Homemade Mayo

Make mayo at home with this easy egg mayonnaise recipe. With just 4 ingredients and 10 minutes, you can make mayo creamy just like your favorite store-bought mayo. It is a must recipe in every cook's recipe repertoire! Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free. 

Oh, I have included instructions to make mayo in food processor, or blender. Even immersion blender works fine. (read the notes) 

If you love making your favorite condiments and pickles at home? I recommend trying Homemade Pickled Jalapenos, Picked Ginger.

Mayonnaise

Often referred as Mayo, classic mayonnaise is made of eggs, vinegar, and oil emulsion. It is a creamy condiment which makes Mayo a quintessential creamy base for many culinary preparations. From creamy salad dressings, sandwich toppings, sauces to casseroles, it's used so many ways.

Over the year, homemade Mayo has become my favorite. It is such a treat. Being allergic to egg whites, I mostly don't eat store bought mayonnaise. The fact that I can make it with Egg Yolks at home has given me option to start using mayo in my cooking more often I love the convenience and how easy it comes together.

What do you Need To Make Mayo at Home?

Ingredients in mayonnaise are simply - eggs (yolk only), vinegar, canola oil and mustard. 

I prefer to only use egg yolks for homemade mayo as yolks make creamier mayo than egg whites. If you wish to make whole egg mayonnaise, then double the quality of remaining ingredients i.e. double the amount of mustard, vinegar and oil. For this recipe, one whole Egg (yolk and white) is same as adding two egg yolks.

To make the mayo, I separate the yolk from white. (Reserve the egg white for an omelet.)

Add the yolk to the food processor with mustard and vinegar. Process to break the egg, then emulsify by adding oil at slow stream. That's it! Mayo is ready to use. Making Mayo at home is That easy!

Food Processor or Blender Mayo

For the prefect result, I highly recommend using a blender or food processor with slow setting. For perfectly creamy mayo, it's important to mix oil very slowly and in a steady stream into the egg-mixture.

Mayo using Immersion Blender or Whisk

Mayo can also be made by whisking eggs and oil in a wide bowl (chilled) with a metal whisk. This needs long time and consistent movement to get correct results. I prefer to use my trusty food processor because food processor makes consistent and quick mayo every time.

You can also use Immersion Blender instead of metal whisk. To use immersion blender or whisk, start by breaking the egg and mixing it with mustard, and vinegar. Then while whisking constantly or running blender at lowest speed, keep adding oil at a slow stream until all of the oil is incorporated.

Variations:

Fresh mayo is a blank creamy canvas. It is a perfect creamy base to make so many Mayo-Sauces. I love to make Spicy Mayo to serve with finger foods (appetizers).

To make a spicy mayo, first make the fresh mayo as described in the Recipe Card.

Next, use any of the following ingredients to make a seasoned and spicy mayo dip. For best results, use food processor to incorporate ingredient or fine mince and fold-in.   

Spicy Sriracha Mayo

Add 2-3 tsp of sriracha for 1/2 cup of mayo. Once sriracha is fully mixed-in, adjust salt to taste.

Spicy Chipotle Mayo

Add 2 tsp of Chipotle Paste for 1/2 cup of mayo (or 1 chipotle chipotle chile in adobo). Once chili is fully mixed with mayo, adjust salt to taste.

Kimchi Mayo

Add 1/4 cup kimchi (fine minced) for 1/2 cup of mayo. For best results, use food processor to mix kimchi with mayo. Adjust salt to taste.

That's it! You have 3 recipes to impress guests with a spicy dipping sauce!

Spicy Sriracha Mayo that I served with Crab Cakes.

Substitutes:

A basic mayonnaise recipe such as this does not have room for substitutes. I highly recommend first trying the recipe as-is. I know you will appreciate mayo with just 4 simple ingredients. All ingredients that you can spell and pronounce. No thickeners or preservatives as vinegar works as natural preservative.

However, here are two substitutes that I often use:

1. If you prefer Olive Oil or Avocado Oil, replace half of the canola oil with Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Avocado Oil.
2. Replace Red Wine Vinegar with distilled White Vinegar.

Shelf Life:

A fresh made batch of mayo stays good in refrigerator for a week. I, however, also label the fresh made mayo (simple scribble with pen) the same date as the eggs used to make mayo i.e. best-used-by-eggs date.

The recipe makes just 1.25 cup of mayo. Best is to make some, use as needed for a week. Make a fresh batch the next week.

Recipes to Try with Homemade Mayo

Honestly, I can write a long post just about the usefulness of mayo. But for this post, let's focus on making Mayo at home. I have include below a list of recipes that you can try with Homemade Mayo:

1. Crab Cakes
2. French Onion Dip
3. Blue Cheese Dip
4. Creamy Loaded Potato Salad
5. Creamy Cucumber Salad

Tips for Success

1. For the prefect result, I highly recommend using a blender or food processor with slow setting. For perfectly creamy mayo, it's important to mix oil very slowly and in a steady stream into the egg-mixture.
2. To make a spicy mayo, first make the fresh mayo as described in the Recipe Card. The use recipes described above for variation.
3. I prefer to only use egg yolks for homemade mayo as yolks make creamier mayo than egg whites. If you wish to use whole egg, then double the quality of remaining ingredients.

Friends, this 4-ingredient recipe is must-try if you like to keep a jar of mayo in refrigerator. In my home, we used to buy 2 jars; 1) a regular Mayo just for my husband; 2) and a vegan mayo for me. These days, I make a small batch of egg-yolk mayo at home, in 10 mins, when needed. Really 2 jar-spaces freed from my refrigerator for good. I also have a delicious Vegan Mayo recipe. (will share on blog soon)

Happy Cooking!