• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Foodle Club

  • Recipe Index
  • All Recipes (date order)
  • Convert grams to cups
  • How to guides
  • Collections
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipe Index
  • All Recipes (date order)
  • Convert grams to cups
  • How to guides
  • Collections
  • About
  • Mobile Menu

    • Facebook
  • ×
    • A dark blue serving dish filled with mushroom chicken in mustard sauce. There is a dish of peas in the background.
      Lightly battered chicken with mushroom mustard sauce
    • Overhead shot of a creamy crab and roasted pepper pasta salad. The salad is in a white bowl and is surrounded by dishes of other salads and a platter of cold meat.
      Creamy crab and roasted pepper pasta salad
    • A spoonful of cheesy bacon and onion potato bake being lifted from a serving dish.
      Cheesy bacon and onion potato bake
    • A piece of slow cooker beef short rib on a dinner plate with vegetables. The beef is being pulled apart with a fork. There is a helping of thick gravy over the beef.
      Slow cooker beef short ribs with rich gravy
    • A dish of leftover shepherd's pie topped with potato and sweet potato mash, with a dish of green salad in the foreground.
      Leftover chicken shepherd's pie
    • A glass serving dish filled with fruity Eton mess.
      Fruity Eton mess with microwave meringue
    • A lemon and herb chicken flattie on a serving plate surrounded by dishes of salad.
      Air fryer lemon and herb chicken flattie
    • An easy meat pie in a baking dish with a corner of the pastry removed to show the filling.
      Easy meat pie
    • A boerewors puff pastry spiral on a wooden board surrounded by a selection of salads.
      Boerewors puff pastry spiral
    • A slice of raspberry meringue pie on a blue-patterned plate.
      Raspberry Meringue Pie
    • A black serving dish of Thai prawn and monkfish curry.
      Thai prawn and monkfish curry
    • Lamb ribs on a wooden serving dish.
      Lemon and herb lamb ribs
    Home » Recipes » Sauces, dips and marinade recipes

    How to make mayonnaise

    Published: Jan 31, 2020 · Modified: May 30, 2024 by VJ · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

    Jump to recipe

    Homemade mayonnaise tastes SO much better than shop-bought. And it only takes minutes to make. It's delicious on salads and sandwiches. Read on to see how to make mayonnaise at home, and never run out of mayonnaise again.

    Homemade mayonnaise on a bowl of potato salad.
    Jump to:
    • Homemade mayonnaise
    • Ingredients for mayonnaise
    • How to make basic mayonnaise - step-by-step instructions
    • What to serve with homemade mayonnaise
    • Variations for homemade mayonnaise
    • Save for later
    • Related recipes
    • 📋The recipe

    Homemade mayonnaise

    How often have you gone to take the bottle of mayonnaise out of the fridge, only to find it was almost empty, and you'd forgotten to buy a new bottle? It's happened to me more times than I care to think about.

    Fortunately, this guide on how to make mayonnaise will save the day. You only need 4 ingredients, which whip up in minutes to a thick, tangy, smooth mayonnaise. This mayonnaise is perfect for adding to sandwiches or providing an extra zing to salads.

    Mayonnaise is really just an emulsion of eggs and oil, with the addition of other flavouring ingredients. The secret to making mayonnaise successfully is to beat up the eggs until they become frothy, and then beat in the oil A FEW DROPS AT A TIME. If you add the oil too quickly the mayonnaise will split, but if you add the oil slowly and beat well after each addition, the eggs will gradually emulsify with the oil and thicken. Then, all you have to do is add your preferred flavouring ingredients.

    A bowl of homemade mayonnaise with a spoon.

    Ingredients for mayonnaise

    You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions on how to make your own mayonnaise on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

    To start with, you need to gather all your ingredients. For a basic mayonnaise, you will need the following:

    Ingredients for making mayonnaise.

    Egg yolks - you need raw egg yolks for this. If you are worried about the risk of salmonella food poisoning by using raw eggs, you can buy pasteurised eggs, or you can click this link to see how to pasteurise eggs yourself.

    I personally don't worry about it. Eggs produced in Britain carry the British Lion mark and have been treated under the stringent requirements of the British Lion Code of Practice which ensures the highest standards of food safety. The code covers the entire production chain and ensures strict food safety controls including the guarantee that all hens are vaccinated against Salmonella and a ‘passport’ system ensuring that all hens, eggs and feed are fully traceable.

    Sunflower or other neutral flavoured oil - don't use olive oil, unless you are making aioli - the flavour of olive oil is too strong for normal mayonnaise.

    Dijon mustard - you will need 1 teaspoonful per egg yolk.

    White vinegar - 1 teaspoonful per egg. Don't use brown malted vinegar as the taste of this is wrong for mayonnaise. Use any mild white wine vinegar. I once used sushi rice vinegar when I'd run out of white wine vinegar and it worked well.

    Salt to taste. I also like to add 1 teaspoon of sugar as I think it balances out the acidity of the vinegar, but these are optional.

    How to make basic mayonnaise - step-by-step instructions

    Four images showing steps for making mayonnaise.

