Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise takes less than 10 minutes to make at home, and it tastes SO much better than most of the brands at the store. Fresh is definitely better when it comes to mayo, and you only need 5 ingredients!
Why make mayonnaise at home when you can buy it at the store? This is a valid question, especially when the convenience factor is strong.
Mayonnaise is only something I started making at home last September, during my Whole30.
Anyone who has done the program knows why: it’s just about impossible to find a store-bought brand of mayonnaise that doesn’t have added sugar AND is made with a healthy oil.
(Okay okay, there is one brand that’s sugar-free and made with healthy avocado oil, but I find the flavor to be absolutely wretched. Reviews of the product on Amazon tell me I’m not alone on that one.)
So the only solution was to start making it myself.
I had made the occasional homemade aioli or mayonnaise in the past, but this time the regularity of it stuck.
Mayonnaise is incredibly easy to make, so it’s one of those things where if you care enough about the flavor and health factor, making it yourself becomes worthwhile.
Even if you’re not a fan of mayonnaise as a condiment, there’s a good chance that you like a lot of the foods where mayonnaise plays an important role, whether it’s chicken salad, the best egg salad, deviled eggs, or homemade blue cheese dip.
The deliciousness of the mayonnaise you’re using can totally make or break those kinds of recipes.
I know because I tried to use up that one terrible avocado oil mayonnaise I had bought and “hide” it in egg salad with lots of fresh dill and celery.
But nope, the flavor of the mayonnaise was still glaring. Which makes sense, right? It’s an essential flavor in those kinds of salads.
How to Make Mayonnaise:
To get started, add a neutral oil, one egg, ground mustard, and salt to the bowl of a food processor:
What’s the best oil to use for mayonnaise?
When I say to use a “neutral oil,” I mean one that is neutral in flavor.
My personal favorite for mayonnaise is olive oil, but make sure it’s NOT extra virgin.
Extra virgin olive oil turns bitter in the food processor and blender, and the flavor is too strong anyway.
You want to look for the regular or “light” olive oil.
Another good oil for mayonnaise is sunflower oil, which has an agreeable flavor.
One oil that I don’t recommend is avocado oil. While it is a healthy oil, I find the flavor to be terrible. But I know this is a personal preference!
Alternatives to raw egg in mayonnaise
I want to comment for a moment on the egg situation.
The egg in this recipe is indeed raw, and personally I have been eating raw eggs (in mayonnaise, nibbles of cookie dough, etc) for years without issue.
If you Google ‘how many eggs have salmonella,’ you will see articles (like this one from Slate) that discuss this risk, and it’s estimated that about 1 in 20,000 eggs has salmonella.
That number is small enough that I just go ahead and eat raw eggs when the situation comes up.
However, if you prefer, you can purchase pasteurized eggs to use for homemade mayonnaise, or you can even pasteurize them yourself. I’ve seen lots of tutorials online for that.
I’ve also seen some people say online that if you leave the mayonnaise at room temperature for an hour or two before refrigerating, the lemon juice will kill off the bacteria, but I’m personally skeptical that that’s true. I think it’d be better to use pasteurized eggs in that case.
Process the ingredients for about 30 seconds, until combined and pale yellow:
The liquid will be quite thin.
Next, with the food processor running, slowly drizzle in an additional cup of oil:
You want to do this pretty slowly, over the course of about 60-90 seconds.
This makes the mayonnaise creamier and thicker.
As you incorporate the oil, you’ll see it get thicker and thicker, until it finally looks like this:
Blitz in a couple tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, and it’s done!
You can also use vinegar, but I find the flavor of fresh lemon to be better.
Store the mayonnaise in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
Mayonnaise Tips:
- Do I have to store mayonnaise in the refrigerator? Yes, store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Can you freeze mayonnaise? Not recommended. The emulsion will likely break, and when you thaw it out, it will have a chunky texture.
- Some of my favorite uses for mayonnaise: Honey Walnut Shrimp, Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs, and Jalapeño Cilantro Sauce.
- Can mayonnaise make you sick? As I discuss above, it is estimated by the CDC that 1 in 20,000 eggs have salmonella, so the odds in my opinion are very low. If desired, use pasteurized eggs.
- Dietary restrictions: This mayonnaise is gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, and Whole30 compliant.
