Basic Homemade Mayonnaise

Homemade mayonnaise! Who would have guessed it was so easy and so delicious? Definitely not this girl! Well, this basic homemade mayonnaise recipe changed my world. Bol statement, I know.

Growing up I absolutely detested mayonnaise. The smell. The taste. Literally everything about it made me want to gag. I remember helping my Nana make sandwiches for my uncles and it took all my strength to keep my food down.

I really wish I was being dramatic, but I had a serious aversion to mayonnaise for so long that I never contemplated making it at home. Then, one day, I decided to grow up and try something new. Definitely jabbing at myself here.

Having all ingredients ready to go helps with quick and successful preparation. In image on right, the yolk, lemon juice, mustard, and water are in measuring cup.

After going through various recipes in cookbooks and online, I finally worked out my own that works well for my and, the best part, my taste buds love it. Yes, I am proud lover of mayonnaise now. Well, I still don’t like the stuff out of the jar…I just don’t know what it is but…I just can’t!

What makes this recipe so great? It is super easy. It only requires five ingredients, which are staples in our house and, hopefully, your house as well. You are in complete control. You can stick with the basic homemade mayonnaise recipe or you can jazz it up a bit.

Cilantro lime mayonnaise is a favorite in our house. It makes the most flavorful chicken salad or it can transform a basic turkey sandwich into flavor central. (I can’t believe I just said flavor central!)

Don’t dig cilantro? What about a basil mayonnaise or, even fancier sounding, a garlic and basil aioli? No chicken sandwich will ever be the same.

You can skip the herbs all together and make one of my personal favorites. Black garlic and pepper mayo. Sounds strange, yes, but it is a great way to use fancy and unique ingredients in a more straightforward way. We have been lathering this mayo on our burgers, sandwiches, and even turning it into a dressing. Oh, and it is a killer dip on french fries. I finally get the English folk’s obsession with fries and mayo. It’s brilliant!

Basic Mayonnaise, Cilantro & Lime Mayonnaise, Black garlic & pepper Mayonnaise, failed attempt at sun-dried tomato and basil mayo (yes, mistakes do happen.)

As you can see the ideas are really endless. Whether you are a mayonnaise fan or not, I strongly suggest you try this basic homemade mayonnaise recipe. Try it plain first and then think of ways you can add variety to your sandwiches or even turn it into a sauce for you steak or chicken breast.

Let’s say you have a salad that you want to jazz up a bit and use something other than olive oil and lemon juice, which is a standard in our house.  Here is how you do that.  Use the basic homemade mayonnaise recipe finished product and then add extra olive oil and an acid such as lemon juice until it is thinned out enough to toss. Always taste again and season when needed with additional salt and pepper.

If you want to add other herbs or ingredients to the mayo, it is best to do so as you are adding in the 3/4 cup olive oil. You can wait until the end, but sometimes the mayonnaise breaks from over blending. For the mayonnaise in the picture, I added the ingredients as I add the oil.

I’d love to hear how you turned this basic homemade mayonnaise recipe into your own in the comment section below.

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Basic Homemade Mayonnaise

Quick and easy five ingredient mayonnaise recipe that you can whip up at home.  Great on its own or as a base for salad dressings or jazzed up aioli's for sandwiches. 

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: American

Servings: 12 tbsp

Calories: 127kcal

Author: Ashley

Ingredients

• 1 egg yolk
• approx. 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• dash of water
• ½ tsp Dijon mustard
• salt & pepper

Instructions

• Place egg yolk, dash of water, mustard, and lemon juice in large mixing bowl/glass. Using handheld immersion blend, blend until components are combined and palish yellow in color.
• Add in 1/4 c of the olive oil and blend.
• While continuously blending, slowly pour in remaining olive oil until you reach desired consistency/thickness. You can add less than 3/4 cup if you prefer a thicker mayo or add a little more if you prefer it thinner. 
• Optional Additions: If you are adding any additional ingredients such as basil or garlic, do it as you are increasing the addition of olive oil to your mayo. See Note for further explanation.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

Note: This mayo recipe is easily adaptable to many other flavors and uses. If you want to use it as a salad dressing base. You can take the mayonnaise and add extra olive oil and an acid such as lemon juice until it is thinned out enough to toss. Always taste again and season when needed with additional salt and pepper. 

If you want to add other herbs or ingredients to the mayo, it is best to do so as you are adding in the 3/4 cup olive oil. You can wait until the end, but sometimes the mayonnaise breaks from over blending. For the mayonnaise in the picture, I added the ingredients as I add the oil. 

Cilantro & Lime: approximately 3/4 cup cilantro leaves and the zest of 1/2 lime. You can add lime juice as well for extra lime punch. 

Basil: approximately 1/2 cup basil. I also added sun-dried tomatoes which, unfortunately, broke the sauce so I ended up using it as a salad dressing rather than a mayo. 

Black garlic & pepper: 2 cloves of black garlic and generous amount of crushed black pepper. 

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