    Making basic mayonnaise is simple. The main thing to remember is to add the oil a few drops at a time so the mixture does not separate.

    • Place the egg yolks into a bowl and add the mustard. If you prefer to add the mustard at the end with other flavouring ingredients, this is perfectly fine.
    • Beat the egg yolks with a hand mixer, or if you are feeling energetic, you can use a metal whisk. A food processor or blender would also be suitable if you have one. The egg should change to a pale yellow colour and become frothy. If you've added the mustard up front, the colour change will not be so noticeable.
    • Now add the oil A FEW DROPS AT A TIME, and continue to whisk until the oil has emulsified with the eggs. Repeat this step until you have used up about â…“ of the oil. From this point on you can add the oil a little faster, but keep whisking all the time.
    • Once the oil is all added you will be left with a thick mayonnaise.

    A note on the amount of oil

    The amount of oil you will need depends on the size of your egg yolks. You may not need all the oil. Keep adding the oil and whisking until the desired consistency is reached. The mayonnaise will hold its shape in the bowl once it is thick enough.

    • Mix in half of the vinegar (and mustard if you didn't add it at the beginning) and then taste the mayonnaise. If you need more acidity, mix in the rest of the vinegar.
    • This is where I add the salt and sugar if I think it needs it. It's all down to your personal preference as to whether you add salt and sugar or not.
    • Pour into a clean sterilised jar or container and store in the fridge. It should last for up to a week.

    What to serve with homemade mayonnaise

    Potato salad covered with mayonnaise.

    Now that you've learned how to make basic mayonnaise, you need something to serve it with.

    I like to make a simple potato salad with baby Charlotte potatoes, chopped hard-boiled eggs and very finely chopped onions. Just chop up all your ingredients and ladle the mayonnaise on top.

    You could also chop in a bunch of chives for a touch of colour and extra flavour, and stir the mayonnaise through the potatoes. The choice is yours.

    This potato salad goes very well with sticky oven-baked pork spare ribs or sticky chicken wings. If you are having a barbeque, why not serve a big bowl of this potato salad with chicken skewers with bacon.

    A bowl of this mayonnaise would make a great dip for sesame chicken strips.

    You could even mix the mayonnaise with shredded chicken and spoon into homemade vol-au-vents for a delicious party snack.

    Variations for homemade mayonnaise

    Once you've learned how to make mayonnaise, you can make endless variations of the same recipe. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

    Aioli

    Aioil is a garlic-based mayonnaise-like sauce popular in Spanish cuisine and is delicious spread on crusty bread, or used as a dipping sauce for prawns or calamari.

    Traditional authentic aioli does not contain eggs, the only ingredients being olive oil, salt and garlic, and it is difficult to get the ingredients to thicken. For an easier version of aioli, simply use this basic mayonnaise recipe and swap out the mustard for an equivalent amount of garlic paste (from a tube, or grind fresh garlic to a paste with a little salt) and omit the vinegar.

    Marie Rose Sauce

    This is sometimes called seafood sauce and is normally used as a dressing in a seafood cocktail. To make this, emulsify the eggs and oil as per the basic mayonnaise, and once thick, stir in a few drops of Tabasco sauce and a tablespoon of tomato ketchup or tomato sauce

    Honey Mustard Mayonnaise

    Try serving this over a simple salad made with chopped tomatoes, finely sliced onions and lettuce. Or use it as a dip for chicken or cocktail sausages.

    To make it, mix up a batch of basic mayonnaise, but swap out the vinegar for a teaspoon (or more to taste) of honey. You might also need to increase the amount of mustard slightly for an extra tang.

    If you'd like to be notified of new recipes, why not subscribe to my newsletter? To say thank you, you will receive a free recipe e-book containing some of my most popular cakes and desserts.

    Save for later

    Why not pin this recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily when you want to make your own homemade mayonnaise? Just click the image below.

    Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

    Related recipes

    Visit my sauces, dips and marinade recipes page for other homemade condiments. Here are a few you might enjoy:

    • Overhead shot of a dish of sweet pepper relish.
      Easy sweet pepper relish - no cooking required
    • A jar of easy mango chutney served alongside a platter of meats and pickles.
      Easy mango chutney
    • A bowl of jalapeno chili past with a red chili and cloves of garlic.
      Jalapeno chilli paste - add spice to your meals
    • A jar of mayonnaise behind a spoonful of mayonnaise on a white plate.
      One-minute mayonnaise

    📋The recipe

    Potato salad in a dish, covered with homemade mayonnaise.

