Homemade mayonnaise is so much better than store-bought mayo. Seriously.
Every time I make it, my family literally devours it and I basically become the mayo-police trying to make that jar of yummy, creamy mayo last more than a day!
We love drowning our salads, baked potatoes, sandwiches, tacos and much more with this creamy & nourishing condiment. All that yummy fat really makes everything taste so much better and did you know that mayo contains a superfood known to be a complete meal full of excellent protein, fats, vitamins & omega-3s?
You will find that homemade mayonnaise is pretty versatile in the many ways you can use it and within the recipe itself. You can change up the ingredients to suit your tastes. For example, I love adding in garlic and most will tell me that my version is really called aioli, but who says you can’t have fresh garlic in your mayonnaise and simply call it mayo?!
You can add in fresh herbs and spices. You can also play around with the fat to change up the flavors. I really like using a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and grapseed oil, but you can use regular olive oil (has a milder, buttery flavor), sesame oil, macadamia nut oil, coconut oil or any other other buttery flavored oil to that suits you.
Homemade mayo is so simple to whip up using only a handful of wholesome ingredients. Plus, you add in whey and lacto-ferment it to make it even more nourishing… is that possible? To make something nourishing even more nourishing?! Oh yeah!
Now, don’t waste any time and go make yourself some delicious homemade mayonnaise!


- 2 whole eggs, room temperature
- 2 egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
- 2-4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 Tbsp whey, optional (how to make whey)
- 1 cup olive oil (regular or extra virgin)
- 1 cup grapeseed oil, refined coconut oil or more olive oil
- Put the eggs, egg yolks, juice, garlic, sea salt and optional whey in your food processor, blender or small/medium measuring cup (to use a hand immersion blender).
- For the food processor: blend the all the ingredients (minus oils) together for several seconds. Use the attachment at the top that allows you to drizzle in liquids. Add in the oils of your choice while the processor is running.
- For the blender: blend the all the ingredients (minus oils) together for several seconds. SLOWLY drizzle in the oils of your choice while the blender is going.
- For the hand immersion blender: Put in ALL the ingredients (including oils) into the cup and mix. Start at the bottom. Once you have a thick, creamy layer... slowly lift your immersion blender up, so it begins to emulsify everything towards the top. Don't over mix it.
- You now have delicious mayo when the mixture becomes fluffy, creamy and unified.
- Scoop the creamy mayo into a jar and store in the fridge. It will keep for about a week or so.
- If you added the whey, let the jar sit out in room temperature (covered) for up to 7 hours or overnight to ferment. Then store it in the fridge for up to several months, but we always eat ours up before the week is over!

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“For example, I love adding in garlic and most will tell me that my version is really called aioli, but who says you can’t have fresh garlic in your mayonnaise and simply call it mayo?!”
It’s funny you say that because this past weekend I made mayo, then took some and made basil-garlic-lemon mayo. A woman who came for lunch after church corrected me and said it was aoli (I was serving it with burgers at the meal). I said I’d rather call it mayo since it was completely from scratch LOL.
Alicia,
Funny! Basil-garlic-lemon mayo… WOW! That sounds delicious. Must try that. I have a ton of basil growing right now.
I made this but instead of whey I used lacto-fermented limes that I had fermented with pink Himalayan salt. Do you think I would be able to leave it out for the 7 hours to ferment?
Thanks
Heather
Heather,
The whey simply acts as a boost of healthy bacteria for the fermentation process, so I wouldn’t see why you couldn’t use the lacto-fermented liquid from your limes!
Hello Heather,
I agree with Kimi… you shouldn’t have any problems using the liquid from your lacto-fermented limes. I’m sure the taste will be interesting!
I’ll have to try this! I haven’t made my own mayonnaise yet.
Thanks!
-Erin
We can’t do dairy or citrus. I use either Bubbies Pickle juice or homemade sauerkraut juice in place of the lemon/lime/ whey, depending on what I have on hand. I use a mayo base to make a dairy free ranch dressing.
Great tip Seana, thanks!
This is the first time I’ve been remotely enticed to make my own mayo. Next time we grill, it’s on!
This recipe looks awesome (as usual from your site)! Seanna, what a great idea using Bubbies juice! We are also dairy free and have often bemoaned not having access to whey. 🙂
Thanks Amelia!
What a delicious recipe, Marillyn. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. I can’t wait to give it a try. Lots of blessings, Kelly
Thank you Kelly!!
I don’t know how I missed this one? I don’t eat mayonnaise, but once in a while we use it; Cole slaw on our burgers burgers, or my husband likes it with tuna.
Thank you for sharing!
I’ve never made my own mayo before but I will have to try this recipe. Does adding the whey change the flavour of the mayo? i.e. does it taste fermented or have a ‘tang’ to it? Thanks
Hello Fiona,
Adding they whey does not affect the flavor of the mayo. I have made mayo with and without whey and the flavor is the same. Hope you will enjoy it!
How long does homemade mayo last? I’ve seen everyone from a couple of days- a week- forever!
Thanks!
Lisa,
In the recipe above, it says “7) If you added the whey, let the jar sit out in room temperature (covered) for up to 7 hours or overnight to ferment. Then store it in the fridge for up to several months, but we always eat ours up before the week is over!”
If you don’t put whey in, the mayo will last about a week or so.
Enjoy!!
Your recipe sounds glorious! I will try it soon.
