Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe

This homemade mayonnaise recipe has been a long time in the making. I think I have tried about 30 different variations trying to get it just right. But all that work was not for nothing. I finally got a mayo I’m happy with!

You will notice, in the ingredient list, that the oil called for is unspecified. This is not an accident. Choosing your oil is a personal decision, and your choice will greatly affect the flavor of the mayo.

BEST OILS FOR MAYONNAISE:

I have tried it with olive oil, coconut oil, and even sesame oil. But in the end, I wanted more of a traditional flavor, so I went with safflower oil. I found that it gave a slightly less dense texture than some of the other oils I tried which turned out quite thick. So I ended up sticking with safflower oil which turned out to be the best choice for me and what I was trying to achieve with this recipe. This is a delicious and traditional mayo, mainly because the oil is so light in flavor.

Clean Eating Mayonnaise in a clean jar, displayed with eggs around it, ready to spread on your favorite sandwich.

That being said, most safflower oils bottled for cooking are refined. If you can locate the unrefined food-grade version, it’s better (cleaner) than refined, but it also has a stronger flavor. So you kind of have to pick your battles on this one. Any way you look at it, this is far healthier than anything you can buy at the store.

HOW LONG DOES HOMEMADE MAYONNAISE LAST?

Note the storage notes at the end of the recipe. Never leave this clean eating mayonnaise sitting out! It must be refrigerated at all times. Typically, homemade mayonnaise will last 1 to 2 weeks in the fridge.

APPLIANCE NOTES:

I tried making this recipe in a blender and failed miserably. So I used my immersion blender instead and it gave me perfect mayo in under 20 seconds. It was actually pretty impressive to watch. So I do recommend an immersion blender for this recipe. Otherwise, you’ll have to make it by hand which is a workout in itself with all that whisking!

NOTES ON THE EGGS:

I highly recommend purchasing pasteurized eggs for this recipe to avoid a foodborne illness. I have found one brand that specializes in this, but they are not sold everywhere. So you may have to hunt one down in your own area. If they are pasteurized, it will say so on the box. Some people say that you should not eat raw eggs at all. It’s a personal decision you need to make for yourself and those you feed. But please be aware that the very young, the very old, and those with immune issues are far more susceptible to foodborne illness from things like raw eggs. So if you try this, use it wisely, and please use pasteurized eggs.

PRODUCT NOTES:

If you’d rather buy your mayo, the only clean eating mayonnaise I have come across is the Chosen Foods brand (affiliate link).

HAVING TROUBLE MAKING MAYO?

Here are some tips in case your mayo separates or has other issues. While I use a stick blender, it’s an older blender. Newer stick blenders may be more powerful, which in turn would over-mix the mayo and cause separation. While the following tips are for hand whisking mayonnaise, some of the tips may help you if you do get separation. You can find those tips here.

MORE HOMEMADE CONDIMENT RECIPES:

PRODUCTS USED:

HOMEMADE MAYONNAISE RECIPE:

Homemade Mayonnaise

No, this isn’t a dream. This is clean eating mayonnaise at it’s finest. Yum!
5 from 1 vote
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Course: Condiments
Cuisine: American, French
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 minute
Total Time: 6 minutes
Servings: 16 servings (approximately 1 cup total yield)
Calories: 128kcal

Equipment

  • Stick blender
  • Canning jar or cup that's about the same size as the base of your blender.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup oil
  • ½ tbsp. apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ tsp. salt (I use Real Salt – see link above)
  • 1 large pasteurized egg

Instructions

Container Notes:

  • This recipe uses an immersion blender. You need to use a cup or glass that is only slightly bigger than the immersion blender. If your blender came with a blending cup, that's a great one to use. Otherwise, consider a canning jar that is just slightly bigger. Using a large bowl or larger cup will not work.

Mayo:

  • Place all ingredients in a tall jar or cup that fits your immersion blender.
  • Place the blender at the bottom of the jar and blend on high without moving the blender. Once you see mayo start to form, you can move the blender slowly upwards until all the mayo is blended. Do not over blend. This will take less than 20 seconds.
  • Store in refrigerator immediately and up to 1 week.
  • Storage Notes: There are varying opinions on the shelf-life of homemade mayonnaise. Some people won’t keep their mayo longer than three days no matter what, while others say it expires when the date on the egg carton says so. I have found that a week is just about right. You’ll notice a slight change in flavor, consistency and sometimes even color when it starts to turn. But above all, please keep it in the fridge at all times! There are also plenty of folks out there that do not use pasteurized eggs. That is your prerogative. With a little one at home, I tend to err on the side of caution and use the pasteurized eggs for this.

Notes

Please note that the nutrition data below is a ballpark figure. Exact data is not possible.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tbsp. | Calories: 128kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 34mg | Potassium: 4mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 17IU | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg

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45 Comments

  1. I don’t have an immersion blender. What about a Ninja or Nutrabullet?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Robin – I tried in my ninja and it did not work well. You can, however, do it by hand with a whisk. You just have to invest some time in doing it and use 1 drop of oil at a time in the beginning until the yolks begin to accept the oil.

  2. Any tips on finding pasteurized eggs? I’ve not had luck with my regular local grocery stores.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Jeni – I just looked it up to be sure. All egg products sold in stores are pasteurized. But not all eggs are.

  3. DonnaLouWho says:

    Tiffany, does the type of oil matter? I have a friend who only eats GF and I am making a dish this wkend that calls for mayonnaise…Perfect Timing…I’m going to do my own instead of helmans. Thank you so much for this recipe. Donna

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      DonnaLouWho – Yes, it does. The type you use will have a huge impact on the flavor.

