Mayonnaise has completely lost its place as a homemade condiment – and what a pity that is!
Commercial mayonnaise might be convenient, but it’s totally devoid of flavor and bears no resemblance to the homemade kind.
Here’s a foolproof recipe (see the step-by-step photos and instructions) that will deliver a thick and flavorful mayonnaise. Once you’ve tasted it, you’ll never want to buy another jar of that whitish, bland substance again.
Homemade mayonnaise
makes 1 1/4 cups
active time: 10 min
- 2 large egg yolks (at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (at room temperature)
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup canola or safflower oil
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon vinegar (balsamic, red wine or sherry)
- Step 1: Place yolks, mustard, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Mix with a fork until well blended. Let stand at room temperature for 2 minutes.
- Step 2: Place both oils in a measuring cup. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons worth of oil to the egg yolk mixture. Using an electric mixer, whisk at medium-high speed until well incorporated. Continue adding in the oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons at a time, and whisking until well incorporated. Repeat until the oils are used up. The mayonnaise will get thicker and thicker as you add more oil. Make sure to add only a small amount of oil at a time so that the mayonnaise can emulsify properly. If you add the oil too fast, your mayonnaise might fail – you won’t be able to get it to thicken and it will look more like a vinaigrette.
- Step 3: Add the vinegar and whisk until well blended. Transfer to a clean jar. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to use.
- Cook’s note: Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Lemon mayonnaise (Spanish Alioli)
Omit the vinegar and replace with 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 large garlic clove, crushed. Proceed with Step 3.
Pimentón mayonnaise (Spanish smoked paprika)
Make the Lemon mayonnaise above and stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons Pimentón Dulce (sweet Spanish smoked paprika – see link at the bottom of post).
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Step-by-step
Place yolks, mustard, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
Mix with a fork until well blended. Let stand at room temperature for 2 minutes.
Place both oils in a measuring cup. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons worth of oil to the egg yolk mixture.
Using an electric mixer, whisk at medium-high speed…
… until well incorporated.
Continue adding in the oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons at a time…
… and whisking until well incorporated. Repeat until the oils are used up. The mayonnaise will get thicker and thicker as you add more oil. Make sure to add only a small amount of oil at a time so that the mayonnaise can emulsify properly. If you add the oil too fast, your mayonnaise might fail – you won’t be able to get it to thicken and it will look more like a vinaigrette.
Add the vinegar…
… and whisk until well blended.
You end up with a thick, flavorful mayonnaise!
Pimenton dulce (sweet Spanish smoked paprika)
This is one of my favorite brands of pimentón. Deep, powerfully smoky and perfect to make the pimentón mayonnaise!
Disclaimer: As always, my point of view is my own. I do not accept samples, and have no commercial relationship with any product, food or wine company.
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Amen for this recipe. The last time I tried a version of this (from another blog) it failed miserably. Looking forward to trying yours. Looks great!
Hi El! I’ve make this recipe my whole life, so I’m pretty confident it’ll work for you. I know how nerve wracking making mayonnaise can be – hence my posting step-by-step photos.
I use mayonnaise once a month and therefor making your own makes sense.I hate the store boght glass jar, not to say the plastic bottle. But on the other side, I throw away the rest, because even with one egg there is always too much.
Texmex, I know what you mean about always having too much mayo. I must say I always throw away some too… BUT that’s a small price to pay for delicious mayo.
I made some one a long time ago and it is true it was spectacular compared to the store stuff. Looks beautiful.
Thank you Evelyne!
Viviane, only YOU could manage to make mayonnaise look totally fantastic. :-D
I dont understand why people dont make their own mayo. It is so much better than the jar stuff!
Any sandwich I eat must have mayo but I’ve never dared make my own. Your version is definitely more flavor-packed than others I’ve seen. Would love to try this sometime.
Who would have thought that making mayonnaise at home can be that easy? This is going to my to-make list! Thank you Viviane!
My dad makes the best garlic mayonnaise, so I fully agree that nothing beats a homemade version :) Looks wonderful!
Lovely–and I agree it tastes completely different. Think I will whip some up tomorrow…
This sounds very good..my mom use to make it but I think it was little bit different, can’t remember what she was putting! Great post and recipe! Congrats on top 9!!!
Oh, yeah…this is one gorgeous mayo!! So much better than what’s lurking in my fridge :)
I always wanted to try making my own mayo but I thought it would be difficult. Thanks for your recipe – I am going to try it.
Hello Viviane,
My first time here and I stopped by from Foodbuzz to congratulate you for the Top 9:) There couldn’t have been a better time for me to stumble upon your recipe for homemade Mayo – my store-bought Mayo just got used up this afternoon! But it will not be on my grocery store list the next time – I’m going to give your recipe a try first – keeping my fingers crossed for that!Thanks a bunch for the details and so lovely meeting you.
how much does it make and how long will it last in the refrig
Hi Denise, Look at the recipe – all the info is there.
Ones again viviane, u makes me amaze and happy with ur homamade recipe to replace a store bought :)
Tq for sharing and congratz on the Foodbuzz top 9 #3 today!
ur step by step pic makes understand, yes, the mayo is getting thicker! ;)
Beautiful step by step pictures. I have never made homemade mayonnaise, but you have convinced me to give it a try!
A huge thank you to all of you for the great comments on this post. I was off the grid yesterday, so I didn’t find out until today that my humble homemade mayonnaise made it to Foodbuzz Top 9 – Really thrilled!
Enjoy making your mayo… I know you’ll love it!
Viviane, I love it! And it looks delicious. I’ll share this recipe with my mom. Thank you! :)
this is very similar to my homemade mayo/aioli. Nothing beats homemade. I my hand whisk and it kills my arm every time…. but I love it!!!
Hi Steve, My dad used to make his mayonnaise with a hand whisk too – always impressed me. I wish I had the muscles to make mine with a hand whisk too!
Homemade mayo does tast a lot better than store brand. And I love it real heavy on my sandwiches. Thanks for sharing maybe I’ll make some for the weekend.
This looks really good, but how do you keep from getting sick from the raw eggs?
I may have to try this.
Thanks,
Moe
Yum yum yum! We’ve been making a lot of our foods homemade lately, we just had some woooonderful pitas that we made from scratch. This mayo is next on my list! =-)
I’ve been living abroad for a few years and the mayonnaise that is available here (store bought) is a poor imitation of what is available at home. So I’ve decided to take things up a notch – down with store bought mayo all together!
Unfortunately, I’m a student and don’t have the money to buy kitchen gadgets at this time which is frustrating because I love to cook. Do you think this recipe would work if I whisked by hand the entire time instead of using the electric mixer? Thanks in advance for the advice!
Ah, I should have read the previous comments before posting mine :)
Going to go test my forearm strength now!
Gina! I bet your mayonnaise will turn out perfect with a hand whisk! Do let me know how it went… The bonus: you get to spend the calories before you eat your mayo! Thank you for stopping by and for your comment.
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