This creamy homemade mayo recipe is even better than store-bought, and with just 4 ingredients, you’ll be able to whip up a batch of mayonnaise in less than 5 minutes following this fail-proof recipe! Perfect on a sandwich with my Homemade Lunch Meat and Homemade Sandwich Bread!
Over the years I have learned how to make several condiments from scratch, but something about homemade mayo has always daunted me.
Maybe it was the raw egg. Or maybe it was my worry about the mayo not mixing properly. I mean, it had to be difficult to make this creamy, tangy sandwich spread turn out correctly, right?
As it turns out, all those myths about how hard it is to make homemade mayonnaise were wrong! With one amazingly simple recipe (and a couple of tricks), you’ll have delicious homemade mayo ready in less than 2 minutes!
HOMEMADE MAYO RECIPE
Not only does homemade mayo taste way better than store-bought, but it’s also:
- Quick. Make it in a total time of 5 minutes!!!
- Easy. It’s so easy that after you make it, you will wonder why you haven’t been all along.
- Frugal. With only a handful of pantry ingredients, homemade mayo is much cheaper than store bought.
I’m going to show you how to make mayonnaise at home!
HOMEMADE MAYO INGREDIENTS
- Lemon
- Kosher salt
- Egg
- Extra light olive oil
- Flavors/seasonings (optional)
- Whey (optional)
You need an Immersion blender for this homemade mayo recipe.
You need EXTRA LIGHT olive oil. Extra light virgin olive oil is absolutely delicious in dressings, or with freshly baked artisan bread, but it does NOT taste good in homemade mayo (been there, done that).
- If you’re REALLY feeling fancy, you can also use neutral-flavored oil like walnut oil, macadamia oil, bacon grease, or ghee (but not individually, nor all together). I haven’t tried many of these specifically, but they are options if you don’t have extra light olive oil on hand.
- I don’t use canola oil or vegetable oil because canola is chemically extracted using hexane. Cold-pressed canola oil exists, but it is usually very expensive and hard to find. It’s better to avoid, and just use different oils instead.
- I tried 50/50 extra virgin olive oil and avocado oil, which didn’t taste very good at all. Both have too strong of a flavor for homemade mayo.
- Extra light olive oil produced an amazing mayo that tasted better than any store-bought I’ve ever had, I stopped there. Feel free to branch out and experiment, and if you do, please leave a comment sharing with us what worked and what didn’t!
HOW TO MAKE MAYONNAISE
Step 1. In a wide-mouth jar, layer your ingredients as follows.
Step 2. Wait about one minute, or until the egg is at the bottom of the jar and the oil is sitting at the top of the jar.
Step 3. Place the immersion blender in the jar, all the way to the bottom.
Step 4. With the immersion blender at the bottom of the jar, press the button to “go” and let it blend for 20 seconds, keeping the blender sitting at the bottom of the jar.
Step 5. After 5 seconds, you’ll have mayo at the bottom.
Step 6. At the 10-15 second mark, you’ll notice the mayo creeping to the top.
Step 7. In about 20 seconds, you’ll have mayo near the top of the ingredients with a very thin layer of oil right on top.
Step 8. Very slowly (and carefully), bring the immersion blender up the side of the jar while still blending. As you do this, the thin layer of oil on the top will slowly drizzle down the side of the jar and blend with the mayo underneath.
Step 9. Keep bringing your immersion blender almost to the top, stopping just short so you don’t splatter mayo everywhere. Your homemade mayo is done when all the ingredients are incorporated together!
Step 10. Taste your mayo and adjust your salt and/or lemon juice if desired.
HOMEMADE MAYONNAISE RECIPE TIPS
This homemade mayonnaise recipe is good in the fridge for about one week. However, by lacto-fermenting the mayo you can make it last for several months.
To do this, add 1 tablespoon of whey to the finished mayo and stir well. Allow the mayo to sit on the counter overnight, or for up to 24 hours. Afterward, put the mayo in the fridge and you’ve got mayo that will be good for 2 months or more!
