Homemade Mayonnaise | The Modern Proper (2024)

July 14, 2022

Say hello to our five-minute homemade mayonnaise recipe! Creamy, tangy, and incredibly versatile, this simple recipe will quickly become a staple.

Photography by Gayle McLeod

Our Easy Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe is Your New Favorite Kitchen Hack

From cole slaw and sandwiches to ranch dressing and potato salad, mayonnaise is the secret ingredient in so many classic recipes. This might be a hot take, but we think it’s the hardest working condiment! It’s the kind of thing that you should always have a jar of in your fridge, to give whatever you're making that little something extra. Store-bought mayonnaise is great, but nothing beats homemade mayonnaise. And here’s the good news- it’s insanely easy to make! Seriously, in the time it takes to unload the dishwasher, you can have a jar of creamy, fresh mayonnaise you can proudly tell friends and family that you made yourself. Homemade mayonnaise also has the added benefit of being free of the preservatives and unwanted extra ingredients you might find in a jar of store-bought. Ours has just six ingredients, and you probably already have all of them!

What You’ll Need to Make our Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe

We’ve got some great news. You may not even need to go to the grocery store for this recipe! Check your pantry and fridge because these items may already be hanging out in your kitchen. Once you find them, throw them together to make our quick and easy mayonnaise recipe!

• Large egg

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• Garlic clove

• Dijon mustard

• Sea salt

• Lemon

• Light oil

How Long Does Homemade Mayonnaise Last?

Homemade mayonnaise has a shelf life of about two weeks, because it doesn’t contain any preservatives. That’s a long shelf life, and you’ll probably go through all of it before then! It’s just that fresh and delicious. If you’re not sure whether your mayonnaise is still usable, you can easily check by using your senses. If the color has darkened, it smells sour, or it tastes strange, it’s time to say goodbye. Here’s a surprising hack to make your mayonnaise last longer- stir in some yogurt whey! Whey is the liquid that is strained out of regular yogurt in order to make creamier Greek yogurt. You can make your own at home by straining it out of store-bought yogurt using a cheesecloth. The enzymes in the whey help to keep bacteria at bay, and can help your mayonnaise last up to thirty days!

The Million Dollar Question: What Oil Should You Use for Your Mayonnaise?

Not all oils are meant for mayonnaise. It’s best to use a light oil, like grapeseed. Olive oil is okay to use too, but try to find an extra light tasting one. The mayonnaise is the main character here, we don’t want a strong-tasting oil stealing the spotlight. A strong oil may also cause the mayonnaise to separate, which we definitely don’t want.

How to Make Our Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe

This section is a short one- we told you it was easy to make your own mayonnaise! Our homemade mayonnaise recipe has a few extra ingredients that give it more flavor than what you can get off the grocery store shelf. That extra oomph will make all the difference in whatever you’re adding it to. Let’s get to it! Here’s how to make mayonnaise from scratch:

1. Add all of the ingredients to the wide-mouthed jar, pouring the oil in last. Oil and water don’t mix, and since the egg you’re adding is mostly water, you want to avoid accidentally curdling the ingredients.

2. While the immersion blender is off, put the blade into the jar until it touches the bottom. Be sure to hold it straight, like a pole. Holding it there, turn the blender on low for about thirty seconds until the ingredients combine. This is the fun part!

3. When it starts to thicken and look like mayonnaise, move the blender up and down until all of the oil is mixed in. Then get your butter knife out and spread it on your sandwich!

Tools You’ll Need

• Immersion blender: You may have seen one of these bad boys on cooking shows, but they’re actually a great at-home tool for anyone who likes to cook (AKA us!). There are a lot of affordable ones out there and they really come in handy.

• Microplane: You’ll need this for grating the garlic and zesting the lemon!

• Wide-mouthed jar: You’ll need this to be wide enough for the immersion blender’s blade to fit through. You can also use a bowl, but a jar like this means less splashy mess, and you won’t have to transfer your mayonnaise from the bowl into a storage container when you’re done. Just remove the immersion blender and pop the jar into the fridge!

What To Make With Your Homemade Mayonnaise

Even though our homemade mayonnaise is good enough to eat with a spoon, we recommend eating it with these recipes instead. Mayonnaise can do so much (such an overachiever) so we’ve included a little bit of everything!

• The Best Egg Salad Sandwich

• Heirloom BLT with Pesto

• Chicken Salad Recipe

• Chipotle Mayonnaise

• How To Grill Corn On The Cob

• Classic Cole Slaw

We’re Ready for a Zesty Summer

Our homemade mayonnaise is the ideal partner for so many summer dishes. Put it to work and show us what you come up with at @themodernproper and tag us at #themodernproper ! Now get out there and start cooking!