How to Make Homemade Mayonnaise
Learn how to make homemade mayonnaise in less than 10 minutes with only 4 ingredients. It's a failproof recipe (if you follow my 2 tips) and very easy to make. Homemade mayonnaise can be flavored in many ways and is so much better than store-bought!
Have you ever made your own mayo? It's super simple to do, but I know a lot of people are intimidated by it. That's why I wanted to show you just how easy it is to make mayonnaise.
I think that learning how to make homemade mayonnaise is a cooking skill that everyone should learn. I know it's never going to replace opening a quick and easy jar to slather on a sandwich or make tuna salad, cause let's be real! But it is SO MUCH BETTER when you make it yourself that I think everyone should do it at least once. Just to see what all the fuss is about.
And with the two little tricks I've learned over years of mayo making, this homemade mayonnaise recipe is literally failproof.
The 2 most important tips for making homemade mayonnaise
Making mayo is about getting the egg and oil to emulsify. If they don't, you'll be left with a sad, runny mess. We definitely don't want that! Here are the two things you MUST do to make sure your mayo emulsifies:
- Use a room temperature egg. Whatever you do, don't pull an egg out of your refrigerator and try to make mayo with it. You might get lucky and it will work, but chances are it won't. Don't take the risk. To warm the egg, put it in a glass and fill the glass with hot tap water. Give it 5 minutes and it will be ready to use.
- Whisk the egg yolk with an acid. I like to use lemon juice, but vinegar works, too. The reason you want to do this is that the acid starts to break down the proteins in the egg yolk so they emulsify better. Whisk the egg yolks and lemon juice well (so they look like the picture below) before you begin adding the oil.
A few more tips for making homemade mayo
Once you've followed the 2 most important mayonnaise making tips, these other tips will help make sure you have the best mayo possible.
- Add the oil VERY slowly. When you begin, the oil should be poured in the tiniest stream, like in the picture below. Once the mayonnaise begins to thicken, you can pour the oil a little faster. If you ever notice the oil building up, stop pouring it and whisk the mayo briskly until it is incorporated.
- Use a neutral-flavored oil. My favorite is avocado oil. Avoid olive oil or your mayonnaise will have a very strong flavor.
- Use salt, but sparingly. A pinch or two is all you need.
- Always use freshly squeezed lemon juice. The stuff you buy in bottles will make your mayonnaise taste funny.
- If you'd like a thinner mayonnaise, whisk in a little splash of water or some more lemon juice at the end. For thicker mayo, add an extra egg yolk or more oil.
Are raw eggs safe to eat?
According to the USDA, no. But that definitely doesn't stop me. The risk of salmonella poisoning is so remote that it is not something I'm concerned about. I don't know if it's true or not but I read something once (when I was pregnant and still eating homemade mayonnaise) that a person is more likely to come into contact with salmonella by eating a celery stalk than they are a raw egg.
I would feel less confident about eating raw eggs if the eggs I bought were of poor quality. This is the time to buy eggs from happy hens.
But if you don't feel comfortable eating raw egg, don't worry! It's super easy to pasteurize an egg at home.
How to pasteurize an egg yolk
An egg is pasteurized and considered safe to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 138 degrees. This is easy to do at home!
- Put the eggs in a pot of water over medium-high heat. Attach a meat thermometer to the side of the pot.
- Bring the water to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and keep it there for 3 minutes. Do NOT let the water rise above 143 degrees, or you will cook your egg yolks.
- Drain the water and cool the eggs in cold water.
That's it! Once you do that, your egg will be 100% safe to eat. The egg white will look a little cloudy though as they will have started cooking. The yolk will be perfect for making mayonnaise!
Can I use a blender to make mayo?
Sure, but why? If you use a blender, you run the risk of your mayonnaise separating and becoming runny. And besides, a blender is much more difficult to wash than a whisk and bowl. Let's keep life simple!
If you have an ailment that would make it difficult for you to whisk for 5 minutes, then absolutely go ahead and use a blender. Follow the directions in the recipe only blend instead of whisk. Make sure to run your blender on low speed only to minimize the risk of your mayo separating.
How to make flavored mayonnaise
This homemade mayonnaise recipe is the perfect base for all your flavored mayos. Here are a few ideas to spice things up:
Chipotle Mayo: 2 teaspoons of adobo sauce + a little squeeze of lime juice + a little honey
Dill Mayo: 4 tablespoons chopped dill + 1 tablespoon lemon juice + a little black pepper
Garlic Mayo: 1 minced garlic clove + 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
Honey Mustard Mayo: 1 tablespoon each: dijon + honey + lime juice
Sriracha Mayo: 1 tablespoon sriracha + 1 teaspoon soy sauce + 1 teaspoon lime juice
Lemon Chive Mayo: 2 tablespoons each: lemon juice and minced chives
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Use your homemade mayo in these recipes:
- Chipotle Popcorn Chicken with Honey Mayo
- Skinny Sweet Potato Harissa Fries with Harissa Mayo
- Lemongrass Grilled Chicken with Sriracha Mayo
- Curried Lime Cauliflower Bites with Curry Mayo
- Hawaiian Hot Dogs with Grilled Pineapple and Teriyaki Mayo
- Bacon Kale Caesar Salad
How to Make Homemade Mayonnaise
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Prep Time: 10 mins
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Cook Time: 0 mins
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Total Time: 10 minutes
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Yield: 18 tablespoons 1x
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Category: Condiment
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Method: No Cook
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Cuisine: North American
Description
Learn how to make homemade mayonnaise in less than 10 minutes with only 4 ingredients. It's a failproof recipe (if you follow my 2 tips) and very easy to make. Homemade mayonnaise can be flavored in many ways and is so much better than store-bought!
