This homemade mayo is incredibly easy to make and comes together in absolutely no time thanks to the power of our immersion (stick) blender. Perfect as a sandwich spread or as a base for dressings (such as in this Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing), this gluten-free, keto-friendly condiment is thick, creamy, and has a wonderful zing of flavor thanks to some added in spices!
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To make it we’ll need:
- Extra light olive oil (or safflower oil if you prefer): You want to use a neutral flavored oil so that you’re not overwhelmed by the flavor of it.
- An egg: While you can honestly use any egg you have on hand, using a pasture-raised egg is a great way of extending the shelf life of your mayonnaise and can reduce the risk of salmonella (which is honestly minuscule to begin with especially when you factor in the next three ingredients on our list, but it’s still a potential benefit).
- Distilled vinegar: I recently remade another batch of mayo for some clean eating homemade sub sandwiches and used a touch of this fig-infused white balsamic vinegar and the flavor profile was amazing so don’t be afraid to switch it up.
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Stone ground mustard
- Finely ground raw cane sugar: A little touch of sweetness helps to give a great depth of flavor to your spread.
- and spices including salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper: These are purely for seasoning and adding flavor to our mayo. Whether used as a sandwich spread or as the base for salad dressings, oil and egg alone does not create a great flavor profile.
Now, let’s talk a little bit about our ingredients and what each of them does. So, mayonnaise as a whole is an emulsion which means we’re forcing two liquids that don’t get along to become one (basically the oil and everything else) by agitating them at very high speeds and forcing their particles to collide and merge. Once we do this we need something that will stabilize those ornery particles and keep them binded together or separation will occur. This is where our shining sun of an egg yolk comes in. Egg yolks contain lecithin which acts as a fat stabilizer or emulsifier (the fat in this case being our oil).
So while our added in spices are optional and can be adjusted to suit your personal taste and preference, our base (and measurements) of oil, egg and an aqueous acid is essential for this to work. Speaking of acid, this recipe calls for three different ones: vinegar, lemon juice and stone ground mustard. The acidity is not only required for our emulsion to form , but it adds both flavor and also plays a role in killing any bacteria that might be in the egg, something I learned from Alton Brown’s Good Eats episode “The Mayo Clinic”.
One final thing in order for this particular recipe and method to work you must use an immersion blender. There is no exception. Using a whisk or hand mixer will not yield results since the oil has already been added in full. For methods involving a whisk, hand mixer or food processor, a steady stream of oil is required to be added in a little at a time to the eggs and acid.
Now that we understand the ins and outs of mayonnaise, it’s time to get to it! Start by adding the egg, distilled vinegar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, stone ground mustard, finely ground raw cane sugar, and spices into the base of a jug.
Add the oil on top of it and set your immersion blender into the jug, covering the egg yolk and begin blending for 5 seconds before slowly lifting it to incorporate all the oil and other ingredients together.
Stop blending once all ingredients form a thick and fully emulsified blend. Do be careful to not overblend.
If there is a small trace of oils on the top of the mixture, you can simply use a spatula to fold and incorporate it.
The end result is a smooth and creamy condiment that came together in just under 10-seconds. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
2-minute Homemade Mayonnaise
Equipment
- Immersion Blender or Food Processor
Ingredients
- 1 medium egg (room temp)
- ¼ tsp Himalayan salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper (optional)
- ¼ tsp Garlic Powder (optional)
- ¼ tsp onion powder (optional)
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 tsp raw cane sugar (finely ground) (optional)
- 1 tsp stone ground mustard
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp distilled white vinegar
- 1 cup extra light olive oil (or any neutral oil of your choice)
Instructions
Using an Immersion blender:
- Add all ingredients into a bowl or container starting with the egg first, followed by the spices, lemon juice, vinegar, and end with the oil.
- Place your immersion (stick) blender all the way down into the ingredients ensuring that the egg yolk is covered and blend for 5 sec. Continue blending as you lift the stick blender to fully incorporate the oil. Blend for another 5-7 seconds until it completely emulsifies and all ingredients are incorporated.
Using a food processor:
- Add all ingredients except the oil into the food processor and blend until combined for about 15 seconds.
- Slowly and steadily begin to stream in the oil while still blending for 2-3 minutes until the mixture emulsifies to the desired texture.
Storage:
- Once made, pour your mayonnaise into an airtight container and allow it to sit at room temperature for 2-4 hours to allow the acid in the sauce to kill any potential bacteria, then refrigerate it for up to a week.
Notes
- I highly recommend using fresh pasture-raised eggs, as doing so provides not only quality and added nutritional content, but it improves your mayonnaise's shelf-life and significantly reduces the chances of bacteria like salmonella.
- I enjoy a well-flavored mayonnaise so I add in small touches of spices. The addition of these spices are optional so feel free to adjust to suit your taste.
- For a thicker mayo, use just under 1 cup of oil.
- If your mayo has thinned out too much, blend or whisk in 1-2 tbsp of hot water. This will help the egg to "cook" a little and will result in your mayo thickening up.
- If after using the immersion blender there's some residual oil that hasn't been fully blended, simply stir/fold it in.
Nutrition
