This picture was taken immediately after making this batch. It actually thickens to a nice fluffy consistency as it cools in the refrigerator!
I have been on the quest to find a nutritious alternative to the store bought versions of mayonnaise that come filled with soybean or canola oil, two genetically modified ingredients that are best to be avoided. Read more about GMO’s here. I have tried a few different homemade varieties and have shared them here in the past, but either they tasted too strongly of olive oil or else they used evaporated milk. Enter…coconut oil!
A combination of olive oil and coconut oil is the perfect balance to providing a high quality and nutritious mayonnaise. (Read more about these healthy oils here.) Can you believe it? Mayonnaise can actually be healthy for you! We love mayo at our house on everything from deviled eggs, sandwiches, hamburgers, etc. This recipe is a good balance of coconut oil and olive oil in flavor. It is quite delicious! The coconut oil adds just a slight sweetness to it and yet not overpowering when balanced with the olive oil. Using all coconut oil resulted in a solid substance that was overly sweet and coconut tasting, but this recipe was prefect for us and stayed nice and fluffy throughout its duration in the fridge. I love making my own condiments as I know what goes in it without any additives or unnatural preservatives! Plus it is the frugal way to stretch your budget.
1 whole egg (fresh, free range eggs from the farm are preferred)
2 egg yolks
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4-1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil (melted if solid)
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Combine the eggs, mustard, lemon juice, salt and white pepper in your blender or food processor. Then with the blender or food processor running on a low speed, start adding your oils very slowly. Start out with drops and then work up to about a 1/16 inch stream. It takes a good 5 minutes to accomplish this, but the end result is worth it! Continue blending until all the oil is incorporated.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups. Please in your refrigerator to thicken. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. You can add 1 Tablespoon of whey to preserve it for about a month and provide those good fermenting nutrients.
Note: If you do not like the flavor of coconut oil, choose an expeller pressed/refined version. This is flavorless and still healthy, although not as beneficial for your body as the cold-pressed, unrefined versions. I love Mountain Rose Herbs coconut oil, and they sell both varieties. Another good alternative is sesame oil, although again not as nutritious as coconut oil.
Recipe is adapted slightly from Tropical Traditions.
P.S. Looks like I am not the only one thinking about and experimenting with homemade mayo lately. Check out Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s healthy recipe here.
Great recipe! I love mayo but most of it on the market are really not good for you. You recipe sounds yum! Looking forward to making it! Thanks a bunch and blessings always!
NICE. this looks and sounds good. I too have wanted a healthier alternative and didn’t care for the strong EVOO taste of most homemade. I can’t wait to try this. Thank you!!
Just an FYI – if you’re not buying expensive olive oil that comes in a dark bottle and says it’s been cold pressed – and looks cloudy – you’re not buying real olive oil You’re buying a blended oil, which uses a little real olive oil, canola and/or hazelnut oil. There was a scandal about this in the 90s as reported in the New Yorker magazine, the article is still online. There is no regulation of olive oil in this country with only a few exceptions (Connecticut is one state which does have regulations), and the practice of mixing the oils and passing it off as 100 olive oil continues today.
Do some web research on “fake olive oil.” Yep, they’ve even gotten to our olive oil, folks, in the name of Greed.
Also, anyone still using canola…well, let’s just say you shouldn’t. Indeed, almost all the oils are rancid that we see on our grocery shelves, including sunflower and safflower – and it also is not healthy to cook with any of these oils. Apparently the only oil that is good now is the organic coconut oil. Whew. Let’s just hope nothing comes out later to destroy our faith in THAT. LOL.
are You saying the olive oil SHOULD look cloudy? or should NOT? thanks, kitty
I made mayo using coconut oil. It tasted really yummy. I put it in the fridge and it is now totally solid. What can I do? Is it wasted now. Any way to salvage it?
I’ve done that before as well, Fara. What I did to salvage it was take it out of the frig so the coconut oil could melt. I normally use coconut oil AND either grapeseed oil or hempseed oil, so I decided to just make a batch with all grapeseed oil and then ended up mixing that with the all coconut oil.
I know this is an older post, but hopefully someone could tell me:
Can I leave out the Dijon all together? I do not like the flavor. Or is there something I could replace it with?
Is black pepper ok? I’ve never really heard of white pepper and I don’t want to buy a whole bottle just to try one recipe.
Thanks for your help!
Hi Jennifer,
It’s fine to leave out the Dijon and replace the white pepper with black. It’s really just a matter of personal taste- whatever you like, and think would be good in mayonnaise.