  4. Hi, I am a bit confused. Isn’t all traditional mayonnaise that is homemade, clean?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Adrienne – That would depend completely on what you add to it.

  5. All I have is farm fresh eggs.. What will happen?? 🙂

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Natalie – Nothing “will happen” per se, it’s just that you have a much higher chance of salmonella developing.

  6. I just made this recipe with the safflower oil, and immersion blender. It is still very runny, not even as thick as slaw dressing. Hmm, is your like this? Wondering if I did something wrong? Doesn’t seem like it since it is such a simple recipe. It would turn the bread into mush if I used it like this. Any thoughts?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Wendy – Try adding another batch, but without the water. It’s possible the difference in oil changed the need for water.

  7. I like my mayonnaise with lemon juice instead of vinegar and no mustard, it`s just a lot lighter that way.
    🙂

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Angie – Whatever works! Mayo is totally adjustable. 🙂

  8. You are totally wrong that all eggs are pasteurized. They are raw unless otherwise indicated, pasteurization is an entirely additional process, and more expensive eggs.

  9. I’m a bit confused. Can I just use an egg yolk from an egg I purchased at the grocery store or do I need to look for something that says pasteurized?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Teri – If eggs are pasteurized, they will say so on the carton. And yes, just use the egg yolk, not the white.

  10. I love the flavor of this and I’m about to use it in the clean eating coleslaw recipe. However, I had no luck with my immersion blender. It was very runny. After a bit of surfing I found where someone used their food processor and drizzled the oil in very slowly. It looks like that will be my go to method for making it and this is my go to recipe for future batches. 🙂

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      JoAnn – Be careful with that method. I tried it too and it was a disaster. But in this case, maybe what works for us will be opposite! 😀 Let me know how it turns out. The next option after that is whisking it by hand. That’ll build some biceps for sure though! lol! Odd that it came out runny though. I’m wondering if it wasn’t so much the blender but rather one of the ingredients?

  11. I followed the recipe exactly the first time and omitted the water the second time. First two times were a fail with the emersion blender. Third time I left out the water and drizzled the oil slowly using my food processor and got beautiful results. I then made your coleslaw recipe, which is awesome. 😉

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      JoAnn – How interesting! I played around with it yesterday, leaving out the water and it was a total flop. The second time, I added water and it did great! Hmf. It bugs me when I can’t figure something out. I’ll have to keep playing around with it. But I’m so glad it all worked out! 😀

  12. You can pasteurize your own eggs at home. Just google it.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Sarah – Didn’t know that! Thanks!

  13. Diana Miller says:

    Have you used this mayo to cook with? I am making a skillet recipe and part of cleaning it up is me making my own mayo. So basically the sauce that is used has mayonaisse in it and will be combined with some other ingredients and then poured over top and cooked.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Diana – No, I haven’t tried cooking with it. Sorry.

  14. Can you buy clean mayo from the store?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Allison – I make mine. It’s hard to say because I only know what’s available in my area. I haven’t seen a clean mayo personally, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist in some health food store somewhere. So I put the option there in case.

  15. Wow this is the best recipe. Simple to follow and absolutely delicious . Thank you so much !

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Yael – My pleasure! I’m so happy you like it! 🙂

  16. What kind of oil do you recommend?

  17. Oopsy…I just saw that you use safflower. Thanks for sharing all your amazing recipes!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Holiday – My pleasure! 🙂

  18. Marguerite says:

    Hi Tiffany! I’m just curious as to why homemade mayo has such a short shelf life compared to store bought. Only 1 week??

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Marguerite – Because store bought mayo has ingredients added to increase shelf life. Usually not the best stuff either. Most homemade foods will always have a shorter shelf life. That’s just the nature of real food.

  19. Can I freeze and take out to thaw when needed?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Erika – I don’t think that will work here. Sorry.

  20. I made this recipe last night with safflower oil. I pasteurized an egg in the microwave using a recipe i found online. I am just finding your site and my husband and I are just deciding to transition to clean eating. How thick is this mayo supposed to be? Mine was very runny but I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be like that since I’ve always eaten Blue Plate. Thanks!

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Chrissy – No, something went wrong there. It should be nice and thick like regular mayo. I don’t know what the microwave does to the egg, but that could be part of it.

  21. Can I use a hand mixer instead?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Karen – This really needs the speed of a blender. Although, you could potentially also do it by hand, which a lot of folks do when they make mayo. But you really have to beat the heck out of it. You can certainly try it, but I don’t recommend a regular hand mixer.

  22. Jennifer Wilson says:

    Help please! IDK what I’m doing wrong. One time I’ll make this and it’s fabulous, but then the next time it never comes together right. I use an immersion blender stick. I put the yolk in first then vinegar, water, salt, and lastly avocado oil. Does the egg need to be room temp? I just can’t figure out for the life of me what is happening. It looks a little creamyish but pours off the spoon and separates when I let it sit. I absolutely love this recipe when it works, but it’s getting expensive throwing out every other batch ?

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Jennifer – My first guess would be that you are over blending. This may not be any fault of your own, however. It’s possible that if your stick blender is newer than mine, it may be more powerful. Here is an article I found that may give you some helpful information. I’ll add it to my blog post here as well. Let me know if any of these tips works for you! https://foodal.com/knowledge/how-to/quick-fixes-broken-homemade-mayo/

  23. I have tried this recipe twice…one with the water and one without. Both failed miserably 🙁 However, when I went over to Whole Foods’ website their recipe section said to use egg whites instead of yolk? Could that be an issue?
    Jennifer

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Jennifer – That’s really odd because mayo is always made with egg yolks. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it made with whites. Can you tell me more about what’s happening when you make it?