Ingredients
- 1 large egg yolk (at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup neutral-flavored oil (I like avocado oil)
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Place the egg yolk in a medium-sized bowl. Add the lemon juice and whisk until frothy.
- Very slowly, begin adding the oil in a thin stream while whisking continuously. If the oil starts to build up at all, stop pouring and whisk vigorously until it is incorporated. Continue adding the oil while whisking until all the oil has been used.
- Whisk 1/4 teaspoon of salt into the mayo. Taste and add more if needed.
Notes
If your egg is cold, place it in a cup and fill the cup with hot tap water for 5 minutes.
Something seems to be missing? Not sure what!
★★★★
Did you salt it?
Great!!!
Yes of course!! left an egg out to warm up for an hour or so, separated the yolk and whisked it with the lemon juice, slowly added the oil and whisked, added salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard, Your recipe woks great!! I was happy with the result and it’s very easy, I used grapeseed oil.
I used your tip about putting the egg in a cup of hot water and I heated up my metal bowl on the outside it earned perfectly. Thanks for the tips and recipe.
★★★★★
i made this, and you were not kidding! itʻs so good and so much better than store bought!
★★★★★
I used a duck egg yolk.
The best!
★★★★★
Love it! I’ve never cooked with a duck egg before. Now I’m curious!
I tried this, maybe the water wasn’t warm enough for the egg trick the first time. The emulsion broke in the last quarter cup of oil. I measured the oil with a scale, 8 fl oz, i used the yolk from a large egg, and measured out the tablespoon of lemon juice.
Bon appetite says 3/4 quarter cup of oil so i tried it again with 6 fl oz and made sure the water was hot for the egg trick and it turned out really good. Touch lemony for my taste. I’m used to the store bought stuff so i thought it needed sugar, but now I’m glad it doesn’t have sugar in it. Next time I will use two egg yolks 14 fl oz oil, tablespoon of white vinegar and table spoon of lemon juice.
It’s really important that the egg is not cold. I suspect that the first time you made this the water was not warm enough to warm up the egg properly. Happy to hear it turned out the second time!
Great recipe the only thing I would comment about is that the amount of oil is a little bit too much specially if you’re not gonna add any flavors to the mayo other than that my family loved it thank you so much
Mine is like straight water and I followed the recipe exactly. I tried adding more oil and it made it worse.
If the mayonnaise breaks (ie: doesn’t emulsify and come together) then no amount of oil will help. It’s happened to all of us. Did you use a cold egg yolk? That’s the biggest culprit. And make sure you start adding the oil super slow. You’ll know if it’s working within the first could of tablespoons of oil.
First time I’ve ever attempted making mayonnaise and it was an incredible success thanks to this recipe! (It’s flawless.) My husband and I both said it is the best mayo we’ve ever tasted!
★★★★★
I’m sixteen and this was my first time making mayo. It was actually pretty easy and fun to do. It also tastes better than the store-bought stuff. 10/10
★★★★★
Love it! And so awesome to hear that you like to cook! That was me as a teenager, too. 🙂
The mayo tasted great the day I made it. Only a couple days have gone by and now it has this terrible aftertaste like…rotten meat…best way I can describe it…I’m not sure what happened or if anyone knows how I can fix it…eggs are fresh, oil isn’t rancid, help!
It needs to be thrown out. While it will normally last for at least a week in the fridge, it sounds like your batch went off early.
Still very watery and I made it exactly as you stated.
Sometimes I find that I need to add more oil than other times. If you keep whisking in some more oil it will thicken. (As long as it hasn’t split! If it has, you’ll need to start over.)
Rather than throw out the mayo that is runny. I start a new emulsion with the yolk and vinegar/lemon and I pour in the runny one slowly as the oil, then add a little more oil since it now has two yolks. Saves from wasting.
That’s a great suggestion! Thank you!
I tried the recipe and used an electric beater, it came out really nice. I put a small amount of honey for a hint of sweetness and it tasted really good!
Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe.
★★★★★
I bet a hint of honey was delicious!
I made the Chipotle Mayo recipe for my husband’s club sandwich and this is really fantastic. I used an electric mixer on low speed and this turned out really well. Thank you, no more store bought Mayo!
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear it turned out well!
This recipe turned out perfectly. I had no idea it was so easy to make mayo. Thank you!
★★★★★
You’re so welcome!