We Americans like our mayonnaise.
A lot.
The U.S. consumes some $2 billion worth of mayonnaise each year, and the average person uses a lot – not a little, says registered dietitian Keri Gans, author of “The Small Change Diet” and blogger. Health-wise, that can be problematic for a number of reasons. Now research firm Euromonitor says it’s surpassed ketchup as the No. 1 most-used condiment.
Am I being critical of mayo? Maybe.
The White Stuff
The white stuff is loaded with hydrogenated fat, calories and table salt. One tablespoon provides roughly 94 calories; 10 grams of hydrogenated fat with NO protein, fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, or calcium.
A few mayos are healthier than others, made with simple ingredients, but most are a combination of bad processed oils, cheap fillers, and preservatives to keep forever on the shelf.
Years ago when our children were young, my eyes were opened after reading mayonnaise ingredient labels. I decided we’d have to go without or do homemade mayonnaise until I found one I could feel good about feeding my family.
We had a slew of food allergies to work around, so it was a clear decision, plus my daughter loved making it for me. Win! Win!
The worst are the “light” mayos. These substitute fats that may be hydrogenated or GMO-based with chemicals, sugars, and fillers. Check out the nasty ingredient list of Hellman’s Light Mayonnaise (from website):
INGREDIENTS: WATER, SOYBEAN OIL (GMO), VINEGAR (from GMO corn), MODIFIED CORN STARCH, WHOLE EGGS AND EGG YOLKS, SUGAR, SALT, XANTHAN GUM, LEMON AND LIME PEEL FIBERS (THICKENERS), (SORBIC ACID, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA) USED TO PROTECT QUALITY, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, PHOSPHORIC ACID, DL ALPHA TOCOPHERYL ACETATE (VITAMIN E), ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVORS, BETA CAROTENE.
Yuck!! And watch out if you have a child with a hidden corn allergy!
This is how we make our own!
Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe
Enzyme-Rich, Nutrient-Dense Mayonnaise
This colorful homemade mayonnaise recipe whips up in 5 minutes and tastes absolutely amazing. It is based on the Nourishing Traditions cookbook recipe, and it is loaded with valuable enzymes due to the raw nature of the food. It will last two full weeks in the refrigerator.
It is loaded with true, bio-available Vitamin A and choline (brain-food) from the yolks.
This is the way all mayo used to be made before commercialization and food processing:
Ingredients
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic or dry garlic powder
- (almost)1 tablespoon lemon juice also room temperature
- 1 teaspoon prepared yellow or Dijon-type mustard (optional)
- 3/4 cup virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil (a lighter taste and also delish!) or expeller-pressed sunflower oil (measure carefully or it will be thinner mayo)
- sea salt to taste (1/2 tsp. is usual)
Notes:
- I often double the recipe, because we love it so much, and make egg, tuna or big potato salad.
- extra virgin olive oil may be too strong for some. A light olive oil gives a closer version of your store bought brand. Avocado oil gets closer for me!
- In place of lemon juice, we may add our favorite pickle juice from Trader Joe’s bread and butter pickles!
- sometimes I add honey (I use our own raw honey from our hives) for a honey mustard version!
Directions
1.) Combine the egg, the yolk, garlic, lemon juice, and mustard in a blender or food processor (or use a stick blender). Blend together.
2.) Add your oil. Blend on LOW speed while pouring the oil into the blender in a fine stream as the mixture emulsifies and thickens. The trick is to pour it in slowly while blending ~ not all at once.
3.) Add to chicken, tuna, and potato salad, pasta salads, and anytime mayo is called for on sandwiches. It adds that fabulous mayo taste compliment and moisture!
Note: If you add 2 tsp. whey, you can extend the life of the mayo in the refrigerator to 1 month or more and increase the nutrition and enzymatic activity even more. The whey acts as a natural preservative loaded with probiotics. I get it from the liquid in my plain yogurt. Or here’s how to make your own whey.
I LOVE this quote:
“We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are.” ~Adelle Davis
My Picks for Healthier Store-Bought Mayonnaise Brands
When I can’t make my own mayo, here are some brands I’ve given a thumbs-up.
Look for these brands in the ‘Healthy’ section of your supermarket or Whole-Foods type grocery. Most of these products are expensive to buy from Amazon, but I linked to them so you can see the ingredients.
PS Try to use an organic brand so you avoid the GMOs, and it should state the oil is ‘expeller-pressed’ if you want to avoid the highly processed oils.
You can find these on many store shelves (Whole Foods, Earth Fare, Trader Joe’s, most health food stores, etc.) as well as on Amazon.
- Primal Kitchen Paleo Approved Avocado Oil Mayo – *this product is my top pick for clean eating*
- Trader Joe’s Organic Mayo
- Woodstock Farms Organic Mayo
- Spectrum Naturals, Organic Mayo with Olive Oil
- Biona Organic Olive Oil Mayo
Make your own 8-minute Ketchup, too.
