Name: Easy Homemade Mayonnaise
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 large eggs; 2 cups of avocado oil (or your preferred oil. Choose something with light, neutral flavor. EVOO is too strong.); 8 -or- 14 teaspoons lemon juice (2 Tbls. + 2 tsp. -or- 4 Tbls. +2 tsp.); 2 heaping teaspoons stone ground mustard; 1/2 teaspoon salt (hold until mayo has set at room temp for 24 hours)

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Once you taste this easy, delicious homemade mayonnaise recipe, you’ll never settle for store-bought mayo, again. You can make it under 5 minutes and your family will LOVE it!

It’s so easy to make mayonnaise at home. You choose the healthy oils. You source the very best eggs. And, you choose the delicious flavorings!

I was actually a mayonnaise hater, until I started making this at home. There is no comparison between the flavor of Easy Homemade Mayonnaise and commercial mayonnaise. I would encourage you to make some and then, compare. You’ll be a convert!

This post is long, because I want to answer common questions and explain my “whys”, but it actually takes me less than 5 minutes to put this recipe together. Here’s a quick video of exactly how to make it.

easy homemade mayonnaise in a clear glass bowl sitting on a blue plate

I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we have and it becomes a useful tool in your kitchen!

In This Post:

The Tools

This recipe uses a *hand-held stick blender inside a jar or container whose base is only big enough for the bottom of the blender to fit into it — like a canning jar, or the container that came with the stick blender.

This small space allows the egg and oil to easily emulsify. You don’t have to stand over it and add the oil a drop at a time. (The link, below, is to the stick blender I use. It’s not the fanciest one, but it does everything I need.)_{[affiliate link]}

While I believe it is probably possible to make this recipe in a regular blender or food processor, the process for that is VERY different. I can only speak to my results with making mayo with a stick blender. If you want to try the blender/food processor method, here’s a blog post, at Inspired Taste, that explains how to do it.

The Ingredients for Homemade Mayonnaise

Technically, you only need three ingredients for mayonnaise – eggs, oil and an acid, like lemon juice or vinegar. But, adding mustard and even some herbs, will amp up the flavors, provide some interesting variety.

After a room-temperature rest period to let the acid do its work, you can also add the salt, which enhances the flavor of all the ingredients. Then store the mayo in the fridge.

eggs
avocado oil (or another, healthy, neutral-flavored oil)
lemon juice (can substitute vinegar)
stone ground mustard
salt
optional, herbs and seasonings

What About Pasteurized Eggs?

To be honest, I’ve been unknowingly making Easy Homemade Mayonnaise, for years, without pasteurized eggs. I used to believe that all commercial eggs are pasteurized. The truth is that most of them are NOT. Mind blown!

I think the odds are remote, that we would eat an infected egg that is also raw. That being said, if you do eat the the 1 in 20,000, or so, that IS infected with salmonella, and serve it raw, you won’t care one bit about the other 19,999 that weren’t contaminated.

So, pasteurized is definitely a great option if you have affordable access. My problem is where on earth to find them. After several weeks of research, I have still only found one company that pasteurizes eggs and not only are they cost prohibitive, but there are none being sold anywhere near my area.

You can Google “how to pasteurize eggs” and come up with any number of opinions and techniques. None that I could find could back up their claim with science.

They also couldn’t explain how they KNOW the internal temperature of their egg was at least 136° for the necessary length of time to kill salmonella or that their method would prevent the egg from going past 140°, cooking the egg, and making it useless for mayonnaise.

So, What’s the Solution?

So, now what? I have done so much reading and research, from food bloggers, to the CDC and FDA, to chefs who should know. There are people out there, touting their recipes, that will claim that there is no danger from properly handled eggs.

And then, others who will say it is NEVER safe.

After all I have read, and based on my personal experience making mayonnaise for years, I fall somewhere in the middle.

It’s certainly true that eating raw eggs may increase the risk of foodborne illness. And it’s also true that raw eggs do sometimes harbor salmonella and other not nice bacteria.

For me, personally, however, the most sensible information I read came from Orange Grove Road and Chef Alton Brown. Both provided information rooted in science and Orange Grove Road provided numerous studies to back up what they shared.

Lemon Juice and a 24-Hour, Room Temperature Rest

After reading, those articles and studies, I decided that using the correct amount of acid, and a resting time at room temperature, to obtain a pH level adequate to kill the bacteria, was the route I was comfortable with.

That means I need to use 4-7 teaspoons of lemon juice per egg, depending on whether I choose the 24-hour or 72-hour rest period. That’s what I do.

(If the finished 24-hour mayo is too lemony for your personal taste, the lemon juice can be reduced to as low as 4 teaspoons per egg. However, at that lower pH, it will require a 72 hour room-temperature rest, for the acid to have time to kill any potential bacteria. So, plan ahead.)

What I concluded is that, for my family, a minimal, calculated risk (made even less by the proper use of acid) is one that makes sense to me. I encourage you to do your own research and read the available information. Then make a considered decision that is right for you and your own family.

If you decide to go for it, I think you will flip for the luscious taste of homemade mayonnaise . Easy Homemade Mayonnaise is the BOMB! My husband prefers it to all other condiments! lol

I use homemade mayo to make potato salad or pasta salad, in sandwiches and to make homemade salad dressings. It’s a key ingredient in recipes like Elote (Mexican Grilled Corn), Lobster Rolls and Deviled Eggs. I don’t hesitate to use it in ANY of my own recipes, either.

How to Make Easy Homemade Mayonnaise

Making the mayonnaise is about a two minute process on the front end.

Choose a jar or container with a narrow base. It shouldn’t be much larger than the bottom of your stick blender. I love using canning jars, because I will have a lid and don’t need to transfer to another container.
Add your egg to the bottom of the jar.
Then, pour the oil over the top. Choose a light, neutral flavored oil. Extra Virgin olive oil is too strong a flavor, in my opinion. A plain olive oil would be milder if you’re going the olive route. I use avocado oil, because it is mild-flavored, and for what I consider to be health benefits. Choose one that works well for your own personal tastes.

avocado cut in half laying on a table next to a whole avocado and bottle of avocado oil

Using the Stick Blender

Once the egg and oil are in the jar, lower your stick blender into the container and be sure the base is firmly flat on the bottom of the jar.
Power the stick blender on to low, leaving it flat on the bottom of the jar. After just a few seconds, you will notice the emulsification beginning and delicious mayonnaise starting to creep up the sides of your jar from the bottom. (There will still be lots of oil above it.)
Slowly, lift the stick blender upward, maybe a quarter of an inch at a time.
As you notice that layer being emulsified, raise it, again.
Continue that way until all the oil has been completely absorbed and all you have left in the jar is thick, creamy mayonnaise. The whole process should take less than two minutes.
At this point, add the lemon juice and stone ground mustard. Thoroughly mix them into your mayo. (Just two or three seconds with the blender.)

Place a lid on your jar and leave it at room temperature for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, stir in the salt and any other seasonings you want. (Think herbs or sriracha, roasted garlic or jalapeno lime. There are tons of possibilities. I usually use some of it to make a batch of my Avocado Ranch Salad Dressing.)

Your Easy Homemade Mayonnaise is ready to eat and enjoy. Store it in the refrigerator from this point on. It will thicken as it gets cold.

Enjoy, my friend! A whole new world of Homemade Mayonnaise deliciousness awaits!

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