I make my mayo with dill and sometimes a little jalopeno
.
If you like mayo you should really consider using Dijon… it’s not like it tastes like Dijon once prepared…. if you’re still opposed use another type of mustard including dry mustard. BUT… in my opinion mustard is absolutely necessary to make mayo taste like mayo. Even in store bought mayo you’ll see mustard as an ingredient… if you don’t… you can bet mustard (usually dry) what is part of the “spices” listed on the jar.
Mayo does really need the mustard but if you don’t prefer the dijon, perhaps you like regular yellow mustard? You can use a teaspoon, or more, of that instead. Try adding bacon fat for part or all of your fat for a different flavor (Baconnaise!). I also use half coconut oil and half olive oil and more times than not I use more coconut than olive. It has great flavor! I didn’t like mayo before making this and now I can literally eat it out of the jar. I wouldn’t recommend the virgin coconut oil as the coconut flavor is a little over powering, though some people do actually like this.
I would also love to know how long this will last in the refrigerator? thank you!
IT will last a month if not longer when you add whey.
I’ve never used whey before. Whey isn’t sold at my local grocery store, but I was told by the workers that curdes and whey is the same thing as cottage cheese. Could I strain cottage cheese to obtain whey, and use that to preserve the mayo?
I just made a double batch of coconut oil mayo and it’s wonderful stuff. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to the storebout kind
.
Thanks for helping me get the hang of these things!
you can take a cup or more of yogurt and strain it through a Cheese cloth or fine strainer. the resulting thin clearish liquid is a form of whey.
Cottage cheese is further processed after it is made when the whey is strained off and fed to pigs usually. then cream is poured over the finished cottage cheese so it is creamy. So if you strain the cottage cheese and use that liquid you’re getting the cream.
I’ve been making coconut mayonnaise using grapeseed oil instead of olive oil and it works beautifully. Now I’m wondering about using Hemp oil. I succumbed to the lure of all the benefits on the Azure Standard site and I DO like it when making salad dressings. I’ll let you know as I will be making some this weekend.
Blessings,
Sunny
Hi Lindsey,
I just purchased some grape seed oil for the first time and after taste testing it in my kitchen was thinking it might make a good mayo because of its neutral flavor. Have you tried this yet?
I have not. Love to hear your results as I’m still trying to figure out the perfect combo.
Lindsay,
My husband and I are currently serving as missionaries in Africa so I don’t feel comfortable using the raw eggs here and we don’t have any way to blend them, we just use a hand whisk for everything. I was wondering if there is anyway that I could either heat up the finished the product or cook the eggs ahead of time. I tried the other recipe that you had with cooked eggs and we weren’t big fans of the flavor. Do you have any suggestions for me? Thanks!
There are ways to pasteurize eggs at home, if you are worried about the eggs. Try this link…
Becki
OK, link didn’t post….try just googling pasteurizing eggs. Sorry about that!
There is an eggless mayo that you can make. This recipe calls for soy milk but could be made with full milk instead. http://veganepicurean.blogspot.com/2009/05/homemade-veganaise.html
or this one is made with powdered milk http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/eggless-mayonnaise/detail.aspx
Hope this helps
Howdy! I found this website while looking for a toothsoap recipe recommended by a friend. I saw the recipe for home-made mayo and i had to try it as i love mayo. This mayo is amazing, the flavor is different but i really like it. It was also super easy to make! The only “improvement” i’d recommend is mabye some Tabasco sauce-something to gift it a kick! Keep up the awesome site, my fiance and i love it!
I have a Bamix stick blender. I can make mayonnaise with that in about 30 seconds. It is really incredible. Love you site, so much to learn
I use a simple electric “wand” mixer and it works perfect in, as you say, about thirty seconds. I combine the ingredients starting with the yolk and vinegar making sure not to have them mix prematurely. Then carefully adding the oil so that it lays on top the yolk and vinegar, I place the end of the wand mixer to the bottom and give it a single jolt. Then a few more. Then a couple of seconds until finally I can sustain the wand mixer while slowly lifting it upward out of the measuring cup. It end it by whipping it all together using a fork. Works perfect every time and takes half a minute.
Looks great! Glad you liked it and were able to tweak it to your tastes.
We just did a video tutorial for this recipe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUeQqxlcPoE.