For best results, use a jar that is just a bit wider than your immersion blender. That allows the blades of the immersion blender to be all the way immersed in the egg and lemon juice at the start of blending, helping the mixture come together.
I’ve never had this homemade mayo recipe break, but if yours isn’t coming together, try adding an additional egg yolk or a teaspoon of mustard (both act as emulsifiers and help keep everything mixed together) and whisking it back together.
HOW TO MAKE MAYO WITH A FOOD PROCESSOR
Using an immersion blender is the fastest way to make mayonnaise. But you can make it in a food processor too.
Follow these instructions to make mayo in a food processor:
- Place egg, salt, and lemon juice in the bowl of the food processor. Place the lid on top.
- Turn the food processor on high and slowly drizzle the oil in. This takes some time so hum a tune or march in place to keep busy!
- Once all the oil is added, turn off the food processor. Now you have a fresh batch of mayo ready to eat!
TO SERVE HOMEMADE MAYO
This is a basic homemade mayo recipe. It’s absolutely stunning and delicious and has the perfect balance of tangy and creamy. But some people prefer their mayo to be a bit fancier. If that’s you, consider the following additions to your homemade mayo (add these just after the egg):
- Pinch of white or black pepper
- Dry mustard OR prepared Dijon mustard (in any flavor you’d like)
- Using vinegar (apple cider vinegar, white wine, white balsamic, etc.) instead of lemon juice, or using lime juice too
- Sweetener (honey, sugar, maple syrup, etc.)
- Garlic
- Horseradish
- Sriracha
- Fresh herbs
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Crushed red pepper
Start with just a bit of your added ingredient of choice, and taste after blending. You can always add more, but you can’t take the ingredient out!
WAYS TO USE YOUR HOMEMADE MAYONNAISE
Now that you’ve made a batch of mayo, what are you going to do with it?
- My favorite is to just use it as a sandwich spread. There’s nothing like a classic sandwich with Homemade Lunch Meat and mayo on a couple of slices of Homemade Sandwich Bread.
- Use the mayo to make dressing or dip, like this Ranch Dressing or Caesar dressing.
- Make Broccoli Salad or Creamy Coleslaw for a delicious side dish.
- Enjoy these yummy Spicy Salmon Tacos with Slaw for this week’s taco night!
- Make a batch of perfect hard-boiled eggs and mix with mayo and mustard for a quick and easy egg salad or add to chicken salad.
MAYO RECIPE FAQS
What is mayonnaise made of?
This homemade mayo recipe has just 4 basic ingredients: lemon juice, salt, egg, and extra light olive oil.
What oil is best for mayonnaise?
Extra light olive oil is best for this mayonnaise recipe.
Do you need room temperature eggs for making mayo?
In my experience, no. An egg fresh from the fridge works just as well as a room temperature egg.
How long does homemade mayo last?
This recipe for mayonnaise is good in the fridge for about one week. However, by lacto-fermenting the mayo, you can make it last for several months! (See the recipe tips above for how to lacto-ferment the mayo.)
Is it cheaper to make your own mayonnaise?
Yes, it’s more budget-friendly to make your own mayo. Plus, you’ll have ingredients on hand to make other delicious foods, like The Best Scrambled Eggs, Mediterranean Grilled Cheese, or Caesar Salad Dressing!
MORE HOMEMADE CONDIMENTS
- Caesar Salad Dressing
- Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe
- Easy Homemade Salsa
- 15 Minute Homemade Hot Sauce
- How to Make Nut Butter
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Homemade Mayo
This creamy homemade mayo recipe is even better than store-bought, and with just 4 ingredients, you’ll be able to whip up a batch of mayonnaise in less than 5 minutes following this fail-proof recipe! Perfect on a sandwich with my Homemade Lunch Meat and Homemade Sandwich Bread!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 Jar 1x
- Category: Sauces/Condiments
- Method: Blended
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 large lemon, juiced (or 2 tbsp lemon juice)
- 1 tsp kosher salt (or ½ tsp table salt)
- 1 whole egg
- 1 cup extra light olive oil
- flavors/seasonings (optional, see below)
- 1 Tbsp whey (optional, see below)
- immersion blender
Instructions
- In a wide-mouth jar, layer your ingredients as follows. First, lemon juice. Second, salt. Third, egg. Finally, extra light olive oil.
