12 Of The Best Sauces To Pair With Seafood

The world of seafood is incredibly diverse, comprising everything from a decadent lobster dish to a simple canned tuna salad. Essentially, the category of seafood comprises fish, shellfish, and crustaceans, with more than a whopping 20,000 edible species across the world. Of course, if deciding whether to eat shrimp, crab, salmon, or mussels wasn't tricky enough already, there's another question that requires some careful consideration: Which sauce do you serve along with it?

Thankfully, with its distinctly briny taste and varying levels of richness, seafood pairs fantastically with a wide array of different sauces. While certain varieties of seafood will work best with specific sauces, many others are exceptionally versatile, working just as well with pan-seared scallops as they can with oven-baked cod.

Perhaps you're in the mood for something creamy and comforting, or a fresh, zesty pairing is your goal. Whether you love a sauce with a spicy kick, a boozy kick, or a hint of sweetness, we've got you covered. Take some inspiration from this saucy lineup, and you'll never make a boring seafood dish again.

The star of a classic eggs Benedict, hollandaise sauce offers the perfect balance of richness, creaminess, and zingy citrus flavor. It'll taste fantastic with most types of seafood, but there are a few dishes in particular where it can really shine. We'll start by mentioning the obvious: Using it when giving eggs Benedict a seafood upgrade with the addition of smoked salmon. Simply swap out the usual Canadian bacon for the fish here, before topping with the runny poached egg and drizzled lashings of hollandaise.

Another great option is serving this flavorful sauce with poached salmon, or a white fish like halibut or tilapia. It's a simple way to give the fish an instant flavor boost, and works wonderfully when paired with a side of steamed broccoli or asparagus. Hollandaise sauce also makes a great topping for a seafood omelet, perhaps one made with delicate diced shrimp and crab meat for a subtle taste of the sea.

Now, while premade jars of this sauce are readily available at most grocery stores, for the freshest flavor? We highly recommend making your own hollandaise sauce instead.

Creamy, sweet, and tangy, Thousand Island dressing is another popular seafood accompaniment. As the name suggests, this condiment originated in the Thousand Islands region (which sits between New York and Canada), and it's been around for over a hundred years.

One of the most common ways to serve this as a sauce is with shrimp. Thousand Island's unique balance of flavors brilliantly complements each delicate, meaty bite, and its texture makes it ideal for dipping. You can even try coating the shrimp in breadcrumbs or batter and frying them for a crispy contrast to the smooth dressing. Of course, tossing Thousand Island dressing through a salad can introduce an irresistibly creamy element that ties together colorful veggies with your choice of seafood additions, such as crab, shrimp, or squid. You could also use Thousand Island as a topping for homemade salmon burgers, alongside some fresh, crunchy lettuce and juicy sliced tomatoes.

Again, we'd argue that making a homemade version beats most sore-bought varieties — and Thousand Island dressing takes just five minutes to whip up. You can make your own Thousand Island sauce by combining minced red onion and garlic, mayonnaise, ketchup, sweet relish, apple cider vinegar, and salt. It's a simple case of stirring everything together, then leaving the flavors to meld for an hour or so in the fridge before serving.

Being a much-loved, flavor-boosting staple that's found in all corners of the culinary world, this aromatic creation needs no introduction. After all, when melted, garlic butter forms a luxurious sauce that's ideally suited for drizzling onto gnocchi, pasta, steak, and, of course, seafood.

Since garlic is such a universally adored flavor, you'll find this sauce can elevate pretty much any form of seafood. Try drizzling it over scallops or mussels, or serving it with a decadent surf and turf dish. Garlic butter makes for a mouth-watering addition to an Old Bay-infused seafood boil (one served with jumbo shrimp, lobster tails, and clams), as well, and can be spooned right over the seafood and other ingredients after everything is removed from the broth. Plus crab ravioli is another favorite of ours; a quick toss of the cooked pasta in garlic butter will enhance the flavor and richness to no end.

To make an effortless garlic butter, just mix softened salted butter with minced garlic and finely chopped parsley. You can then store this solid in the fridge until ready to use. When you want to add it to your seafood dish, spoon out a portion into a bowl, then briefly pop it in the microwave until melted down.

Bring a touch of sophistication to your next seafood dish with a creamy white wine sauce. When you serve this alongside fish, you'll transform a basic weeknight meal into something totally dinner party-worthy.

