How to make homemade mayonnaise with an egg, oil, lemon juice, salt, & dijon. This is really good mayo and if you have an immersion blender you can make it in about 2 minutes.
Yes you really can make homemade mayo in about 2 minutes. That is not a blogger 2 minutes, or an I'll be there in 2 minutes. It's a real, honest, set the timer for 2 minutes, 2 minutes.
Remember, we're making mayonnaise, NOT Miracle Whip, so there are only 4 ingredients (plus salt). This is the difference between Mayonnaise and Miracle Whip.
For instance on my homemade chicken burgers (above) Miracle Whip would be gross. I also think it would be gross to use Miracle Whip in or on hamburgers, chicken salad, coleslaw, or anything else that is edible. It might be O.K. as a face moisturizer, I'm not sure.
So I might be biased.
This homemade mayonnaise recipe is a 1-1-1-1 ratio. Kind of. Everything is a different measurement but they're all 1's.
Table of Contents
Why Not Just Buy Mayo?
Let's get this out of the way. Homemade mayonnaise manages to be tangy and rich with a creamy texture in a way store bought could never be. It's all about the mouth feel. Once you taste it you'll understand what mayo is supposed to taste like.
The How to Video
Here we go! The world's easiest and most fool proof mayonnaise but it DOES REQUIRE one special tool. And without it, you're sunk.
You're not sunk, this tool just makes making mayonnaise easy, plus clean up is easy.
Enter the immersion blender. It's easy to clean, you can add all your ingredients at once (instead of having to drizzle the oil in with a thin stream), plus it makes perfectly emulsified mayo in record time.
You can also use a food processor or hand whisking to make mayo. Just don't hand whisk if you have carpel tunnel syndrome. Or rotator cuff issues. And if you can't do the flexed arm hang for upwards of 4 hours you probably want to pass on hand whisking as well.
It's the immersion aka stick blender that will turn making mayonnaise from a chore into something as fun as ... I don't know, as fun as a good sneeze?
Ingredients
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup of light tasting oil vegetable oil
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
Crack one room temperature egg into the blender's cup. Any tall and slender container will do. Make sure you don't break the yolk.
Add 1 healthy teaspoon of dijon mustard.
Add a tablespoon of lemon juice. Bottled is fine. Seriously. Don't worry about it. Who are these lunatics who demand fresh lemon juice for everything?? Screw it.
Add 1 cup of neutral tasting oil like canola or vegetable oil. Let the canola oil hating begin ...
Yes you can use olive oil if you want to but it will taste weird. Trust me on this.
Place your immersion blender's blade DIRECTLY over the yolk, so it gets encased in the bell of the blender.
See? The yolk is right inside.
Turn the blender on while holding it firmly down on the bottom of the container. DO. NOT. MOVE. IT. Don't whirl it around, don't lift it up and down, don't MOVE it. Just keep the blender over the yolk on the bottom of the container.
Once no more oil is being mixed in, slowly raise the blender straight up. This will suck the oil on top down below. You want to try to maintain suction. You'll get to a certain point where the suction breaks and then, and ONLY then can you move the blender up and down a few times to make sure all the oil on top is mixed in.
Add a pinch of salt. Whirr with blender quickly. Taste. Add more salt if you want.
That's it. It'll be thick and rich right from the get go, but once you refrigerate it it gets even thicker. THIS is the only mayonnaise I use now because it's so easy to make.
(total lie - I sometimes buy mayonnaise)
Mayonnaise from the store is insanely shelf stable and keeps in the fridge for about as long as a mummy will keep in a crypt. Which seems strange for something made out of raw egg. Suspicious even.
But that's the reason I also use store bought mayonnaise.
Every time I make the mayonnaise I just add a piece of masking tape to the top of the jar with the date I made it and the date it'll be expired by. You think you'll remember when you made it and how long it'll last but you won't.
I guarantee you won't. You can't even remember what you had for dinner 2 nights ago.
Ingredients
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup of light tasting oil vegetable oil
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to container of immersion blender (or wide mouth mason jar).
- Place blender directly over the egg and hold in place touching the bottom of the container.
- Keeping the blender touching the bottom of the container, turn it on and mix until the oil stops incorporating.
- Slowly raise the blender from the bottom of the container, maintaining the vacuum, to incorporate the rest of the oil.
- Once the vacuum seal is broken, mix up and down a couple of more times and you're done.
Nutrition
You can thank Betty for this post. My mother asked me 14 times how to make homemade mayonnaise from scratch. She was here one day as I was doing it and she was stunned, amused and amazed at how easy it is to do when you know a couple of tricks.
The only troublesome trick is you have to remember those couple of tricks.