- Wait about one minute, or until the egg is at the bottom of the jar and the oils are sitting at the top of the jar.
- Place the immersion blender in the jar, all the way to the bottom.
- With the immersion blender at the bottom of the jar, press the button to “go” and let it blend for 20 seconds while sitting at the bottom of the jar.
- After 5 seconds, you’ll have mayo at the bottom.
- At the 10-15 second mark, you’ll notice the mayo creeping to the top.
- At about 20 seconds, you’ll have mayo near the top of the ingredients with a very thin layer of oil right on top.
- Very slowly (and carefully), bring the immersion blend up the side of the jar while still blending. As you do this, the thin layer of oil on the top will slowly drizzle down the side of the jar and blend with the mayo underneath.
- Keep bringing your immersion blender almost to the top, stopping just short so you don’t splatter mayo everywhere. Your mayo is done when all the ingredients are incorporated together!
- Taste your mayo and adjust your salt and/or lemon juice if desired.
Notes
- If you are using whey, finish the recipe as directed, then add whey and stir in well. Let sit on the counter at room temperature for 24 hours. Then refrigerate.
Nutrition
- Calories: 603
Kathy
Thank you so much for this amazing – and unbelievably easy – homemade mayo recipe. I had an epic fail on my first attempt and was so discouraged after wasting perfectly good duck eggs and oil, but I stumbled upon your recipe and noticed that the mayo is made with an Immersion Blender, which I just so happened to get for Christmas! I took it as a sign to give homemade mayo another try, and I am so glad I did. It took longer to juice the lemon by hand then it did for all the ingredients to turn into thick, creamy, wonderful mayonaise. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And anyone who is unsure about trying this recipe, please give it a try, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, just like I was.
Tiffany
Aw, thank you so much Kathy! I’m so glad you gave this a shot!
Donald Krebs
FAIL
Well, it was great on day one. A little thin right away, but it tightened up after a couple of hours in the fridge. I made great chicken salad using the mayo.
Day two, we used it to make ranch dressing, but it was so thick that I had to use a powered whisk to get the ranch dressing right BTW, it tastes great!
Day three, the mayo has hardened so much that it has to be broken apart with a fork.
This can’t be right.
I followed your instructions, using coconut oil.
Tiffany
Hi Donald! Not to be cheeky, but my instructions didn’t say to use coconut oil, and that’s why the mayo got so hard. Coconut oil gets hard at cooler temperatures and will solidify in the fridge. If you use extra light olive oil, it would be creamy every time. I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor of the ranch dressing!
Lesa
I had a similar experience when I tired it using coconut oil. I found I get the best results if I use 3/4 cup of olive oil (not extra-virgin) and 1/4 cup coconut oil. This way when the coconut oil hardens it is tempered by the olive oil. It never gets too hard to use and instead has a fabulous creamy texture.
Kathryn Thompson
THANK YOU!!! After 24 hours of intermittent attempts and almost burning out the motor on my hand blender AND my Nutribullet (with the same mix so as not to waste stuff) I finally stumbled upon your page. My epic fail mixture up to this point consisted of two egg yolks, 50-50 mix of virgin olive and sunflower oils, a small squirt of lemon, some apple cider vinegar. After reading your method I threw in the egg white plus some salt and an extra squirt of lemon and BINGO!! Saved the day. I’m too stubborn to have given up. There would have been no supper……It’s a bit runny but I can cope with that!
Tiffany
Way to save the mayo Kathryn! So glad I could help!
Jennifer
I used 100% pure olive oil as that was the closest my store had to light olive oil. Your method worked perfectly but, I’m wondering if pure olive oil is not light enough? It taste a bit off. I’m going to let it refrigerate for awhile and taste it again. Can you advise? Would extra light olive oil work better?
