Applebee's Tartar Sauce

Yes, Applebee's tartar sauce is high in histamine. The dill pickle relish and mustard flour that give it its flavor are both items that sit high on histamine-intolerance lists, and they are what the whole sauce is built around.

Why applebee's tartar sauce is rated high

People assume tartar sauce is basically mayonnaise, and mayonnaise is not usually the issue. Here the published statement tells a different story: soybean oil and egg yolk make the creamy body, but the character comes from dill pickle relish and mustard flour, and those two are the reason this lands high. Pickled cucumber relish is a standard high entry on histamine-intolerance lists, and mustard is another one that shows up on almost every list. Soybean oil sits at moderate underneath them. This is a fixed-recipe chain item, so those components are in every portion that comes out of the kitchen.

What changes your risk

• The dill pickle relish leads — this is the single biggest driver. Relish is the flavor spine of the sauce, not a trace ingredient, so there is no version of this item where it is a minor player.
• Mustard flour stacks on top — mustard is a second high-rated component in the same small sauce, which is why this one sits firmly high rather than borderline.
• Soybean oil sits underneath at moderate — as the base it makes up a lot of the volume. It does not offset anything above it, it adds to the picture.
• A fresh ramekin is the same as an old one — the level here comes from what the sauce is made of, and that was decided before it ever reached the restaurant. Serving it cold and fresh from the cooler does not lower it.
• Chilling and holding do not remove what is already there — proper cold handling is good practice for any dairy-free or egg-containing sauce, but it cannot take out histamine that is already present in the ingredients.

Lower-histamine alternatives

There is no low-histamine sauce on Applebee's lower-rated list, so the honest answer is that this one does not have a real swap in the same role. What is on the lower list is the food you would have put it on: Diced Grilled Chicken, Sliced Turkey Breast, Prime Rib, and Burger Patties for the protein side, Asian Greens alongside, and Seasoning for flavor. On the sweet end the lower items are Caramel Sauce, Syrup, Whipped Cream, and Red Passion Fruit, which are desserts rather than a savory dip. Reaching for a different creamy condiment is not the move here, because most of them run into the same relish, mustard, and vinegar territory.

How to lower the risk

Build the order around the lower-rated items rather than around the sauce. Diced Grilled Chicken or Sliced Turkey Breast with Asian Greens gives you a plate whose components are already on the lower list, and Seasoning carries flavor that would otherwise have come from a dip. Tartar sauce typically shows up as a small side ramekin with fried items, so it arrives as its own separate thing on the plate and it is easy to just leave it there. If a dip is what you are really after, know going in that Applebee's published lower list does not include a savory one.

Common questions

Is tartar sauce high in histamine?

Yes. The pickle relish and mustard at the heart of it are both high on histamine-intolerance lists, and that is true of tartar sauce generally, not just this one.

Is it the mayonnaise that makes Applebee's tartar sauce high?

No. The soybean oil and egg yolk that form the creamy base are not the drivers. The dill pickle relish and mustard flour are.

Does Applebee's tartar sauce contain fish?

The published ingredient statement does not list any fish or anchovy. It lists soybean oil, dill pickle relish, high fructose corn syrup, distilled vinegar, egg yolk, salt, mustard flour, xanthan gum, onion, propylene glycol alginate, spice, oleoresin turmeric, annatto and turmeric extracts, and blue 1.

Would a house-made or lighter tartar sauce be okay instead?

Not really, because the relish and mustard that put this one high are what make tartar sauce taste like tartar sauce. A lighter version of the same sauce is still the same sauce, so a genuinely different lower-rated item is the better direction.