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In cooking school, I developed many an arm muscle whisking oil, egg yolk, lemon juice, and mustard into an emulsion by hand. If you’ve got a food processor or an immersion blender and three minutes, you can get the same dreamy results with none of the anguish. Here’s how.
Why this recipe works
Historically, homemade mayo required tedious attention to the snail-paced dribbling of oil into a bowl of egg yolk, acid, and seasonings while whisking as if your life depended on it. That process requires three arms and a steely mental prowess, making it appropriate for only a small fraction of home cooks.
Lucky for us, we’ve got options. Whether you have a food processor or an immersion blender, you can make luscious mayo in minutes. Here’s why it works:
- Mayo is all about emulsification — basically, forcing oil and water to mix and stay mixed
- In this recipe, the agitation caused by the food processor or stick blender disperses and suspends tiny droplets of one throughout the other
- The egg yolks (which contain lecithin) and mustard are natural emulsifiers. They keep the particles suspended together even after the agitation has stopped.
- The tiny hole at the bottom of a food processor‘s plunger controls the speed at which the oil drips into the mixture. The tight fit of the immersion blender in the mixing container plays a similar role.
- This recipe has generous ingredient ratios that both taste great and give you a bit of wiggle room to ensure emulsification.
- You’ll also have all ingredients at room temperature. This maximizes the emulsification potential of the yolks.
A few notes on the history of this post
I first published the food processor mayo recipe, adapted from Mark Bittman, way back in 2011. Although most people have success with this method, it can be finicky depending on the exact specs of your food processor. I’ve gotten occasional comments about the recipe not working, and since I replaced the blade on my Cuisinart after a recall, I’ve had less consistent results myself.
I’ve since updated the post for clarity and also to add the immersion blender mayo method. This is another fantastic option for making quick, excellent homemade mayonnaise if your food processor doesn’t do the trick — in fact, I use it more frequently now than the original. Our immersion blender Hollandaise sauce has been a popular game-changer for a long time now, so I’m not sure why I didn’t think to include immersion blender mayonnaise before.
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe.
- You can choose between a mild-tasting olive oil and a neutral oil like safflower for this recipe. Both the color and flavor profile will be lighter with safflower oil, but both versions are super.
- Use impeccably fresh egg yolks from a source you trust. Technically you can use just one egg yolk to emulsify the amount of oil in this recipe, but I prefer to use two for the additional richness and a bit of “insurance.” It’s VERY important that the egg yolks be at room temperature to unlock their full emulsification potential.
- Use freshly squeezed lemon juice, or half lemon juice and half champagne vinegar.
- Feel free to swap in truffle salt or herb salt if you like.
How to make it
Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make a great batch of homemade mayo in the food processor or with an immersion blender. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
Food processor mayo
- Have ingredients at room temperature. Place the yolks, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper Into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade. Measure the oil into a liquid measuring cup with a spout.
- Turn on the food processor. Pour about half of the oil into the white plunger in the feed tube. The tiny hole at the bottom of the plunger will dribble the oil into the bowl of the processor, allowing the mayo to emulsify.
- When the oil level in the plunger gets low, pour in the remaining oil. The whole process should take about two to three minutes.
- When all the oil has dribbled into the bowl, stop the processor. Stir with a rubber spatula to incorporate any last bits of oil.
Immersion blender mayo
- Have ingredients at room temperature. Place egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper into the mixing jar that came with your immersion blender or a 2-cup liquid measuring cup (such as a standard Pyrex) that fits the bottom of the blender snugly.
- Pour in the oil.
- Wait a minute until the oil separates, rising to the top and leaving the other ingredients at the bottom. Then place the stick blender into the mixing container, lowering all the way and holding vertically so that the bottom of the blender is completely resting on the bottom of the container. Blend until the bottom of the mixture has substantially emulsified.