Betty - What was it again? A Tablespoon of dijon?
Karen - No. No, a teaspoon.
Betty - O.K., but a cup of sugar, right.
Karen - OMG NO. There's no sugar in it.
Betty - O.K. so dijon, vinegar, and oil. I feel like I'm missing something.
Karen - The egg. The main ingredient is the egg. And there's no vinegar, it's lemon juice.
Betty - Oh that's right. I can't ever seem to remember this. Now why is there no sugar in the cake?
Karen - Because it isn't cake. It's mayonnaise.
Betty tends to think about 17 things at once and therefore has trouble focusing on simple tasks like remembering recipes or listening to entire sentences.
Like the glass Weck Jar? Me too. Get 'em here.
Like the round cutting board? Make one yourself for about $5!
I know people hate vegetable and canola oil but they really are the best tasting oils to use. If you're going to be persnickety and insist on the inclusion of olive oil, make sure it is a very light olive oil.
O.K. I'm going to be honest here. I won't eat it after 1 week. But most recommendations agree that homemade mayonnaise will last 2 weeks in a refrigerator.
Try substituting the egg with ¼ cup of milk or ¼ cup of aquafaba aka the liquid on top of a can of chickpeas!
If you already own an immersion blender and you haven't been making mayonnaise this way I'm kindda stunned you're still here reading these final sentences. Grab that blender. It's time to make cake. ;)
Karen..love the post as usual..and since an egg is in the recipe..I have to ask..
re hard boiled..the skin..so hard to peel fresh eggs..any tips? Tried bicarb..cold water..hot water..etc..:)
I bet you know.
Going to peek at the board:)
Hey Monique! I actually don't like hard boiled eggs so I never make them, lol. Everyone insists they're super-easy to peel if cooked in an Instant Pot but I tried as an experiment during my Instant Pot review and didn't have great results. :/ ~ karen!
Thanks! So no egg salad sandwiches?:)
What do you d w/ all your eggs?:)
Everything but hard boil them. ;) ~ karen!
If your eggs are more than four days old they will peal easier. Put your eggs in cold water in a deeper than eggs are tall pan, and if they stand up on their end, they are usually more than 4 days old, toss them if they float, tho![those are spoiled] And yes, eggs keep a long time, unrefridgerated, and quite a bit longer in the fridge..
I put them on in heavy, deep pan with good lid, with cold water, bring them to a boil and boil 5 min. and turn off fire and put the lid on and let sit for at least 15 min. Then run cold water over them to cool and use as needed. Always cooked just right!
Boil them for 6 minutes then immerse them in cold water. Bash them gently all over to crack the shell then ease a spoon under the shell as if you are going to scoop them out. Works every time.
I hate mayo, but I want to try this because it looks so easy! Maybe I'll make some for my husband.
It's way fun because it's so easy Katie! ~ karen
The one tip I would add to this excellent piece is to add the oil (I use good old Wesson vegtable oil) at the end and then let it sit for at least 15 seconds so that all the oil is at the top. Then put your blender down (and I've never known or worried about where the yolk is as long as it's at the bottom) and follow Karen's instructions. This way, the oil gets pulled down and emulsifies perfectly.
Before I stumbled onto the 15 second trick, I would get inconsistent results -- sometimes perfect, sometimes runny and separated. It was turning me into a lunatic. Now I am a mayo maven.
BTW, my blender has scalloped edges. It's a Cuisinart and works great.
Oh, and if you chop up a canned chipotle pepper (the kind in adobo sauce) and add the garlic, you have a chipotle aioli with a beautiful color that is sensational on burgers and sandwiches. Would probably work as dip, too.
Good to know. Thanks Deb! ~ karen
OMG YUMMY IDEA!!!
Went to the link for Weck and got excited that somehow the prices were cheaper than the last 1000 times I looked. It's early. Didn't realize it was .com not .ca
Le Sigh.
I found a 2L Weck Tulip jar at Winners for $6 once and snatched it up, hissing 'precioussssss" while I furiously scoured the shelves looking for any smaller ones.
I have problems.
Signature BETTY MOVE I ADDED A WHOLE TABLESPOON OF SMOKED MUSTARD. Came out beige. Disgusting alone but great over red potatoes and dill. Also good with white wine vinegar …
It'd be GREAT with roasted potatoes! ~ karen
I can do this!...my son's grandmother used to make her own and it was yummy but the bitch wouldn't give me her recipe...don't worry...she's gone on to the next level so she won't see this...I hope...Thanks Betty!
Raw eggs? If I don't have my own coop, can I make this safely with store bought eggs?
Probably depends where you live...different prevalence of salmonella in different places. Also, pregnant women should avoid raw eggs.