Thanks for the tips!
Tiffany
Hi Jennifer! Yes, pure olive oil is too strong in taste. That’s why I recommend the extra light instead. I don’t know if you can fix the batch with EVOO, other than maybe use it in a marinade or a recipe where you wouldn’t taste the mayo so much. Then next time, use extra light. 🙂 I get mine at Walmart!
Erin
Why do you suggest not using safflower oil? I work in a professional kitchen making mayo daily and we use safflower every time. (We also make mayo by hand not with an immersion blender). Just curious as to why its on the do not fly list.
Tiffany
It’s comprised almost entirely of omega-6 fatty acids, which in the standard American diet, we already eat plenty of. It would be a better nutritional choice to choose an oil that had omega-3s as well.
Susan Boone
Do you think I could do this in my nutribullet blender?
Tiffany
I’m not sure Susan, but you can give it a shot!
Susan Gross
Ugh! I hate it when everybody else is successful and I am failure. Made the mayo; it turned out liquid. Added an egg yolk. Still liquid. Sad face.
Tiffany
I’m so sorry Susan! Did you follow the recipe EXACTLY as written?
Ben
Worked well, although timeline was off for me, I guess I have a gruntier stick blender.
Used canola oil, very nice.
Also added 1/2t of white pepper, but can’t really taste it, so maybe try more
Rochel
Hi, i recently tried this and it came out oily tasting and not so thick. I used refined canola oil. What might I have done wrong? Too fast w/the blender (regarding the thickness)? Thanks!
Tiffany
Hi Rochel – I haven’t tried making this with refined canola oil, so I honestly can’t say how to fix it other than it sounds like it didn’t emulsify like it should. Using a different oil other than what’s recommended in the recipe will change the outcome. 🙁
Jeff
Wow!
Cheap, quick and easy!
With a little tweaking it can taste just like that H brand or better!
Timothy
thanks for your fast response
do you know of an oil that doesn’t use chemicals in the production of the oil? I’m try to get down to basic I or should I say natural ingredients… maybe using balsamic vinegar instead of lemon juice? I do like dipping bread in olive oil and balsamic vinegar
any other suggestions would be a great help
thanks Timothy
Timothy
hi
I just made the mayo as you written it but the olive oil (yes I used light olive oil) is very strong tasting…
what can I do to fix this
thanks Timothy
Tiffany
Hi Timothy – if extra light olive oil tastes strong, you can try using it in combination with sunflower oil.
Janette
Hi. I never noticed it before but your recipe says “light” olive oil. I have only used “extra light” olive oil so maybe that is Timothy’s problem?
Timothy
sorry for the typo, I used extra light olive oil
Vicki
Failed:-( Maybe the power is not enough? Mine is 400 watt.
Vicki
You know, I just added another egg and saved it momentarily! I’ll definitely make it again with one egg and will try to figure out what when wrong, because it’s a five star recipe because it’s definitely a no-stress winner. Thank you Tiffany!
Janette
I don’t think the power wattage would matter. The main thing is to have a jar that is taller ratherthan wider around so there isn’t a lot of area around the blender. Also make sure to keep blender on bottom of jar while mixing until you can see the mayo forming and then slowly lift it up to mix in the rest of the way. I hope you can figure out what went wrong as this is such a quick way to make mayo.
Allen Bennett
Would a mason jar with a 4 inch base (64 ounce) be too wide for my immersion blender, which has diameter of 2 1/4 inches? I’ve read that there shouldn’t be too much of a difference in width. Also is the liquid from store-bought (Daisy) sour cream be OK to use for the whey?
Tiffany
Any whey should be okay Allen, but the width of the jar concerns me. I just measured my immersion blender and jar – 2 1/4″ and 3″ respectively. You can always try with the 4″ jar and let us know how it turns out. I haven’t tested this myself, but I’ve read that mustard helps to fix broken mayo.
Melissa
I tried using a glass jar that was quite a bit wider than my immersion blender, and my mayo did not thicken. I also used only about 2/3 cup oil instead of a full cup. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. Do you think the issue was that the jar was too wide? It still tasted fine (and made a great tuna sandwich), so I’ll use it in salad dressing.
