This luscious creamy Dill Sauce is fresh and flavorful- perfect for salmon, veggies, or use it as a dip. It’s made with simple ingredients in under five minutes!

Tangy, fresh and creamy, this dill sauce keeps on giving! Made with fresh dill and lemon- it is the perfect sauce for salmon, but we’ve also been enjoying it with our grilled potatoes, asparagus and zucchini and as a tasty dip ( scroll down to see all the ways we’ve been using it). The flavors are deliciously refreshing- such a tasty addition to the summer table.
Dill Sauce Recipe Ingredients
- Fresh Dill – Fresh dill enlivens this sauce, and we always opt for it whenever possible! You can use dried dill in a pinch, but fresh dill truly elevates here! Hate dill? Try fresh flat-leaf parsley, or fresh basil.
- Lemon – a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and some lemon zest adds a beautiful brightness!
- Sour cream or thick, full-fat yogurt (or vegan sour cream) – Many of you will opt for the yogurt- I have too used yogurt in a pinch, but to me, sour cream just makes it taste better. Do as you please. If using yogurt, stir in a little olive oil– 1-2 teaspoons for extra richness.
- Mayo or vegan mayo– We do use mayo in the recipe, which adds a great texture, but we cut back on the ratio; you can make our homemade mayo if you like, or our vegan mayo or use store-bought.
- Garlic (optional) – add a garlic clove for a little “bite”, or swap out with 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder or garlic powder.
- Salt and pepper – add to taste.
- Optional additions – finely minced onion, grated horseradish (for a kick).
How to make Dill Sauce
Dill sauce is so simple to make! Just place the ingredients in a small bowl and mix.

Mix the sour cream (or greek yogurt), mayonnaise and garlic in a small bowl or dish. Whisk until smooth. If using yogurt, you may want to add a teaspoon or two of olive oil.

Add the fresh dill, black pepper, lemon zest and lemon juice. Season with salt if needed, and adjust the fresh lemon juice to your liking.

The sauce will keep up to 4 days in the fridge, and you’ll want to use it on everything!
Delicious Ways to Use Dill Sauce!
You’ll find a hundred uses for this sauce. I love spooning it over pretty much anything!
- Use it as a sauce for your salmon recipes! It’s lovely on this salmon fillet recipe made on a baking sheet.
- Use it as a dip for raw veggies– tomatoes, carrot sticks, celery sticks, cucumber slices, broccoli florets, cauliflower, etc.
- Use it with our grilled potatoes or grilled asparagus.
- Use it as a dressing on tomato or cucumber salads.
- Serve it with our salmon cakes or salmon patties!
- Serve it with our crab cakes!
- Serve it with our Roasted Asparagus.
FAQS
Dill sauce can easily be made dairy-free using vegan sour cream or plant-based yogurt.
Yes, but the mayo adds a nice richness and light texture. To mimic the mayo, you can whisk a little olive oil into the sour cream or yogurt a few teaspoons at a time.
Dill Sauce and salmon and meant to be together! Their flavors truly complement each other!
Salmon loves to be paired with lemon and fresh dill. This Salmon Dill Sauce is the perfect side for salmon, whether it is grilled, baked or pan-seared.
More sauces you may like!

Dill Sauce
- Prep Time: 5
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: ¾ cup
- Category: sauce, condiment, dip, dressing
- Method: stirred
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This easy Dill Sauce is fresh and flavorful- perfect for salmon, veggies, or use it as a dip. It’s made with simple ingredients and only takes only 5 minutes to make.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sour cream – see notes for substitutions
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise -see notes for substitutions
- 1 small garlic clove, finely minced, or 1/2 teaspoon onion powder or garlic powder
- 3–4 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
- 1–2 teaspoons lemon juice
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Whisk sour cream, mayo, and garlic in a small bowl.
- Add the fresh dill, lemon zest, *lemon juice and pepper. Mix, taste, and add salt to taste. Adjust lemon and pepper to your liking.
- *Yogurt is tangier and may not need lemon juice.
Notes
Optional additions: finely chopped onion, parsley, grated horseradish (for a little kick).
Sour cream: To me, sour cream tastes the best here, but feel free to use yogurt. If using yogurt ( or vegan yogurt) you may need to whisk in a couple of teaspoons (to taste) of olive oil for extra richness.
Mayo: Use store-bought mayo, homemade mayo or vegan mayo.
Dill sauce will keep up to 4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
- Calories: 69
- Sugar: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 35.6 mg
- Fat: 5.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 4.7 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Protein: 1.2 g
- Cholesterol: 7.6 mg
I made this as a dip last summer and it was excellent. I want to try it again as a salad dressing (and also with salmon, I can see how it would be amazing).
Works great as a dressing!
I made this today and used it to brighten up a boring breakfast casserole. It was just what it needed–delicious and easy.
Oh good! Great to hear Edith!
I wanna slather this on everything!! So good, especially with the sour cream like you said! I had this with veggie burgers and your grilled potatoes recipe 🙂 thank you!!
Great to hear Angeli- it’s good on so many things!
Fabulous!
Thanks so much Cathleen- glad you enjoyed this!