of tartar sauce.
Cocktail Sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
Mix together and chill before serving. Find ketchup on sale and purchase horseradish for about $1.39 and you’ll be able to make this sauce several times and still have leftover ketchup and horseradish for about the price of one jar of cocktail sauce.
Special Sauce
If you like the special sauce on McDonald’s Big Mac sandwich, this sauce is similar. It’s great as a sandwich or burger topping and it also makes a great 1,000 Island salad dressing. Just follow the tartar sauce recipe above and add three tablespoons of ketchup.
HINT: If you whip the mayonnaise in these recipes smooth before adding other ingredients, you’ll avoid having lumpy sauces.