Hi Sarah! Unless you're very young or very old raw eggs are fine. Store bought eggs are graded and checked. Before I had my own chickens I made homemade caesar salad dressing all the time with store bought eggs and that contains a raw egg. :) ~ karen!
Thanks-- after years of hearing don't eat the cookie dough because of the raw eggs, I'm a little leery . . . love all your common sense ideas and projects!
All right. Only because you say it works so well, will I try it one more time. I've tried to make mayo with my immersion blender and I've tried it multiple times. It always separates. The only difference is I used olive oil. My blender does have a scalloped edge though. I make it in my vitamix though and it works perfect every time.
You can use a Cuisinart food processor for this. That is what the hole in the top pusher thing is for. You put your oil in that and it slowly drips down and makes great mayo. BTW, I hate canola oil. I can taste it immediately in any food and I can't stand it. Am I the only one? If I am using an oil for mayo, I use a non-tasting one like grapeseed oil. Love grapeseed oil. Neutral taste and it is great for frying at a high temp.
Yup, grapeseed oil is great. :) ~ karen!
Miracle Whip gross, Helmand mayonnaise wonderful. That's all you have to know.
Anyone use peanut oil, yeh, I am a Canola hater. But I am a liker of your method and madness. What did you do- get a Phd in Food Science and Better Living through Chemistry. Love your blog.
Ha! thanks Sara. Yes, yes I did. ;) ~ karen!
I've made mayo for nearly 50 years. Prefer peanut oil, or 1/2 peanut, 1/2 regular olive oil, but no peanut allergies in our family. If you are anti GMO, organic corn oil is the best, but hard to find and very costy. Food processor is great, cause you pour the oil in the pusher tube, and let it rip, or drip... Blenders are a real bother to clean. My immersion blender sucks, so rarely use it, and too cheap to buy a new one. I only use eg yolks, not whites. Happy colesterol.
Also keep made mayo for much longer than a week. Still tastes great and no one ever got sick
We always use avocado oil and it is amazing!!!
Went to buy me some Wreck Jars. They do not "ship this product to South Africa". Will have to go onto the Consol Glass website.
Thank you for the recipe. I was using my blender, and still having to drizzle the oil in vvvvveeeerrrry slowly. Gonna give this a bash.
Yes, that's an excellent point about drizzling VERY slowly. That's the trick if you're using a blender or whisk. :) ~ karen!
So can anyone tell me what the difference is between mayo and miracle whip? That's all my Mom ever used growing up (miracle whip).
Miracle Whip has a sweet sort of taste to it. It's more flavourful, but for me that isn't necessarily a good thing. Maybe your preference is base on whatever you were raised on. Although my one sister likes mayo, the other one likes Miracle Whip, lol. I'm a mayo gal. ~ karen!
What's weird is every time I have eaten something made with mayo I get really nauseated. I am going to try your recipe because maybe I get sick from all the other crap they add to it! Thanks!
Maybe that's why Betty wanted to add sugar....
I dislike Miracle Whip in that it's sweet and doesn't taste like real mayo - Hellmanns. I also used to eat mayo/banana sandwiches, mayo/bread and mayo/tomato sandwiches and could instantly tell if someone had used Miracle Whip. YUK. But I can't even go into a room that has used Canola Oil for frying. And cilantro tastes like a wet dog smells to me. I think it is me, but just to be sure, I always use the real stuff - Hellmanns.
I do not have an immersion blender. Will this work with a bullet or a regular blender? Would love to make this.
I have a feeling it won't work but I say that based on absolutely no proof, lol. You can also do it by whipping with a whisk but that's a bit risky. All you can do is try it in a bullet and report back. :) ~ karen!
I think your best bet with a regular blender (which I assume is one standing on a counter with the blades at the bottom of the container) is to first put in everything but the oil and then when you have blended the egg you can put it in SLOWLY in a thin stream into the running blender
(I have never tried this, since I have a magic wand (that's how we call the immersion blender ^^) but you could go to YouTube, I saw some videos about making mayonnaise with a regular blender a while back)
Also, another tip (from my Mom): all ingredients should have approximately the same temperature, otherwise it won't thicken up
I've made it lots in a food processor
Hi Jo! I have been making mayo with a regular blender for YEARS! Works fine. The oil, yes, canola, must be drizzled into the mixture as you go. Once you learn the right drizzle speed, it works great. Also, I bought a jar of olive oil mayo a while back-never again! But aioli is wonderful. BTW, so are immersion blenders.
Thanks all. Will try it with my blender this weekend.
Since there is no way to drizzle in oil with a bullet blender, I'd suggest using the whipping blade (the flat blade, not the one where the blades stick up) for this. It should pull it all down, just put everything in upside down, ie oil first.
