How To Make Homemade Mayo – Easy Recipe

Share on your socials!

Make this easy and delicious homemade mayo! All you need is 5 simple ingredients. And I promise you, once you make this easy homemade mayonnaise, you’ll never go back to store-bought mayo!

THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS, WHICH MEANS I MAKE A SMALL COMMISSION AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU. SEE MY FULL AFFILIATE LINK DISCLOSURE HERE.

Ready to make your own mayonnaise? This is probably the most basic recipe, and all you need is a neutral-flavored oil, eggs, dijon mustard, lemon, and a pinch of salt. It comes together in less than 5 minutes and better than any store-bought versions out there. 

Ingredients Breakdown:

​Oil: You will want a neutral-flavored oil, or mild-tasting oil. This is the main ingredient to a good homemade mayo. For the best results you really want to make sure that you are using a a good quality oil, but also one that doesn’t taste too strong. I recommend using a healthy oil as well, I use a light olive oil, and sometimes avocado oil (whichever I have). I personally stay away from extra virgin olive oil when making mayo. The flavor is too strong, and your mayo will just taste like oil. I also urge you to stay away from canola oil or vegetable oil. These oils can be used to accomplish this homemade mayo, but they are inflammatory oils, and are hard on the body.

Eggs: You’ll need a room temperature egg for this recipe. I know some people can be concerned with consumption of raw eggs, for me it’s personally not a concern at all. However, I would say that if you don’t have your own chickens, try to buy the best, most fresh eggs as possible. That personally would make me feel better if I was worried about the eggs. Quality matters, so if you have to buy them from the grocery store, go for organic pasture-raised eggs. I hope this helps!

Dijon mustard: I like using dijon mustard, but if you don’t have it on hand, you can also try regular mustard, or ground mustard!

Lemon: I use fresh lemon juice, squeezed from a lemon, but you could also replace with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. The acidity of the lemon is used to help cut through the taste of the oil, and is necessary for a tasty mayo.

Salt: You just need a pinch of salt, but it is important for making the mayo taste better, and helps keep the mayo from separating by strengthening the bond between oil and water content.

The best way I have found is to use an immersion blender, so the instructions below are for an immersion blender only. These instructions will not work for a regular blender, hand blender, or food processor. 

Instructions:

1. Prep the Ingredients:  Make sure your egg yolk is at room temperature. This helps with emulsification, which is key to creating a smooth and stable mayonnaise. If you’re using a fresh lemon, roll the lemon against the counter with the palm of your hand to help release its juices, before cutting in half.
2. Add your ingredients: Place all of your ingredients into your tall jar. The egg should sink to the bottom.
3. Position the Blender:  Place the immersion blender head directly on the bottom of the jar, ensuring the egg yolk is completely submerged by the blades of the immersion blender.
4. Blend from the Bottom Up:  With the blender turned on low speed, begin blending. It is important to not move the blender at first. Let it blend for about 10-15 seconds, focusing on emulsifying the egg yolk.
5. Incorporate the Oil: Now that it starts thickening, you can gradually start working your way up the tall jar. You want this to be slow, if you start mixing in the oil too fast, you will end up with broken mayo. You will keep slowly emulsifying the oil till you are left with a delicious homemade mayo!
6. Season and Enjoy:  Once fully emulsified, turn off the blender and taste your mayonnaise. Adjust seasonings with additional salt, dijon mustard, or lemon juice to your preference.
7. Storage:  Transfer your homemade mayonnaise to a wide-mouth jar (for easy scooping), and store it in the refrigerator for up to a week, or longer.

Tips:

• Use Room Temperature Egg Yolk: Cold eggs won’t emulsify as well, so make sure it reaches room temperature for best results.
• Start Low and Slow: Begin blending on low speed and gradually increase it as the mixture thickens.
• Use the Right Container: A tall jar helps ensure the blender blade fully submerges the ingredients and emulsifies them effectively. I just use the container that came with my immersion blender, and it works perfectly. 
• Troubleshooting: If your mayonnaise seems to separate, or isn’t that creamy texture you’re looking for, it means the emulsification process was disrupted. This is called a mayo break, but don’t worry! You can fix it by adding another egg yolk. Add the egg to the mixture, make sure it sinks to the bottom first. Then, you will essentially start the process over again. 
• Double the Recipe: We use a lot of mayo, so if I’m out of mayo, I will double the recipe. This gives me mayo for the meal (typically burgers, or sandwiches), and extra mayo leftover to use throughout the week!