Lauren
Thank you so much for posting this!!! I’ve been wanting to try making it, but hadn’t quite worked up the courage until now. I will definitely be making a batch in the near future. 🙂
Jacqueline
Lauren, I’m surprised you haven’t made mayo yet…let me know if your family likes is as much as ours does. Please give my special greetings to your Mom. *hugs*
Christina
Yay! Thank you! I made my own but the only oil I had on hand was Canola (I know, I know, yuck) and it tastes like PLASTIC. I am stopping in at Trader Joes on Wednesday while we’re in Cleveland to get some decently priced Olive Oil 🙂
Jacqueline
Christina,
I can just see you saying that (‘Yuck!’) Lol.. I think you will love it. You are such a good wife and mom to Matt and Karsten and so enthusiastic…it’s contagious! They will rise up and call you ‘blessed’!
Jennifer
Hubby LOVES mayo! Chicken salad is his all time favorite 🙂 Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Marydon
Jacqueline, I am sorry to learn of your aunt moving in to her new home … Heaven. May she rest in peace.
Have not tried to make mayo … but no sense trying now as hubby can’t have it. Looks yums tho.
Have a beautiful day ~
TTFN ~
Marydon
Desiree
Hello, I’m brand new to your blog and rather a lot newer on the road to whole foods. I’ve considered making mayo many times – but I am always scared off by the raw eggs. I am unable at this time to raise my own eggs, so mine are supermarket eggs. Tell me about how you view food safety with the raw eggs? Thanks and be blessed –
~Desiree
Sarah beth
Thank you so much for posting this recipe, I use mayo alot for my buttermilk ranch recipe and I have been wanting to make mayo, homemade. this sounds really yummy..easy too. I have everything but the lemon otherwise I would make it tmrw!
thanks again! :}
Sarah beth
Brandy
Great post!! This is truly one of the easiest mayo recipes I have ever seen! I will be trying this this week! Blessings to you and your family!
Brandy
http://www.livingwaterhealthandwellness.com
Jacqueline
Thank you, Brandy! Hope you’re getting to enjoy this wonderful weather! I’m not sure where you are, but it is close to 60 degrees when it’s usually around 10 or 20!
Barb S.
Ooo! The next time I make my favorite chicken salad, I’m going to make this! Thanks for sharing.
Susie Shock
Yes! I can’t wait to try this! Simple ingredients and quick preparation time. That’s my kind of recipe! Plus, using raw eggs is wonderfully nutritious! Thanks for linking up to my first ever link up party! You are a blessing, Jacque!
Sara Shay @ YourThrivingFamily
I made my first mayo a couple weeks ago, made the mistake of using a little sesame oil. We aren’t big mustard people, but will definitely try this one – always looking for new condiment recipes 🙂
[email protected]
Thanks so much for sharing, Jacqueline! Homemade mayo is on my list to try making–but I will be honest–I still have an aversion to raw eggs (I think it’s how I was raised). Do you just make sure the eggs come from a really good source? Thanks for sharing w/ Healthy 2Day Wednesday! Hope to see you back next week!
Jacqueline
I understand, Erin. No problem here 🙂 One thing you can also do is to buy pasteurized eggs. Most supermarkets carry a line or two that are pasteurized and yet are still fresh eggs. The outside ( and supposedly the inside) of the egg are considered clean. But like milk, once it is pasteurized, it is truly no longer raw and the ingredients are altered. Blessings!
Molly
I have not made home-made mayo in years. I remember it being a bit of pain to do but well worth it in the end as it tastes amazing, especially when compared to the stuff we buy in the shops.
Mollyxxx
Kala
I love mayo and have never had it homemade. I want to try this!
Lisa
I can’t wait to make this…..about how long will this last w/out adding the whey?
Jacqueline
Lisa, the whey will take about an hour to start dripping out of the coffee filter. It is the reason yogurt is such a great pro-biotic. We never throw away the whey! I hope this helps.
Superfood Sisters
Thank you so much for this!! Can’t wait to try! And it doesn’t look very difficult 🙂
Carolyn
i hope you keep posting those wonderful articles… thanks a lot, new friend 🙂
Rebecca
What a grand idea to make it in the blender! I just hope my vitamix does not over mix it. Thank you again for a frugal homemade recipe!
We just ran out of mayo as well and I wanted to make homemade instead.
In Christ,
Rebecca
Jacqueline
Hi, Rebecca,
How did the Vitamix do with it? that is what we use 🙂 I’d love to know how it turned out! Blessings,
Jacqueline
Pat
I keep my Osterizer just for mayo since the bottom comes off to get all of it out. Last time, I forgot and used the Vitamix; same mayo, but harder to get it all.