White wine sauce is a fitting match for many types of fish; this includes lean, flaky varieties, such as plaice and sole, as well as meatier options, like monkfish and tuna. The subtle acidity of the wine works beautifully alongside those delicate flavors and tender textures. This sauce is also great in a mixed seafood pasta with additions like shrimp, crab, and squid, which is well-suited for enhancing with that savory, tangy goodness. Mussels are another classic pairing for white wine, and these can be cooked directly in the sauce in until the shells open up.

When you make white wine sauce from scratch, it's easy to adjust the taste and consistency to suit you. A good place to start is with a base of finely diced shallots sauteed in butter. Add the wine, then let it bubble for a few minutes until the strong alcohol smell has dissipated, and the liquid has reduced. Next, pour in some vegetable or chicken broth followed by a splash of heavy cream, and stir well. Some fresh, chopped herbs would also be a wonderful addition — think parsley, dill, or chives.

If you're looking to add a little heat to your seafood plate, go for a sweet chili sauce. This sauce combines the tang of vinegar and sweetness of sugar, resulting in a mild to moderate level of heat. Whether you grab a handy store-bought bottle or mix up your own to achieve the perfect spice level, you'll have a deliciously versatile seafood-enhancer.

Our favorite way to serve this sauce has to be with shrimp. It's an amazing dip for either air fryer tempura shrimp or panko fried shrimp, with its sticky texture beautifully clinging to the crispy coating. Another go-to pairing is with salmon. Try brushing the filets with a little olive oil and sprinkling them with your favorite seasonings, like paprika or garlic powder. Next, pan fry the fish to get the skin gorgeously crisp, before drizzling a sweet chili sauce over the warm salmon.

As you may have guessed, you can make a big batch of sweet chili sauce on the stove, then store it in the fridge for use in various dishes. It only requires a handful of ingredients (such as minced garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce), and less than 30 minutes to complete.

Dill is an ingredient we see paired with seafood again and again, and we're not complaining. This fresh, fragrant herb has a subtly grassy and citrus-forward taste, and does an excellent job of brightening up richer fish dishes like salmon or trout. And it couldn't be simpler to incorporate into a creamy sauce to serve with seafood.

For an easy dill-infused mixture that requires zero cooking, add yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, minced garlic, chopped fresh dill, and any other seasonings of your choice to a bowl. Simply stir everything together, then pop the sauce in the fridge until you're ready to use it. It's great for dipping and drizzling, and you could even spread it onto a lobster roll, a crab sandwich, or a smoked salmon bagel for a good dose of creaminess and herbaceous flavor.

If you have a little extra time on your hands, there's also the option to create a slightly more robust sauce, with a base of sauteed shallots, white wine, and vegetable broth. Along with a generous handful of chopped dill, you can also add a spoonful of Dijon mustard to amp up the tang, plus a dollop of crème fraîche for a silky finish.

We love a chunky guacamole, but sometimes, the rich, nutty flavor of avocado is best enjoyed in a smoother, drizzle-able form. Plus, avocado and seafood are a match made in heaven.

A creamy avocado sauce can be spooned directly over grilled, pan-seared, or baked fish, dolloped onto fish tacos, or even used in place of the traditional Marie Rose sauce in a retro shrimp cocktail. This sauce will shine alongside other Mexican-inspired flavors, as well, such as cilantro, lime, and chili, so feel free to incorporate these into your seafood marinades (or other elements of the dish).

You'll need just a few minutes and a handful of ingredients to make a luscious avocado sauce. Add peeled, pitted, and halved avocados to a blender with some Greek yogurt, minced garlic, and lime juice, then blitz until smooth and creamy. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper, and that's it. You can customize the mixture, too, by blending in some extra add-ins if desired, such as spicy pickled jalapeños, tangy feta cheese, or a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.

If you've ever had the pleasure of sampling a traditional British fish and chips, it'll likely have come served with none other than tartar sauce. This deliciously creamy and tangy creation is a mayo-based sauce with a distinct briny hit, and it's typically served cold as a dip for fried seafood. However, you can absolutely use tartar sauce in other ways with seafood.

You can spread tartar sauce in a tuna or fish finger sandwich, use is as the dressing for a fresh and crunchy shrimp salad, and makes a fantastic option for dunking Maryland crab cakes. To make a classic tartar sauce, you'll need mayonnaise, finely diced dill pickles, lemon juice, some herbs (such as dill, parsley, or tarragon), and a pinch of salt. Many recipes incorporate capers for a deeper briny hit,too,  or finely diced shallots for extra aromatic flavor. Dijon mustard is also great for giving the sauce a tangier edge, whilst Tabasco can introduce a welcome dose of heat that balances the creaminess of the sauce's base.

