Due to commercialized preparation, mayonnaise is often touted as unhealthy. But I’ll show you how to choose better ingredients to make a healthy mayonnaise. Plus, learn how one simple ingredient sets this recipe apart from the rest.
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Quick Look at This Recipe
- ✅ Recipe Name: Healthy Mayonnaise
- ✅ Ready In: ~5 minutes
- ✅ Yield: 32 Servings
- ✅ Calories: 80
- ✅ Tools: Immersion blender and a glass jar w/lid
- ✅ Freezer Friendly: No, freezing will cause your mayo to separate.
- ✅ Why You'll Love It: This delicious and healthy mayonnaise will last in your fridge for up to a month! Much longer than other homemade mayo recipes.
- ✅ Tip: Use an immersion blender to mix this recipe directly in the Mason jar you will use as a storage container.
What Makes This Recipe Unique?
If you’ve made homemade mayonnaise in the past, then you know it’s worth the effort. There are plenty of recipes out there claiming to be the best, but here’s why this one really is the best:
- Healthy - By adding just one simple ingredient and allowing the mayonnaise to ferment, you actually increase the nutrition, making a healthy mayonnaise beyond other from-scratch recipes.
- Extended Shelf Life - Traditional homemade mayonnaise only lasts about four or five days. However, this recipe lasts up to a month!
- Time Saver - Due to the longer shelf life, I can make a bigger batch and do the work once. The same is true with making homemade mustard, lacto-fermented ketchup and this easy BBQ sauce recipe. Make sure to have fermented asparagus relish or homemade pickles on hand to complete the condiment trio!
- Easy Cleanup - The beauty of using an immersion blender for this recipe is that I can make the mayonnaise directly in the jar I’ll be storing it in. For this recipe, a quart-sized wide-mouth canning jar works best.
⭐ Featured Reader Review
@amyhepfner9589 says, "My husband loves this mayo, and it doesn't upset his stomach. Thank you, Carolyn...I make this all the time now."
Ingredients Needed
A full ingredients list, including measurements, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Egg - You will be consuming the eggs raw, so be sure they’re fresh and from a trusted source. You can also use two egg yolks instead of a whole egg, but I don’t like to waste parts of my eggs, so I use a whole egg.
- Oil - We generally only have a couple of kinds of oil in our house, so for our homemade mayonnaise, we use grapeseed oil. We buy from Azure Standard, or you can learn about pressing your own oil here. Homesteading Hack: If you’re a first-time Azure Standard customer, use coupon code “HOMESTEADINGFAMILY15” at checkout for 15% off your order of $100 or more!
- Fresh Lemon Juice - I recommend using fresh lemon juice over a store-bought bottled variety. The flavor never seems quite right when I use the bottle, but either will work for this recipe if you don’t have a fresh lemon on hand.
- Probiotic Liquid - This is the magic ingredient that transforms the mayonnaise into a lacto-fermented condiment that will last in your refrigerator for months. This can be the whey that’s drained off plain yogurt, kombucha, sauerkraut brine, or any other ferment you might have going in your house.
Recipe Variations
- Oil - You can use olive oil, but it adds a stronger flavor to the mayonnaise. If you’re looking for a milder flavor, I recommend using grapeseed oil or substituting avocado oil.
- Fresh or Dried Herbs - During the summer months, I love adding fresh herbs from my cottage garden. Herbs make the flavor of your mayo more upscale and are a delicious addition to cucumber tea sandwiches (or as a dip for artichokes!). If you dry herbs for the winter months, you can use those, too.
- Mustard – Any mustard you have on hand will work well for this recipe. I prefer my homemade mustard (and I’m very liberal with my teaspoon, so adjust according to your taste preferences), but yellow, Dijon or any other kind works great, too.
Recipe Instructions
Step 1: Add all ingredients into the Mason jar and allow the oil to separate to the surface for just a few seconds.
Step 2: Place the immersion blender all the way to the bottom of the jar, keeping it perpendicular to the bottom of the jar, and allow it to blend until the color turns an opaque white.
Step 3: Once the bottom is white, you can slowly lift the immersion blender up and down a few times until the rest of the oil is incorporated and emulsified.
Step 4: Taste the mayo and adjust seasonings as desired.
Step 5: Cover the jar and leave it out on the counter at room temperature for 6-10 hours to ferment. Transfer to the refrigerator and use as you would regular mayonnaise.
FAQs
Due to its commercialized preparation, mayonnaise is often touted as unhealthy. But you can make healthy mayonnaise by selecting quality oils and eliminating unnecessary sugar and artificial ingredients. My recipe has a bonus secret ingredient that levels up healthy mayonnaise and even makes it last longer in the fridge!
Many store-bought mayos offer healthier versions than conventional counterparts, but regardless of the ingredients, they still undergo a manufacturing process that degrades the quality. The best choice is to make fresh mayonnaise using quality ingredients like cold-pressed oils.
Healthy mayonnaise is calorie-dense, so if you are looking for a lower-calorie whole food alternative, hummus often works as a creamy substitute on sandwiches. Greek yogurt works well to replace mayo in salad dressing recipes, and homemade mustard can help replace the tang in the absence of mayo.
Did you try this healthy mayonnaise recipe? If so, please leave a star ⭐ rating and your comments in the recipe card below. Then snap a photo and tag us on social media @homesteadingfamily so we can see!
Homemade Healthy Mayonnaise
Equipment
- Immersion Blender blender or food processor
- Glass Jar w/Lid
Ingredients
- 1 large egg farm fresh, if possible
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice fresh, if possible
- 1 clove garlic optional
- 1 teaspoon fresh herbs optional
- 2 Tablespoons brine from a ferment kombucha, sauerkraut, whey, etc.
- 1 ¼ cups oil avocado, grapeseed, or olive oil
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into the mason jar and allow the oil to separate to the surface for just a few seconds.
- Place the immersion blender all the way to the bottom of the jar, keeping it perpendicular to the bottom of the jar, and allow it to blend until the color turns an opaque white.
- Once the bottom is white you can slowly lift the immersion blender up and down a few times until the rest of the oil is incorporated and emulsified.
- Taste the mayo and adjust seasonings as desired.
- Cover the jar and leave it out on the counter at room temperature for 6-10 hours to ferment.
- Transfer to the refrigerator and use as you would regular mayonnaise.
Notes
- Any mustard works well for this recipe, we prefer stone-ground.
- Feel free to adjust and play with the seasonings. I like the garlic and oregano combination, but fresh basil, rosemary, or even cilantro would work well, too.
- For a lighter flavor use oils such as avocado oil or grapeseed oil. Occasionally I'll use a good quality olive oil, but you can definitely taste the oil in the mayo, so if this isn't a flavor you enjoy, choose one of the other oils.
- Store mayo in the refrigerator, covered, as long as it tastes great! Ours doesn't tend to last two months in our house, but if you've allowed it to ferment, it should last that long in the refrigerator.
- If there are any off smells or you see signs of mold, toss it out and start a fresh batch.