- At this point, slowly raise the blender to allow a little more oil at a time to be drawn into the emulsion. Continue until all oil is incorporated. Give mayo a stir and taste for seasoning.
Recommended variation: aioli
Mince two medium cloves of garlic and stir into the mayo after blending. That’s it!
Expert tips and FAQs
Although most people have success with this method, it can be finicky depending on the exact specs of your food processor. Slight variations in bowl shape, blade texture, and heat level generated by the motor can be the difference between success and failure. After a recall, I replaced the blade on my standard Cuisinart processor that had been making fabulous mayo for years, and it stopped working reliably. So if you’ve tried a few times and it hasn’t worked, that’s probably why.
See the section below on how to rescue broken mayo.
I find this method to be extremely reliable. There are only two major variables, which shouldn’t be in play if you’re following this recipe — but equipment varies, so it’s not impossible.
First: Did you not use one of the recommended containers fits the business end of your stick blender snugly? If you didn’t, that’s the issue.
Second: Did the egg yolk, lemon juice, and mustard not reach the level of your stick blender’s blade before mixing? If there’s too much oil at blade level, the emulsion may never get off on the right foot. This shouldn’t happen with the recommended equipment setup, but if your blender is different and it does, you can double the recipe.
If you have a sous vide cooker, you can. Learn how in this post.
Yes. Homemade mayo keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week.
How to rescue broken mayo
If your mayo fails to emulsify, here’s a trick from Cook’s Illustrated that you can use to bring it back together.
- Transfer mayo into a liquid measuring cup with a spout.
- Place four teaspoons of water (or, if you’re not opposed to a little extra flavor, lemon juice or champagne vinegar) into a mixing bowl.
- While whisking vigorously, very slowly pour in about 1/2 cup of the runny mayo. This should create a sauce with the approximate consistency of heavy cream.
- Transfer to the food processor or immersion blender cup and slowly drizzle in the rest of the broken mayo. Process briefly until thickened.
- Rescued mayo won’t be quite as thick as usual, but it should still be good.
Where to use it
- Tuna or chicken salad
- Deviled eggs
- BLT
- Egg and cress sandwich
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Immersion Blender or Food Processor Mayonnaise
Ingredients
- 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup safflower oil or mild-tasting olive oil
Instructions
Food processor method
- Measure the oil into a liquid measuring cup with a spout.
- Turn on the food processor.
- Pour about half of the oil into the white plunger in the feed tube. The tiny hole at the bottom of the plunger will dribble the oil into the bowl of the processor, allowing the mayo to emulsify.
- When the oil level in the plunger gets low, pour in the remaining oil. The whole process should take about two to three minutes.
- When all the oil has dribbled into the bowl, stop the processor. Stir with a rubber spatula to incorporate any last bits of oil.
- Taste mayo for seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, or lemon juice to taste.
Immersion blender method
- Place egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper into the mixing jar that came with your immersion blender or a 2-cup liquid measuring cup (such as a standard Pyrex) that fits the bottom of the blender snugly.
- Pour in the oil.
- Wait a minute until the oil separates, rising to the top and leaving the other ingredients at the bottom.
- Place the stick blender into the mixing container, lowering all the way and holding vertically so that the bottom of the blender is completely resting on the bottom of the container.
- Blend (on high speed if your device has options) until the bottom of the mixture has substantially emulsified.
- At this point, slowly raise the blender to allow a little more oil at a time to be drawn into the emulsion. Continue until all oil is incorporated.
- Give mayo a stir and taste for seasoning.
Notes
- Recommended variation: To make aioli, mince two medium cloves of garlic and stir into the mayo after blending. That's it!
- Store homemade mayo in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I can’t stand store-made mayo, never buy the stuff. This sounds like a great method for getting tasty mayo into my life, but…raw egg yolk. What about salmonella?
I’m so upset – I tried this 2 times and it didn’t work!!!
Hi Lauren, I’m sorry you had trouble with the recipe. It really should work if you follow it exactly. Can you provide more information on what you did and what happened?