How to use your homemade mayo?

​Sometimes I will make a big batch of mayonnaise, just to make several different recipes from it. Here are some of the things I use this creamy homemade mayonnaise recipe for:

Salads: potato salad, tuna salad, egg salad, chicken salad, coleslaw – I especially love these in the summer months!

Spreads and Dips: Make creamy and flavorful dips by mixing mayo with fresh herbs, spices, or a squeeze of lemon juice. 

I like using this mayo recipe to make a garlic aioli for dipping fries, yum! Another favorite is chipotle mayo for tacos!

Salad Dressings: You can use this homemade mayo recipe as a base for making your own salad dressings, and it is so good! There are so many fun combinations out there, so get creative with it!

Sandwich Spreads: Mayo is a classic spread for sandwiches. You can also use the mayo on the outside of sandwiches and toast it. Think of a grilled cheese, instead of using butter on the outside, try this mayo! If it’s your first time trying it this way, prepare to be mind-blown. I also love using this mayo instead of butter because it spreads to much smoother!

Egg Wash Substitute: Brush mayo on pastries or chicken breasts before baking for a golden brown crust. It acts similarly to an egg wash, but with added fat and flavor.

Meat Marinade: Mayonnaise adds moisture and fat to marinades, tenderizing meats and helping them brown beautifully when cooked.

You just made homemade mayo:

There you have it, a foolproof mayonnaise recipe in your back pocket. Homemade mayo tastes so much better than store-bought, and it doesn’t come with all of the unnecessary ingredients. This is such an easy recipe, and now you can add it to your cooking from scratch routine! I hope you enjoy this homemade mayo as much as my family and I do. I encourage you to try the different ways to use it, and experiment in your kitchen! Let me know in the comments how you use your mayo!

Homemade Mayo

Make this easy and delicious homemade mayo! All you need is 5 simple ingredients. And I promise you, once you make this easy homemade mayonnaise, you’ll never go back to store-bought mayo!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Equipment

• Immersion Blender
• Mason Jar for storage

Ingredients

  

• 3/4 cups olive oil virgin
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 lemon freshly juiced
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

 

• Prep the Ingredients: Make sure your egg yolk is at room temperature. This helps with emulsification, which is key to creating a smooth and stable mayonnaise. If you’re using a fresh lemon, roll the lemon against the counter with the palm of your hand to help release its juices, before cutting in half.
• Add your ingredients: Place all of your ingredients into your tall jar. The egg should sink to the bottom.
• Position the Blender: Place the immersion blender head directly on the bottom of the jar, ensuring the egg yolk is completely submerged by the blades of the immersion blender.
• Blend from the Bottom Up: With the blender turned on low speed, begin blending. It is important to not move the blender at first. Let it blend for about 10-15 seconds, focusing on emulsifying the egg yolk.
• Incorporate the Oil: Now that it starts thickening, you can gradually start working your way up the tall jar. You want this to be slow, if you start mixing in the oil too fast, you will end up with broken mayo. You will keep slowly emulsifying the oil till you are left with a delicious homemade mayo!
• Season and Enjoy: Once fully emulsified, turn off the blender and taste your mayonnaise. Adjust seasonings with additional salt, dijon mustard, or lemon juice to your preference.
• Storage: Transfer your homemade mayonnaise to a wide-mouth jar (for easy scooping), and store it in the refrigerator for up to a week, or longer.

Notes

• Use Room Temperature Egg Yolk: Cold eggs won’t emulsify as well, so make sure it reaches room temperature for best results.
• Start Low and Slow: Begin blending on low speed and gradually increase it as the mixture thickens.
• Use the Right Container: A tall jar helps ensure the blender blade fully submerges the ingredients and emulsifies them effectively. I just use the container that came with my immersion blender, and it works perfectly. 
• Troubleshooting: If your mayonnaise seems to separate, or isn’t that creamy texture you’re looking for, it means the emulsification process was disrupted. This is called a mayo break, but don’t worry! You can fix it by adding another egg yolk. Add the egg to the mixture, make sure it sinks to the bottom first. Then, you will essentially start the process over again. 
• Double the Recipe: We use a lot of mayo, so if I’m out of mayo, I will double the recipe. This gives me mayo for the meal (typically burgers, or sandwiches), and extra mayo leftover to use throughout the week!