Hi, I know of you (through friends Angie Tolpin and Kristi Knifong) and I think you were going to go to the Above Rubies retreat with us–and I’ve seen your site before, but just stumbled across it again today through a Google search! Yahoo! I am so glad that I found this, and just whipped out a batch of mayo so that we can use it with spices & parmesan cheese as a topping for baked salmon. YUM!
I’m wondering if you’ve tried this with all coconut oil instead of using some olive oil (mainly for the purpose of baking it, since olive oil is healthier at high temps). This is perfect. We are doing the Specific Carbohydrate Diet/GAPS diet, so no grains, sugars (except honey), starches, and especially nothing processed. I’m so thankful to find this recipe! Thank you!
Yes, I remember hearing about you! Hopefully, we will get a chance to meet up in the future. Actually, coconut oil is healthier for you at high temperatures. Olive oil is recommended to not be heated or if you must over just very low heat. But that is probably what you meant. Yes, I have used this recipe with all coconut oil and it is yummy but very strong on the coconut side. I would imagine it would be fine over top your salmon. That does sound delicious!
Lindsay yes, I meant coconut oil is better at high temps! Ooops! I’m back here again to make more mayo! Have a happy day!
Has anyone tried adding some cold-pressed flax seed oil to this? It would amp up the nutritional value even more, and if you use cold-pressed organic (like Spectrum), you can’t take that ‘flaxy’ flavor.
I actually make a mayo with no other oils but flax, and it’s great! (I am on a special diet right now and can use no other oils at the moment, but I look forward to switching up to an olive/flax oil blend…and some coconut, too!)
Would the total measurement for oil be the same if you’re using only flax seed oil?
in this recipe oil is oil and the goal is to make an emulsion of oil and water, vinegar or lemon juice by using the yolk to hold them suspended together. the kind of oil is your choice, the amount is as much as the yolk will hold, so the recipe gives you the amount. LOL
GREAT recipe! Thanks for sharing. I have been trying to use only olive oil and coconut oil in my cooking, so this worked great for me!
I think I’ll try adding some garlic and herbs next time too! Thanks again!
Stacy McDonald
http://www.passionatehousewives.blogspot.com/
We are LOVING this recipe- I make it w/ half olive oil & 1/2 refined coconut oil w/ a bit less mustard. YUM! Thank you so much!
Thank you Lindsay. I’ll give it a shot and let you know how it turns out.
Hi Lindsay. I replied to the evaporated milk recipe because my son can only have raw milk products. You referred me to your new coconut mayo recipe. Well, he can’t have coconut or sesame either. Do you think that this can be made with grapeseed oil? In the evaporated milk recipe do you think that raw cream might work? Thank you again for all of your help! Melanie
Can he have olive oil? If so, you can easily make this entirely with olive oil. You could try replacing the evaporated milk with raw cream if you desire, but I am not sure at how well it would work. I have not tried it.
This was good but some in my family still think it has too strong of an olive oil taste… have you ever tried doing 2/3 coconut & 1/3 olive oil? Also, can I decrease the Dijon a bit?
Yes, I have tried it with more coconut oil as you described and found it too powerful on the coconut flavor side. You may like it just fine that way, so give it a try. And yes, you can definitely decrease the dijon as desired.
I’ve heard that using blenders or stick blenders for olive oil mayo will make it taste sort of bitter and I have found that myself. The article said to whisk any olive oil mayo. Just someones 2 cents.
I tried this mayo. recipe this morning and it turned out beautifully! I used a mix of extra virgin olive oil, expeller pressed coconut oil, and a little safflower oil. I have noticed that a few other blender recipes call for just one egg and more lemon juice/and or vinegar. Do you find that using three eggs is a necessity for the mayo. to have the right consistency?
Thanks so much!
Three eggs seems to give it more of a creamy texture. More vinegar/lemon juice just gave it more of a strong flavor, but you can experiment as desired.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I eliminated soy pretty much from my diet about four months ago to help with my migraines. It was not that hard for me to eliminate everything with soy until summer came along. There are just so many things we eat during the summer that require mayo. I just did not have time to search out an alternative this summer. If I get this recipe to work I will get to eat our normal summer faire again without fear of headaches. Yeah!
By the way, I have needed info or recipes on many other things in the past year that you “just happen” to provide within a month of my starting to think about each topic. Thank you so much for the your time researching and putting the information together in your blog to share with the rest of us. I really appreciate it!
I have tried the olive oil and didn’t like it, so I am excited to try this! Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Lindsay!
