A few years ago, I was looking for mayonnaise without soy, sugar and other strange ingredients for shelf life. I knew that it should be mostly eggs and oil but nowhere was this to be found at the time. I began making my own here and there. The only time it didn’t work was when I used extra-virgin olive oil. Lesson #1: You need light-tasting oils, or the strong flavor will overpower and taste bitter.

A couple of summers ago, I shared my recipe on Instagram, and my good friend Jen had zero success with it. This discrepancy drove me nuts, so I repeated what I had communicated, and it worked for me. Wait, what? You know this version of cooking crazy, right? How does it work for them and not me, or this time and not that?

One weekend at the cabin, I made it in Jen’s food processor at least three times with ZERO success. I realized that the food processor Jen was using had too big of a bowl for the blades to reach the ingredients. Lesson #2: the blades have to touch all ingredients since the key to making homemade mayo is slowly adding the oil so the liquids can emulsify and thicken properly.

And then, last fall, I re-discovered the immersion blender. While I don’t like to acquire tools and additional kitchen tools and previously gave one of these away as part of my small kitchen survival strategy, I am so glad I now stow this Smart Stick (affiliate link).

While you can whisk mayo in a bowl or blend in a food processor by adding oil drop by drop, immersion blenders are the way to go.

And you know how I feel about homemade activities, right? Satisfied, smart, accomplished and set up for success. While using the right oil is essential every time, this method gets dumped together all at once and has worked every time.

Here’s Ev’s latest favorite way to help me in the kitchen.

This one’s for you, Jen. But I won’t rest until you’ve had success. 😉

Ingredients

1 egg
1 cup of sunflower oil (I also use light olive oil or avocado oil
1/2 lemon squeezed and strained
1-2 garlic cloves crushed
salt to taste

Instructions

Crack an egg into your immersion blender cup or tall mason jar.
Next, pour oil and the strained lemon juice into the cup or jar.
Crush garlic clove into the mixture.
Using an immersion blender, hold the blades to the bottom of the oil and blend, gently moving the stick up and down in your container.
Once the liquids start to emulsify, slightly tip the blender stick to let the oil gently move from the top to bottom under the blades to incorporate all liquid.
After about 30 seconds, the mayonnaise should be ready and thick. Turn off the blender stick and gently remove it.

This post contains affiliate links to products I know and love. I recommend any of them for this recipe!

Author: heather bursch

Did you make it? Mention @heatherbursch or tag #shemadeit so we can admire your work!

Here are a few of our favorite additions:

Red Pepper Mayonnaise – Once emulsified, I pushed a roasted red pepper to the bottom of the blender and pureed the pepper into the mayo.
Herbed Mayonnaise – Try adding a tablespoon of chopped herbs at the end.
Chipotle or Sriracha Mayonnaise – add a teaspoon of adobo sauce, chipotle powder, sriracha or any spicy sauce you like for a dip or sandwich spread. Taste to determine the amount of spice!

Why mayo? It uses whole food ingredients, and we love deviled eggs, this salad, this dressing for an impromptu salad, chicken or tuna with crackers, greens or bread for lunch, a swipe on sandwiches and burger buns, and more to come here or at @heatherbursch.

Let us know how it goes!

~Heather (& Ev)

Last Updated on June 15, 2022 by Heather Bursch

how to make homemade mayo in less than 30 seconds