Mayonnaise has always been one of my favorite condiments, but while the store bought stuff is a convenient and cheap option, it is filled with such nastiness as soybean or vegetable oil, preservatives, and chemicals.
My homemade, healthy mayo on the other hand is packed with protein and good fats, and it tastes delicious! This mayonnaise recipe is simple to make and is a healthy addition to a tuna or chicken salad. Though there are now, thankfully, some great store bought mayo options (especially this avocado oil based mayo), I still prefer the homemade version when I have time to make it.
Please note: it is very important that all the ingredients are at room temperature for this recipe. Having ingredients that are too hot or too cold can cause the mayo to separate or not emulsify. Any oils can be used for this, though I prefer coconut, olive, walnut, or other healthy oils. MCT oil can also be used in place of coconut oil if you don’t like the coconut oil flavor. If you don’t like a coconut flavor and prefer a more traditional “mayo taste” you can use pure (not extra virgin) olive oil.
Keep this recipe in mind for the next time you do a Whole 30 or similar real food diet. It’s a great source of healthy fats!
Healthy Homemade Mayonnaise
Ingredients
- 4 egg yolks (at room temperature)
- 1 TBSP lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard (or regular, or ½ tsp dried mustard powder)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup coconut oil (melted, or other healthy oil)
Instructions
- Put egg yolks into blender or bowl and whisk/blend until smooth
- Add lemon juice or vinegar, mustard, and spices and blend until mixed
- SLOWLY add oil while blending or whisking at low speed, starting with olive oil. Start with a drop at a time until it starts to emulsify and then keep adding slowly until all oil is incorporated.
Notes
Nutrition
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If you’re allergic to eggs, try this egg-free avocado based mayo recipe instead.
Ever made mayo? If not, what are you waiting for? Tell me about it below!
I failed miserably with this recipe. I don’t know what went wrong; it just swirled in the blender and eventually started to cook! How long should it take to look like mayonnaise? REALLY DISCOURAGED! But I will try again if you can tell me where I may have gone wrong.
same thing happened to me 🙁
When you’re blending, avoid high speeds or long periods of blending. Pulsing in short bursts is probably best. The blender heats up as you use it so the heat from the blender will start to cook/curdle your eggs after you use it for a while so you don’t want to over-blend.
That happens to me every time I forget to make sure to bring my eggs to ROOM TEMP before using. You can’t create an effective emulsion with a cold egg.
Most important thing, makes a HUGE difference, is to have all ingredients a room temperature. I do this, and I use the one minute method where I put everything in a jar and use my immersion blender for less than a minute with great success!
I found, after some failed mayo making, that using a stick blender works great for mixing the ingredients. Put ingred. in the bottom of the jar and start blending. Perfect and fast.
I’ve made my own mayo many times, and it is delicious. The recipe I use is very similar to the one you’ve posted. But, since we don’t like the taste of coconuts or strong olive oil, I use a refined coconut oil (from Tropical Traditions or Spectrum Oil-in a pinch) and I use light olive oil. The other ingredient I use is whey. I make my own whey from raw milk using the recipe in Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions cook book. Adding the whey extends the shelf life by several months. One problem that I have though is it hardens after a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. Any suggestions for this?
Wonderful! Just made this for a chicken dish I was making – went to the store and everything had soy or canola. Can’t do either, so thought I’d try my hand and making my own (this is how I came across your recipe – and your site!) Very tasty! Because my eggs are bright orange, it didn’t look quite the same as what you have in the picture, but fabulous nonetheless! Thank you so much for sharing!
I was skeptical but it turned out great! I only wish it would keep longer in the fridge.
It should last for pretty near a month, but apparently adding whey and fermenting it overnight helps it last a little bit longer. 🙂
Can you use powdered egg for the eggs or is that a no no? Still learning as I go. I am just a little nervous about the raw eggs. If it was just me or my husband I might take the risk. But my kids will be eating it too. I am still looking for a good source for my eggs and I don’t think my neighbors would enjoy having chickens next door so… the hunt continues!
Powdered eggs usually have a lot of cholesterol. As long as the eggs are from a good source, I’ve never worried about it, but there are cooked versions online (just google it) if you’d be more comfortable with that.
Think I’ll go looking for the online versions as there’s no way I can get anything but store bought eggs … we do have ones that are “cage free” in the market but not sure if they would work? … uncomfortable using raw yolks also.
I’ve been eating mayonnaise made from raw eggs since I was a little kid (I’m of French descent. this is a traditional thing with my people). I’m 46 now and I’ve never suffered any ill effects. I think that the vinegar has a “cooking” effect on the eggs, the way sevicci (sp?) does with shrimp (the shrimp cooks because of the acid, lemon or lime juice, in the marinade).
I’m French. I use store bought eggs too. Any egg carry a risk of salmonella. You can decrease that risk a bit by washing your eggs. Which I never do. We’ve always made it that way and I agree with the acidity killing the bacteria. That’s what I’ve been told anyway. Never had an issue ????
Also, you can add some crushed garlic to it and it makes a wonderful “aioli”
I am a chef and for twenty plus years I have made my own mayo this way because of the lemon juice and or vinegar used in this recipe you will have no problem with its food safety.
We don’t ever refrigerate eggs they are always kept at room temp.
When I was a boy growing up I remember crates of eggs sitting on the floor of our grocery store and they were never stored refrigerated. I am not suggested you change what makes you comfortable in how you store your eggs but I am saying if you eat out you might be eating eggs stored at room temp.
All the eggs I buy are stored at room temperature.
just wash your eggs very thoroughly before you crack them. Your Salmonella lives outside the egg and can transfer to food (which then needs to be cooked to kill it) but if the eggs are clean to begin with, raw is not an issue.
I am excited to try the olive oil/coconut combination but really can’t use eggs. Is there a vegan alternative?
The Moosewood Cookbook has a very nice vegan mayonnaise recipe made from tofu. I’ve made it a few times. I’m sure it’s been published all over the internet.
I love Fit for Life mayo made with almonds!
Yes, actually. Wellness Mama has another recipe that uses avocados instead of eggs! 🙂
Here it is 😉 https://wellnessmama.com/23441/avocado-mayo/
I traded a kombucha SCOBY for some goose eggs from a local farm, and made goose egg mayo this week. Holy moly! It was VERY rich, and required nearly twice the olive oil/coconut oil because of the sheer volume of the yolk. I mixed in tarragon, and it was wonderful. We’ll never buy store bought mayo again….though we may need to get some geese.
mine seemed to be going great till I continued adding about the last bit of coco oil then it went to liquid…is there hope of it thickening again?
If your mixture ever breaks, start with a fresh bowl. Add a tablespoon of waterand add in the broken mixture a little at a time, mixing with a wisk. It should start the emulsion process again. You can also add a dash of salt to help with the emulsion.
Thank you! You saved mine!
So I am back to comment about how my mayonnaise came out and it is delicious. I have made some alterations, I use 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, keep lemon juice, mustard the same and add only 1/2 cup of olive oil and 1/2 cup of coconut oil and 1/4 teaspoon of raw honey. It is utterly delicious!!!! My son loves it! I love it!
Thanks for the inspiration of using coconut oil in mayonnaise. I now have to make some more tomorrow because we are all out!
Blessings,
Ester
Sounds like you just made miracle whip. It is the sweeter side of mayo. ha ha