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
This Homemade Mayonnaise takes less than 10 minutes to make, and it tastes SO much better than most of the brands at the store. Fresh is definitely better when it comes to mayonnaise, and you only need 5 ingredients!
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
Directions
- 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.
Recipe Notes
*Try to remember to pull an egg out an hour or two before making the recipe. If you forget, you can put the egg in a glass of warm water for about 10 minutes instead.
**You can use any neutral oil you'd like here. I like a light olive oil as my first choice, as well as sunflower oil. Avocado oil is trendy because it's healthy, but I find the taste to be terrible and don't recommend it. Make sure not to use extra virgin olive oil here, because it will make the mayonnaise bitter and the flavor is too strong.
Recipe adapted from the Whole30 method in It Starts with Food.
This makes about 1.5 to 1.75 cups of mayonnaise.
Did you make this recipe?
I'd love to know how it went!
Leave a comment or share a photo on social media tagging me @fifteenspatulas.
Disclaimer: consume raw egg at your own risk. Some of the information and raw egg statistics in this post may be out of date.
Have you tried Almond or coconut oil? Results?
I haven’t seen almond oil, but if it’s liquid at room temperature and neutral in flavor, it should work fine. I don’t recommend coconut oil because it’s not liquid at room temp.
Joanne, I may be the only person on the planet who doesn’t have a food processor, but can I make this without? I’ve thought many times of getting one but never got around to it. I have a well-used blender and KitchenAid mixer. Thanks very much!
You can use a blender to make mayonnaise too! You’ll just have to make sure you don’t over whip, so keep it on the lower settings. Making mayo by hand, even though some say it can be done, is not realistic based on my experience. It requires incredible amounts of whipping. So yes, try the blender! I found this article on 5 mistakes to avoid when making blender mayo, which may be worth a look: https://www.thekitchn.com/5-mistakes-to-avoid-when-making-blender-mayo-229283
I have made mayonnaise in the past. I have 2 problems with it. 1) you can’t make it low-fat. and 2) I wouldn’t use 1 1/2 cups of mayonnaise in 4 days. A quart jar lasts us about a month.
Nice article, but for those who don’t want to make their own and for whatever reason don’t want sugar in their mayo, Duke’s Mayo says right on the jar there’s no sugar added. That’s what caught my attention and why I changed from my favorite brand.
I made this for some homemade chicken salad and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you!
I could put this on SO many things!
Such a great kitchen staple recipe!
This recipe is perfection! Thanks for sharing.
No need for store bought mayonnaise when it’s this easy to make at home! Yours looks perfect!
I had no idea how easy making mayo was. The only issue I have with making a batch is there is no way it will get used in 4 days. I am the only one that uses it in the house and it is very infrequent. 🙁 I will definitely keep this in mind next time I need mayo for a mac or potato salad!
I love making my own mayo!