    How to make Mayonnaise

    Homemade mayonnaise tastes SO much better than shop-bought. And it only takes minutes to make. It’s delicious on salads and sandwiches. Read on to see how to make mayonnaise at home, and never run out of mayonnaise again.
    Recipe by: Veronica
    Sauces
    British
    Calories 445
    Prep 30 minutes minutes
    Cook 0 minutes minutes
    Total Time 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 1 cup (approxiately)
    Print Pin Comment Bookmark Saved!
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    5 from 1 vote

    (Click the stars to rate this recipe)

    Equipment

    • Mixing bowl
    • Hand mixer or
    • Whisk
    • Mason jars

    Ingredients

    • 2 large egg yolks
    • 1 cup (240ml) sunflower oil
    • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
    • 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
    • ¼ teaspoon salt optional
    • 1 teaspoon sugar optional

    Instructions

    • Place egg yolks and mustard in a mixing bowl
    • Beat with a balloon whisk or eletric hand-mixer until light and fluffy.
    • Add 1 or 2 drops of oil and continue beating until combined.
    • Repeat adding the oil and beating until approximately â…“ of the oil has been combined.
    • You can now slowly increase the amount of oil that you add, beating well after each addition, until all the oil has been incorporated and the mixture is thick and holds its shape in the bowl.
    • Mix in half the vinegar, taste and add the rest of the vinegar if necessary to your own taste.
    • Add the optional salt and sugar to taste (if using).
    • Store in a suitable container in the fridge or up to a week.

    Notes

    Variations
    Aioli - Substitute the sunflower oil for olive oil.  Substitute the vinegar for 1 teaspoon garlic paste.
    Marie Rose Sauce - Substitute the vinegar for a few drops of tabasco sauce, and one tablespoon tomato ketchup.
    Honey Mustard Sauce - Substitute vinegar for 1 teaspoon honey and increase the mustard to taste.
    Nutrition has been calculated per 50g

    Nutrition

    Calories - 445kcal | Carbohydrates - 1.2g | Protein - 1.2g | Fat - 49.2g | Saturated Fat - 5.3g | Cholesterol - 84mg | Sodium - 142mg | Potassium - 12mg | Fiber - 0.1g | Sugar - 0.9g | Calcium - 10mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

    Unless otherwise stated, a cup is the standard US cup containing 240 ml. In all my recipes this cup is assumed to hold 140g of flour. For help converting other ingredients between cups, grams, ounces and other measures, see my recipe conversion calculator.
    All my recipes are developed and tested at sea-level. For tips on adjusting recipes for high altitudes see my post on baking at high altitudes.
    Tried this recipe?If you made this recipe I'd love it if you could leave me a comment and let me know how it went!
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

    If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, I'd love it if you could give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you'd like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab yourself a copy of my FREE COOKBOOK!

    If you'd like to continue browsing, just click on this link to all my recipes.

    More Sauces, dips and marinade recipes

    • 2 oven-roasted duck legs in a baking dish with potatoes and carrots.
      Roast duck legs with red wine sauce
    • A plate of sausages on a bed of sweet potato mash covered in tomato and onion gravy with a side helping of peas.
      Sausage in tomato and onion gravy
    • A jar of tomato jam with a spoonful being scooped out.
      Tomato jam
    • Microwave lemon curd in a glass jar with a spoon.
      Microwave lemon curd (2-minute recipe)
    47 shares
    • Share on Facebook3
    • Tweet

    About VJ

    Before I started my food blog I was an IT Consultant. Now that I've swapped an office for a kitchen I have a lot more time to spend on things that interest me such as trying out new recipes. Most of my cooking is based around quick and easy meals, mostly made from scratch, using everyday pantry ingredients.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

      Did you make this recipe? Let me know! Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Gina Merritt

      December 24, 2024 at 2:46 am

      Hi, VJ - I find your website very intriguing. Tomorrow I'll be making your Crispy roast duck with Cherry Sauce for our Christmas Eve dinner.
      I want to try your homemade mayonnaise but have a question. Your recipe says it should keep up to a week in the refrigerator. When we buy mayo from the store, we keep the jar in the fridge for quite a while, maybe a month or more. I don't think the mayo we buy has any preservatives in it. Why won't the homemade mayonnaise last as long as the store bought? Thanks and Merry Christmas,

      Reply
      • VJ

        December 24, 2024 at 12:29 pm

        Hi Gina, You will probably find the mayonnaise will last a bit longer than a week, but as it's made with raw eggs I decided to err on the side of caution. Don't want to give anyone food poisoning 🙂
        Hope you enjoy the duck!

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    A picture of Veronica in the garden in front of a pink-flowering shrub.

    Hi, I'm Veronica! Welcome to my little kitchen. Step inside and browse my collection of recipes collected over the years.

    More about me →

    Readers favourites

    These are my most viewed recipes:

    • Sliced silverside on a plate with carrots and potatoes.
      Slow-cooker beef silverside
    • Slices of oven-baked gammon on a serving dish.
      Easy oven-baked gammon
    • Overhead shot of a white serving bowl filled with beef and kidney stew. There is a large wooden spoon at the side of the bowl.
      Slow-cooker beef and kidney stew
    • A slice of bacon and egg pie on a plate
      Proper bacon and egg pie
    • A pile of crusty German bread rolls.
      Crusty German bread rolls (Brotchen)
    • A dish of twice-cooked pork belly garnished with sesame seeds and spring onions.
      Twice cooked pork belly - with a sticky glaze

    Footer

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Subscribe

    • Subscribe to my newsletter and get a free recipe ebook.

    Contact

    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2025 www.foodleclub.com

    Copyright © 2025 Foodleclub.com

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.