Homemade Mayonnaise
Ingredients
- 1 large egg at room temperature*
- 1.25 cups olive oil** NOT extra virgin
- 1/2 tsp ground mustard seed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice at room temperature
Instructions
- Place ¼ cup of oil in a food processor, and add the egg, ground mustard, and salt.
- Process thoroughly, for about 30 seconds, until combined and pale yellow in color.
- With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the remaining oil until the mixture is emulsified and thick. Adding the oil slowly makes for a creamier mayonnaise. The total pouring time to aim for should be 60-90 seconds.
- With the food processor still running, add the lemon juice, and mix briefly, for only about 5-10 seconds, until incorporated.
- The mayonnaise is now ready to be used. Enjoy!
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Disclaimer: consume raw egg at your own risk. Some of the information and raw egg statistics in this post may be out of date.
116 Comments on “Mayonnaise”
Worked so well. I am never buying shop mayonnaise again. Secret is room temp ingredients and I only put the salt in at the end with the lemon.
This was the third mayonnaise recipe I’ve tried today and the only one that worked properly. Really simple, lovely consistency and tastes great! Will definitely use recipe again. Thanks!
This mayo is super healthy without the preservatives, sugars and stabilizers of store bought brands but that’s where it stops. The recipe calls for a half teaspoon of salt. I did that and I like salt. However, this Mayo is overpowered by the salt taste. I followed the instructions to a T and the consistency was creamy and it looks great. The recipe should have recommended adding salt to taste at the end. Bummer, down the disposal for this batch!
I made in my blender and the consistency was beautiful. I had no olive oil but was desperate so i used vegatable oil since it’s what they used back in the good ol days. The flavor was good but was a little salty so i just omitted the salt in the recipe i needed the mayo for. I tried the leftover mayo when i was putting everything away and realized it was actually the strong mustard i was tasting. Next time i’l just adjust the mustard and salt. .I plan to use this mayo recipe from now on whenever a recipe requires mayo, this will make the end results more creamier and up the flavor. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
i hope to try.if i tried more and came wort means the ingredients will be wasted.Even though i am going to try, i will send reply after trying it.hopes it comes good.
what did I do wrong? it never emulsified. 🙁
Hi Mindy! I just made this Mayo using my food processor and made sure all ingredients were at room temp. I followed the recipe to the letter, but did need to sub the olive oil for canola since all I had was EVOO in the house. Truly, the trick is room temp ingredients and adding the oil super slow. It took me almost 3 minutes to incorporate the oil, using a very thin stream. Give it another shot and I’m sure you’ll see it turns out beautifully.
Good luck!
A very good recipe. Truly easy. I have chosen to use peanut oil. It’s quite neutral.
My own experience with oils is that I get used to certain flavors. Therefore, I have to be careful what I serve to others.
Thank you,
Boh
Hi Joanne!
This recipe is FANTASTIC!!! The flavor and creaminess of the mayo are perfection! I don’t buy mayonnaise from the store anymore. I just keep a supply of Light olive oil on hand!!
I use a blender to make it and every time it has turned out wonderfully! I did use the mayo in a batch of broccoli slaw ( I actually had a pre-made bag of shredded veggies for it). I hadn’t seen your recipe yet and I used the mayo along with some rice wine vinegar, salt and pepper. I had to add a little granulated stevia as well, since I went a little overboard with the vinegar, but it was very tasty!! I will be making some some coleslaw this weekend to go with our slow-cooker pulled pork (also your recipe)! Thank you soo much for your wonderful recipies!
If we don’t have ground mustard can we use regular mustard?
Please can I use hand to mix in absent of blender?
Is there any substitute for egg ?
You state in your recipe for Mayonnaise that it is dairy free. Eggs are a dairy product are they not?
Amazing Homemade Mayo! I started Whole30 on 2/1/2021 and wanted to make some chicken salad. I followed this recipe using canola oil instead of olive oil since I only had EVOO in the house.
This Mayo is absolutely the perfect texture and taste. I will never buy the store bought again! My family from years back always used Hellman’s, but this beat the taste hands down. The texture feels natural and it was extremely easy to whip up. Made sure all ingredients were at room temp and… Voila!
Update
After making 2 batches of this heavenly Mayo, I made my third using Pompeian Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil. This batch was a little disappointing in that had a slightly bitter aftertaste. I know our tastes can differ greatly, but the Canola oil has a more pleasing flavor with no lingering aftertaste.