For those who can’t use whey, another possibility might be Rejuvelac…
I make “Ryejuvelac” as seen at http://sproutpeople.org/recipes/drinks/rejuvelac.html
Its as simple as sprouting the 2 cups of rye by usual method, rinsing until water is clear, cover with 6 cups of water cover jar with napkin set some place low light… I use a shelf
in my cabinet… two days to ferment, strain liquid and drink some, chill the rest… then you can use it for mayo, for a refreshing, fortifying beverage that replenishes and supports healthy organisms in of your digestive tract. Even though all the websites say to pitch the sprouts after refilling and another ferment for a second (or possibly third) smaller batch of rejuvelac water, ***I*** have been rinsing, rinsing, rinsing the spent sprouts and using them as bran/additional fiber in my rye spice cake, rye biscuits, and multigrain sourdough bread. My hubby and I love how the moist, plump little sprouted rye kernels kind of pop in your mouth as you chew your bread.
(I love to drink the Rejuvelac over ice, use it in iced tea, and even use it for slow culturing skim milk on top of refrigerator for cottage cheese–3 days, drain off whey, rinse curd multiple times until water runs clear and then a few more times 😉 to be sure it will be nice sweet-tasting (not acidic). The delicate curd breaks up while rinsing, even into tiny particles, but they re-clump as it sits draining (cover w/napkin) for a few hours through a coffee filter in a funnel…Dump curd into dish and using fork on side, or table knife, cut/divide/break delicate curd into the size curds you wish for your cottage cheese… sprinkle on a tiny bit of salt, a little fresh milk, carefully fold/lightly stir to evenly distribute, chill, enjoy.)
TMI ? Sorry… the Meg-aphone here… Blessings! 🙂
Hello Meg!
I don’t think it is TMI! Thanks for sharing all that… sounds delicious. I should try making some Rejuvelac myself.
I knew that mayo was not entirely bad for you but I didn’t know how healthy it could really be. Buying it in the store probably adds in a lot of things but when you make it at home you could actually be helping your family. That’s definitely a reason to try making this for myself. I like that, for the most part, the ingredients are all things that I already keep in my house on a normal basis and that the steps to make this are actually quite easy. You have a great philosophy for your family to be healthy also 🙂 Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Enjoy your super healthy homemade mayo 🙂
I tried this recipe with half coconut oil/half evoo, since I had a bunch of both in the pantry, but the coconut flavor was SO overpowering that I couldn’t take it. I use coconut oil when cooking, but the cooking process reduces the flavor a lot. Unfortunately with mayo it is really powerful.
So I tried again with canola oil… I know, not clean… but I wanted to give this recipe a try. With canola oil it was pretty good and really good in egg salad and chicken salad.
Has anyone experimented with other oils? I don’t want to spend $8 on a specific oil to try just to find out I can’t take the flavor influence.
I’m from the south, so that’s part of the problem, haha… I NEED mayo in my house so I want to find the best option. If canola is it, that’s fine because it’s better than store-bought stuff that’s full of soy and lots of “fluffy” chemicals. But I’ll do better if I can.
Hello Stephanie,
I agree with you that regular coconut oil is pretty overpowering which is why I only recommend refined coconut oil in my recipe above instead of regular coconut oil.
If the ‘specific oil’ that you are talking about is grapeseed oil. I promise you that there is no flavor and much better then canola oil. Regular canola oil is not much better than buying the store-bought mayo because it has been heavily processed and deodorized before going on the shelf… making it a very bad oil that can clog your arteries. There are “cold-pressed” canola oils, but they are expensive and still not a good oil to use because it goes rancid very quickly unless it has been in cold storage.
Again, I recommend using grapeseed oil or refined coconut oil. I have tried a lot of different oils and these two paired up with olive oil is are the best options in terms of taste. This is the grapeseed oil I have used with good results (plus some other brands): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0089SW2EM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0089SW2EM&linkCode=as2&tag=jusmaknoi-20
Hope this helps!
Hi,
Can you tell me how long this lasts without storing it in a refrigerator and in refrigerator.
Thanks!! Btw..awesome and simple recipe.
Hello Neeha,
In the recipe above, it says that the mayo can last to up to several months in the fridge. As far as leaving it outside the fridge… I do not know how long it stays good as I have never tried that before. I’ve only left it out overnight to ferment before putting it in the fridge.
If you are wondering for traveling purposes… you can keep it cool with ice in a cooler and should be fine for a few days.
Thanks and have a good week!
Can you use whey from store bought yogurt?
Hello Gabrielle!
I have heard mixed responses to that question. Some will say yes and others will say no. I personally don’t think whey from store-bought yogurt will work well because the milk has been pastuerized, but I could also be wrong! Maybe someone will share from personal experience or you can give it a try with a small batch (half the recipe above).
I would like to add whey to my homemade mayo to extend it’s shelf life. During this summer my kitchen has been about 95 degrees. Would it be safe to leave the mayo, unrefrigerated for 7 hours at that temp?
Hello Rosemary,
Wow, that’s one hot kitchen! Honestly, I would only leave it out for an hour and then put it in the fridge. The whey will still be able to continue it’s work in the fridge and extend the shelf-life of your mayo 🙂
My first successful mayonnaise attempt (after several failures)! Thank you so much. I used an immersion blender.
Do you use more whey for a larger quantity of mayo (like a half gallon).
Made this today for a tuna salad. Tastes great. I actually had to add a little more salt.