I've been making this for years with the regular, counter top blender. We call it "Glug, glug mayonaise". Put in everything in the blender, except the oil. Put the top on the blender, but leave the small hole in the lid open. Turn on blender, then slowly pour oil through hole in lid. The mixture will get thicker, then all of a sudden will start making a "Glug. Glug. Gl-u-u-g-g." sound. At that point, stop adding oil and turn off the blender, your mixture is complete!
P.S. - good to know it works with the immersion blender - far easier to clean up than the blender!
Oh that's what I've been doing wrong - using just yolks and olive oil and going up and down & adding vinegar and no mustard. What is wrong with me? Good thing I read this!
I don't think bottled lemon juice is Real lemon juice. I know it's the name they give it, but it's just not the same.... ever. ❤️ Freshly squeezed lemon juice in almost everything...
Uch. That's like saying bottled milk isn't real milk. You're a weirdo and clearly come from a weird family. ~ karen! p.s. did you hang your birthday present yet?
I do this in a wide mouth mason jar. Perfect size. (My immersion blender didn't come with a container)
Great tip!
Bloody hell you guys I didn't even read this post yet and raced down here to be the first to comment - never mind - Ima gonna go read it now!
I make this at least once a week! My immersion blender has the scallops and it works perfectly well. Also, I'm not sure why I've read over and over that you can't break the yolk? I've broken it and it still comes out fine. I've started only using light olive oil for this since we're trying to cut out soy and canola. Canola does taste better but light olive tastes pretty close. Regular olive oil is nasty though.
Also, this can be turned into the super fast Caesar dressing! Add salt and a fair bit of pepper, a half clove of garlic, either a splash of fish sauce or an anchovy, and about 1/4 cup of parm. I don't even grate the parmesan, just toss a chunk in!
Can I add do NOT be tempted to try this with EVOO. It's revolting. Something about the metal blades, I don't know but it becomes bitter. If you like the taste of olive oil mix a little in by hand afterwards.
Incidentally, I'm never that careful with where I place the blender or not moving it. Now it's never not emulsified but I have had a few runny mayonnaises. Which is fine, I use it as a pasta sauce- think carbonara- if it's really too runny for anything else, but I wonder if that's why?
Yeah, try it the way I've described. It comes out completely different. MUCH thicker like a store bought mayo. :) And yes. EVOO is GROSS with this. I've tried light olive oil and I still hated it but another reader said they liked it just fine. ~ karen!
I quite like it with light olive oil and use that or sunflower oil depending on what I'm going to add to it. I like adding lots of chopped herbs and/or garlic as a dip and you can't taste the oil in that so might as well use something cheap :-) Wild garlic mayo is amazing. I also like adding wholegrain mustard and making a remoulade.
Anyway, I'll try it your way next time.
I've been buying the mayonnaise made with Olive Oil and don't notice any difference in taste, I wonder why you ladies don't like it. I'll have to do a blind taste test with the family...
And just wondering why our pictures aren't showing up next to our names anymore when we comment...
If you have a wordpress blog, and if you put its URL in the field marked "website", your blog avatar will show. If there is another way of doing this, I don't know it, but would be happy for someone to fill me in. ;)
There is actually Kathleen. To get your actual photo to show up on all blogs you need to register with Gravatar. Full instructions here. ~ karen!
Hmmmm, had to change my email address in the not too distant recent past, I wonder if that's why. I went in and updated my Gravatar account, let's see if that does the trick ;)
That will *absolutely* be the reason. :) Your Gravatar picture is associated with your email address. If you change it, your Gravatar is lost. And see? Now it's back. ~ karen!
Thanks, Karen!
It's great with half EVOO and half neutral vegetable oil. The only way I've made this for years. So good I can eat it by the spoonful.
Another crucial tip - in addition to not moving the blender head at first, use a container not much larger than the blender head. Too large, and this technique is not as successful.
And if you wanna sound fancy, make a garlic paste by mincing some garlic, then smearing it with some salt using the flat side of your knife. Add that to your concoction, and boom - you've created aioli. Sit back and collect accolades.
True, usually the blenders come with a container for blending. And yes, it's just barely wider than the blender head. ~ karen!
OMG! I fell in love with garlic aioli at a restaurant in Germany. I always wondered how they made that magical stuff. They'd serve it in cute little individual serving WECK jars with fresh sliced bread. (BTW...I made some mayo and aioli tonight. Delish!) Thanks so much for the tips!!
Two-cup mason jars are perfect for this. Hey Karen, did you know you can also make Hollandaise with an immersion blender? http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/04/video-foolproof-hollandaise-in-2-minutes.html