Jacqueline
Yes, I agree, Pat! Then I can use the silicone scraper to get it all 😀
Elizabeth
I use a lot of Grape seed oil, would it work with this… Have wanted to try to make my own mayo, but have been scared, I just found your wonderful site.
Jacqueline
Hi, Elizabeth,
I like grapeseed oil, but have not tried it in the mayo recipe. It would be fine to try it half and half with olive oil. Experiment and see if you like it. Wikipedia mentions using it in mayonnaise, and its profile is a healthy one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grape_seed_oil
Blessings!
Jacqueline
Ceseme
Olive oil has a certain taste that doesn’t lend itself well to certain things…like fudge brownies…and I don’t like the flavor it imparts to homemade mayo, either, so I kept searching to find something more neutral. I learned that I didn’t like the safflower oil, either. Some people use peanut oil, which you can find at Albertson’s. What I found that I like best is rice bran oil that I bought online. Nutritionally, it is even better than olive oil.
I was a big fan of Miracle Whip salad dressing before I began to be aware of things, so I use a recipe I found on line for that. I thought the recipe used too much AC vinegar so I cut down the amount and the second batch turned out great. I even put some jars in a water bath canner to see how well it would preserve, and it turned out fine! That would solve any egg concerns people might have and be a great addition to your food storage.
Rhonda Devine
Just did this finally–been wanting to for a long time–I love it and I’m not going back to store mayo ever!
Kimberly Ozment
Hello!
My daughter is allergic to eggs and I have been looking for a good mayo/salad dressing without eggs. Any ideas?
Thanks, Kim
Jacqueline
Hi, Kimberly 🙂
I can’t say that I do, but you might try googling eggless mayonnaise. also, I think Trader Joe’s has an eggless mayo, but some of the ingredients need to be researched (soy protein isolate?) I wish I could help more :-/ I am praying you find a healthy substitute. J
Gail
I know this is an old post, but I saw it on your sidebar when linking to Encouraging Home blog hop, and I’ve been looking for a good mayo recipe. Recently I’ve been buying a very expensive brand at Whole foods, one of the few that doesn’t contain canola or soybean oil.
thanks for these clear directions. I’m going to pin this and when we get back to the states and I have my blender, I’ll be making it. Thanks!
Bless you,
Gail
Jacqueline
What brand do you buy, Gail? We usually make our own, but have defaulted to Trader Joe’s organic mayo (with canola) when we cannot. Thanks and may God keep you safe during this trip!!
Sarah
Hooray! I was just saying the other day I’d love to make home made mayo but hate that it doesn’t keep long enough to use it up, since we don’t use it very often. Whey is the answer to my woes- and I’m about to start making home made yogurt, so what perfect timing! *happy dance*
lisa
Thank you..
I have made this b4 with a good quality olive oil…
will try coconut oil next time..
Virginia
I buy safflower mayonnaise and it is very expensive so this is a recipe I am certainly going to try. How do you feel about using Safflower oil to make the mayonnaise?
God’s Blessings be with you.
Virginia Dobler
Jacqueline
Virginia,
So sorry it took me a while to answer 🙂 I think it is fine, but it is most likely heat processed. Olive oil has a better fat profile and very, very good for the body. In general, I agree with the nutritional info in this link: http://authoritynutrition.com/6-reasons-why-vegetable-oils-are-toxic/
Is wanting to use safflower over olive oil a taste issue?
Cat King
I love your recipes. I wanted to inform someone that may not be aware of this fact as some people keep grabbing the same bottle thinking it’s the same product they’ve always used. Crisco, years ago, used to be only listed as Crisco corn oil & they still have this product, but there is also a Crisco oil that is soy oil & it doesn’t specify that information on the FRONT of the label.
Jacqueline
Oh, thank you for bringing that out, Cat King! I did not know, either <3 I appreciate you!
Pat
I have made my own mayo for most of my nearly 55 years of marriage. In the past few years I’ve become more aware of the bad oils and have tried more nutritious oils, with less than stellar results. Coconut oil makes the mayo very hard, just as the oil is when put in the fridge. Olive oil and avocado oil doesn’t taste good. So, I’ve fallen back to canola oil for now since we really don’t use much anyway. Have never thought of bringing the eggs to room temp, so will try that. At least we don’t have all the chemicals found in commercial brands!
Jacqueline
Yes, Pat, and It is good to experiment. When I use coconut oil, I leave it out on the counter by the stove to get softer, but we are working on upping our coconut oil intake, so that is what we do it!
Janet
We love homemade Mayo! My recipe is very similar to the one above. I put all my ingredients in a mason jar and blend it with my immersion blender. If anyone is in the room I always ask if they want to watch the magic as it blends!
Jacqueline
Janet, it is a bit like magic 😀