Tiffany
Not to be nit-picky, but if you used a different jar and the incorrect amount of oil, you didn’t follow the recipe exactly. 😉 My guess is that it was a combination of both, but likely the oil. Great job in not letting what you made go to waste!
Luisa
Brilliant! I have been meaning to try making mayo in my thermomix and wanted to use light olive oil. Stubbled across your recipe today when wondering how to use the whey I have left from making yoghurt.
This is sooo easy & tastes amazing! I have it sitting on the bench now after mixing they whey in. Can I please ask can the jar be sealed for the laco-fermentation?
Thanks so much, I wont be buying mayo again!
Tiffany
Hi Luisa! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! For fermentation, let the mayo sit at room temp before placing in the fridge. It needs a little bit of air circulation, so don’t seal just yet. I’d use a towel or coffee filter for now. 🙂
Janette
Alicia that is an interesting point about depending on where you live. I have only used pint wide mouth jars and haven’t had one failure. When I looked at the quart wide mouth it seems to have a wider circumference so I would think that would be a problem with the stick blender. Do you think humidity would be a factor? I live in Colorado where it is drier and not as much humidity.
Alicia
I use the wide mouth jars, quart and pint; no problem with either one. I do make sure that when I insert the immersion blender in the jar, that the egg yoke is under it. Don’t know if that would make a difference.
I wonder if it depends on where you live? I have a business and I’m on the west coast and make body butters; whips up perfect every time. My daughter wanted to make some but her batches came out runny every time. She lives in the south.
Tiffany
Good points Alicia with where you live. Your daughter lives in the south, and I live in the southeast (Georgia) and it’s very humid here. I created this recipe when I lived in central California though, and there’s practically zero humidity there.
Amy
I too think that you need to add something about the size of the jar. We tried this tonight is a wide mason jar and it failed miserably 🙁 couldn’t try a second round because we used up the last of the oil on the first try.
Tiffany
That’s strange Amy – I use a wide mouth mason jar for this recipe and it works every time.
Janette
Did you use a wide mouth QUART jar or PINT jar? I use a wide mouth pint jar and it always works. A wide mouth quart jar wouldn’t work because it is larger around and the blender would have too much area around it.
Alicia
I made this mayo not too long ago and had no problems with it. It came out thick and creamy. (So thick I thought I messed it up! lol) I did change a few things such as using avocado oil and 1 tbsp acv and 1 tbsp lemon. (Heard to many complaints about it being too lemony.) I also plan on trying 1/2 tsp of kosher salt next time for it was too salty to me. And 1 tsp of Dijon mustard, which I thought would help with saltiness but didn’t. (Still eating it though…lol I spread it out thinly, so as to not taste the saltiness.) Main thing I did was follow the instructions on how to add the ingredients and once done, I let it sit for a while, maybe too long in my case, but it came out fine just the same. It was my first time making it and I can’t wait to make it again.
Tiffany
So glad this recipe was a winner for you Alicia!
Alicia
This stuff is amazing!!! Changing it from 4 to 5 stars!!! Once I tweaked it my way it now deserves 5 stars. (Even though I changed it, I still give you your props Tiffany!!! I wouldn’t be making this if it wasn’t for you! 🙂 ) It needs to be tweak until you like it. I slathered some of it on a steak and oh my!!! Almost fainted because it was so good!!! If I could eat the jar I would. But that’s not a good thing. LOL
J E Julien
Hi, Tiffany…generally, I rush past so many sites without leaving comments, but in finding so many uses for whey (from my foray into homemade Greek yogurt) led me here.
Although I had been using the “fast” method for mayo for quite some time (first found it on Serious Eats several years ago ), not many online recipes mention using whey as a lacto-fermentation process to extend the shelf life of may.
“Whey” to go, and really like how you set up your step-by-step directions and pics!
Tiffany
Thanks so much J.E., and for taking the time to share your thoughts with us!! 🙂