Once you've mixed your chosen selection of ingredients together, let the mixture chill for 30 minutes or so. This allows the flavors to mingle before serving. Your homemade tartar sauce will keep well for around three days if it's kept covered in the fridge.

Chimichurri is a zesty, herb-loaded sauce. It features widely in South American cuisine, where it's often used as a drizzle or marinade for grilled meats and vegetables. Of course, it also makes for an exceptionally tasty addition to seafood. With its punchy flavor and vibrant green color, a simple spoonful of chimichurri can be a fairly transformative addition to baked fish, grilled lobster tails, or shrimp tacos.

Typically, a medley of chopped fresh herbs go into this zingy sauce. You can take your pick from parsley, cilantro, oregano, and chives – or go all out and incorporate them all. Once they've been finely chopped, add the herbs to a bowl with some red or white wine vinegar, lemon juice, minced shallots and garlic, as well as red pepper flakes. You could also use a fresh, finely diced chili pepper (such as serrano and jalapeño) in place of the dried flakes if preferred.

Once you've mixed everything up, whisk in olive oil, and season the chimichurri with salt and pepper to taste. Let the flavors meld together for about 20 minutes, and prepare to give your simple seafood dinner a serious upgrade.

You've might've tried this one with succulent baked chicken or tossed through a pasta salad, but we highly recommend giving the honey mustard-seafood combo a try. This pleasing fusion of sweetness and tang is oh-so-delicious spooned atop baked sea bass, haddock, or salmon.

Beyond those fish options, honey mustard will beautifully complement a range of sides with your seafood dish, too, such as mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. Honey mustard sauce can also be served as a dip, perhaps to accompany a seafood boil, some smoky bacon-wrapped scallops, or crowd-pleasing grilled shrimp. And while there's no shame in reaching for a store-bought sauce here, crafting your own honey mustard is always a great idea.

To achieve the ideal level of tanginess, try incorporating both yellow and Dijon mustards into your homemade mixture. The former is a little more mellow in flavor (and adds a pleasing yellow tint to the sauce), whilst the latter offers a more pungent mustard taste. Combine them with mayonnaise, honey, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper, and you're good to go. Other seasonings are welcome here, as well, with the mustard pairing particularly well with garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Once you've nailed the balance of flavors, store the sauce in the fridge until you're ready to spread, drizzle, or dunk.

Béarnaise sauce isn't just for steak, and this delightfully creamy blend works just as well as a seafood topper. Similar to hollandaise sauce, béarnaise also has origins in French cuisine. Both varieties typically feature rich egg yolks, which are balanced with an acidic ingredient such as lemon juice or vinegar. However, one thing that makes béarnaise unique is the addition of tarragon, which has a subtle, licorice-like flavor.

Like many of the other creamy sauces in this line up, béarnaise can work just as well as a dip as when spooned over a freshly cooked filet of fish. It's a brilliantly versatile sauce, so feel free to get creative with its applications. Try spooning it over a peppercorn-crusted tuna steak, or a decadent parma ham-wrapped monkfish. It would also taste incredible alongside a batch of oven-baked crab claws.

The first step in creating an epic homemade béarnaise is letting minced shallots macerate in a mixture of lemon juice and vinegar for 10 minutes. Next, add the egg yolks, and whisk the mixture in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Gradually add melted butter (whisking as you go), until the sauce starts to thicken up. Add the minced fresh tarragon and some salt to taste once off the heat, and serve warm for the ultimate creamy texture.

This vibrant Italian staple isn't short of bold flavor, and is sure to add some nutty, herbaceous freshness to any seafood dish. Pesto is a great low-effort solution whenever you're aiming to inject a serious dose of aromatic goodness into a dish, and there are multiple different ways to use it with various seafood options.

First up, we have a pesto-crusted baked salmon: A must-try recipe that gives basic salmon filets a crispy and herby upgrade. You'll mix the pesto with mayo in this recipe before spreading it over the filets. Next, scatter a flavorful Parmesan, pine nut, and breadcrumb mixture over the top, then bake the fish until the topping is golden brown. If you prefer a simpler approach, you can absolutely just spoon pesto over the salmon, or any other type of fish that takes your fancy, after cooking.

This delicious sauce will also work especially well tossed through seafood pasta dishes, such as shrimp spaghetti, perhaps with some juicy cherry tomatoes and tender asparagus. Plus, whipping up pesto from scratch couldn't be simpler. Start by toasting pine nuts in a skillet for a few minutes until golden, then blitz these up in a food processor along with some fresh basil leaves, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and olive oil. Season with salt to taste, and feel free to add a squeeze of lemon, too.