Yes, how fun that we’ve both been playing with our mayo recipes! Many commenters at my post have said they’re having good luck (and it takes less time) when they use the immersion blender that Susanna asked about. I can’t wait to try it! If the coconut oil/olive oil flavors are still a bit strong for anyone, you can try what I use: sesame oil. Coconut oil is more nutritious, but only if your family will eat it, and mine won’t, not in their mayo anyway!
I appreciate the links!!
Kelly
Nourishing Gourmet shows how to do it with the immersion blender (which I just got for my birthday!) Can’t wait to try this out.
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/04/homemade-mayonnaise-2.html
You can use an immersion blender but it is not necessary. Yes, Kimi is a real friend of mine and Amy is my cousin!
Thanks for this, Lindsay! We love the mayo that I usually make, but it doesn’t work on my hubby’s current diet and we still have 3 months to go until he’s finished with it. This recipe actually fits with the diet- amazing!
Can’t wait to surprise him with mayo that he can eat without guilt!
Are the eggs raw, or do you cook them first?
I use raw free range local eggs and don’t cook them prior to use. From what I understand, the blending process heats them enough to pasteurize them, as you are blending the product for several minutes.
Could I make this with an immersion blender? I’ve been using your recipe with the canned milk and am excited to try this one!
Yes, definitely!
I’m looking forward to trying this. We love Mayo here, but I hate giving it to my family because I know it’s so bad.
A question: Can you add kefir to it instead of Whey to preserve?
If you drain the kefir, the liquid you have is kefir whey which is perfectly suitable. This recipe only makes a little over a cup so it is used up relatively quickly anyway, before it could go bad.
You’ve probably written about this in the past, but I’m wondering if the health benefits are still great enough to warrant using the expeller pressed coconut oil. I haven’t liked the strong flavor of the extra-virgin but am currently using expeller pressed for baking, cooking and skin care. I have searched online for information but wonder what your opinion is as I’m sure you’ve checked it out thoroughly?!
Yes, cold pressed virgin coconut oil is by far the most superior in nutrients, but I believe expeller pressed is still superior to canola or other baking oils based on soy. There are differing opinions though, as MRH specifically states here that expeller pressed coconut oil should only be used for cosmetic purposes. Have you tried just a virgin coconut oil? Extra virgin would definitely be more powerful on the coconut flavor side. The kind the MRH carries is just virgin.
this is really wild, because just the last two or three days I’ve been searching for a homemade mayo recipe and been contemplating investing in some real cold pressed olive oil (http://www.living-foods.com/articles/oliveoil.html) and low and behold, several other people are on the same quest as I. Thanks for sharing this recipe, I bought some coconut oil a few weeks ago after learning about it on your blog, so I’m happy to know I can add this to my first attempt at my own mayo! (it actually all started when I wanted some ranch for my homegrown salad on Wednesday, and couldn’t bear to put all that artificial junk on my salad.)
I’m beginning to think you can find a way to make anything with coconut oil in it:)
I was actually just checking out Tropical Traditions recipes today! I’m really excited about trying this. I also am really glad that I stumbled upon your blog. I’ve been trying to find a way to make soap without glycerin or lye, and your website was the first that I found that mentioned soap nuts. I got my sample in the mail yesterday, and I’m trying it for the first time tonight…here’s hoping it works!
P.S. Your children are beautiful. I just had my first little boy and he’s almost 10 months old. What a joy and delight!!!
I just wanted to know if the coconut oil you use has a coconut flavor or smell to it? Thanks!
Susan
Yes, I use cold pressed virgin coconut oil from Mountain Rose Herbs as it is a high quality nutritious oil. It does not really smell but definitely has a pleasant coconut flavor to it.
Is there one you would recommend that does NOT have a coconut taste to it? or is it just best to use a palm oil, or does that too, have a flavor to it?
The best alternative would be sesame oil.
hmmm I thought sesame oil had a taste to it too.
Yes, it has a taste but does not taste like coconut. You will have to experiment to your liking!
I am a totally amorous coconut oil fan after reading your blog! It’s the best stuff – and I appreciate all of the information you’ve provided about it. THIS recipe is great! We all love mayo in our house – but we all know how bad it is (and now I know even moreso) – what a great alternative for us! Thank you.
Oh, thank you for posting this! We love mayo around here & it has been the last item w/ soybean oil that we have not eliminated from our diet. I’ve tried a few organic versions but not only did they had the bad oils, they tasted yucky. Looking forward to trying this one!
I’ve been thinking about trying mayo-making! How long does this last in the fridge?