I’m pretty sure I followed it exactly, maybe you can figure out where I went wrong.
Put in my egg yolk, mustard and lemon, put it on and added my oil through the insert. It wouldn’t thicken, just kept splashing around! I even tried it another time with the same result 🙁 Help!
But I used plain old olive oil in stead of extra-virgin – could that have been it?
Hmm. Sounds like you were on the right track, and plain olive oil definitely should not pose a problem. The critical factors in emulsifying mayo are usually to have your egg yolk at room temperature and to add the first bits of oil (the first 1/3 cup or so) very slowly. My food processor plunger (and Bittman’s, it seems) dribbles the oil in slowly enough for an emulsion to form. I wonder whether yours is streaming it in too quickly? Does the mayo come together at the beginning and then break, or never come together at all?
The mayo never came together, just keeeeept on splashing. I think I’ll have to agree with you on the speed of the oil- must have been too fast! It was a pretty steady and constant stream. Thanks for your help identifying the problem! I don’t know if I have the heart to try it again so soon…
I have also failed in making this mayo. Tried three times, once following it exactly, once with a different oil, and once with a different brand of egg. Just a soupy mess… I’d try again, but an hour has passed, and I’m out of ingredients.
Maybe it’s just me, but I shouldn’t try this if I actually NEED mayo for something.
It didn’t work for me, either. I used a food processor and all the ingredients as listed. I poured the oil in very slowly at first, and after that in a slow and steady stream. This is my 2nd attempt at making it. The first time I used a slightly different recipe, but it called for a food processor like this one does. That’s a lot of oil down the tubes! Sigh.
I can’t wait to try this. I’ve always wanted to make my own mayo but I never realized how easy it really could be. Thank you so much for this post!
Hi Kita, thanks for visiting. Hope you like it!
I have made mayonnaise in my food processor before, and it is always delicious. My only problem is that I never quite use it up that day and I feel bad about wasting the delicious stuff. (it needs to be eaten the same day, right?)
We keep it in the fridge for up to a week and have never had any issues. I’m sure you’re already using the freshest, healthiest eggs, so as long as you store it in the fridge promptly, I think you can keep it longer than a day.
The recipe says it will keep in the fridge for a week.
I just discovered the meaning of the hole in the feeder tube thingy also, and it was a glorious day! My husband likes about a quarter cup of mayo per sandwich, so we go through the stuff…
Tanya, you’re lucky — your husband has solved the only remaining problem with homemade mayo: how to use it all up.
I have been meaning to try making homemade mayo. We aren’t big mayo eaters, but every so often it is nice spread on a turkey sandwich or even a melted cheese one. This would have gone perfectly in my macaroni salad over the weekend; instead I used WF Canola mayo. I wonder the same thing, why is it sweet? Great post!
Hey, Denise! Yes, I saw your macaroni salad the other day. Looked great. I think a simple recipe like that is a perfect place for homemade mayo. Let us know if you try it!
Using the food processor is definitely the most popular way to make homemade mayonnaise. I’ve yet to try it out, but I’ve seen many people use the processor. Thank you for the detailed photos. I’m trying not to allow mayo in my place right now, but once I can be less strict on my diet, I will try out this recipe before buying my favorite store-brand mayo, Hellman’s. 🙂
Hi Memoria, thanks for your comment. I do like the taste of Hellman’s, too — but homemade is just a totally different ballgame.
Can’t wait for the deviled egg recipe.
Thanks, Anne. It’s up!
Okay, I am sold! Definitely going to try it.
Kalyn, I’d be so proud to be your homemade mayo tipping point. Let me know if you try!
mayonaise was very runny
Sorry to hear that, Karen. That’s not the typical outcome.
Looks delicious! I’ve actually never made my own, but when I run out of this jar I will definitely give this recipe a shot. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Lauren. Hope you give it a try!