Makes 1 1/2 cups
Total time: 15 minutes || Active time: 15 minutes
Most people figure it out as children: Are you a mayo person or not? My sister Michelle wasn’t. She was straight-up ketchup. But I needed few excuses to slather, dip and otherwise defame any morsel with some mayonnaise. Cans of tuna with lots of it; slather it on the bread, too. Salads, burgers, French fries (how European of me)…you name it, it got mayo.
But I’m not sure what makes a mayo person a mayo person. Is everyone else just afraid of living? In fact, I could hold a spoonful of it in front of my sister’s face if I wanted to see her cry. But I only did that once in awhile.
And I still love mayonnaise. There are plenty of decadent and delicious vegan varieities on the market these days (and, yes, plenty of not so great ones, too.) But there’s just something so homey about making your own! A connection, I guess. To the land, to your kitchen, to life, and probably mostly to your blender.
The thing is, I haven’t had that much success with a convincing homemade vegan mayo. I mean, pureed tofu and stuff can be good but in the end it’s still pureed tofu. I want something thick and fatty and creamy and tangy — something that would make my sister cry. And I think I’ve found it!
For the oil, I chose grapeseed because I based it on my favorite storebought vegan mayo: Vegenaise in the purple jar! But I bet olive oil would work, or maybe an olive / canola combo? I am also in love with the Olive Oil Flaxseed Lowfat Vegenaise so in went the flax seeds, and I think that’s what’s making the difference, helping to emulsify and stabilize the ingredients and keep everything on the up and up.
This homemade version was so fresh and delicious, it just leveled up everything it touched. My chickpea salad sandwiches became even more precious. My potato salad was a work of art. I used some as the base for a ranch dressing, and dolloped a little (ok a LOT) on a veggie burger. And life was good. And my sister, well, she was three states away and safe…for now!
Hope you enjoy, and come back later this week for a few recipes utilizing this mayo, including this simple Chickpea Salad Sammich!
Notes
~I think that the kind of milk you use here is way important. Choose the most neutral tasting milk you can find. I would NOT go for hemp or oat milk here. I used unsweetened original flavored Blue Diamond Almond Milk. I know that other almond milks have a pronounced almond taste, so if you can’t find Blue Diamond, then I’d go for an unsweeteend unflavored soymilk. I wish Vitasay still existed in the states! But life is cruel and it doesn’t.
~Depending on the strength of your blender, your times may differ. The important thing is to pay attention to consistency through each step. I use a Breville, which I love and recommend! But no matter your machine, you have to get the flax seeds good and blended, so that the flecks are barely noticeable. That activates its gloopy properties and will also make your mayo prettier.
~ The other important thing to remember is that the oil needs to be added little by little. A lot of mayo recipes say to stream it in slowly but all at once, and I don’t think that is quite necessary. Just add it a tablespoon or two at a time, blend for awhile, then add more.
~The taste of this mayo is very strong at first; the vinegar and salt mellow out over time, so don’t adjust straight from the blender. Let it chill for at least a few hours before deciding on any tweaking you’d like to do for next time.
~Can you use a different vinegar? I’d think so! Distilled white, or apple cider will probably work well. I just prefered the taste of white wine vinegar. I use lemon juice, too, because it adds a brightness to the mix that the vinegar alone lacked.
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (see note)
1 1/2 tablespoons ground golden flax seeds (sometimes called flax meal)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup grapeseed oil
Directions
Combine milk and ground flax in a blender. Blend on high speed until flax meal is barely noticeable, and the mixture is frothy, about a minute.
Add the sugar, dry mustard, onion powder, salt, vinegar and lemon juice, blending for a few seconds to combine.
Now begin to add the oil. With the blender running, use the hole at the top to stream in a tablespoon at a time, blending for about 30 seconds after each addition (if using a high power blender like Vitamix 5 to 10 secs should do it.). Give your blender a break every now and again so that it doesn’t heat up the mayo. You should notice it thickening by the halfway point. By the time you’ve used 3/4 of the oil, it should be spreadable. And with the last addition, you should have a thick mayo. If it seems watery, keep blending.
It will probably taste saltier and tangier than you’d like straight out of the blender, but trust me, the flavors mellow and becomes perfect. Transfer to glass tupperware, seal tightly and refrigerate for a few hours, and it will thicken even further. Use within a week.
Awesome, thank you! I have to drive over 20 minutes to get decent vegan mayo, so I’ll definitely give this one a go.
I make a really quick blender mayo by blitzing up 2 parts rapeseed/canola oil (a cup) to one part unsweetened soy milk. When it is creamy and combined (but v thin) adding in a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and a pinch of salt and perhaps some mustard powder. Not to take away from your recipe, I am sure it is awesome, but I am v lazy. I first made the blender mayo to accompany a coconut bacon Blt thanks to your blog!
I do feel mean now posting another recipe on yours 🙁 I hope you know how much your recipes inspire me each and every day
I am so gonna try this. We always have original almond milk in the house and never the unsweetened, but I will try with what I have. I have to buy the dry mustard and find a way to grind my flax seeds. I bought some and realized I had no way to grind, so they are in the freezer.
This looks fantastic! I will be trying it as soon as I get my hands on some grapeseed oil. TLT with homemade vegemayo? Yes, please!
AHHHHH so excited about this! Thank you!
I can’t wait to try this!!
I always hated mayo and kind of liked miracle whip, but once I went vegan and discovered vegenaise? Put that shiitake on everything.
Well, this looks magical. Have you tried halving the recipe? I don’t know that I could work my way through a full batch in a week. I mean, I probably COULD… I just shouldn’t. 🙂
If you have a small blender then I think so! And it might last longer than a week, I was just playing it safe.
Do you think olive oil would do as well? Looks tasty
This sounds delish! I don’t keep almond milk or soy milk in my pantry. Do you think I could use unwseetened coconut milk instead?
Like the packaged coconut beverage kind? I don’t see why not, but then again, I haven’t tried it. So if it doesn’t, don’t get mad at me.
Can you replace the sugar with stevia?
I personally would just leave it out.
Thank you for this! I’m partial to the blue jar Vegenaise (original) which my WF typically runs out of. I don’t care for Vegenaise’s “organic” formula at all (green) and have never tried the purple jar. Cannot stand the consistency or flavor of Nayonnaise – even it’s reformulated product – so I go without if blue Vegenaise is unavailable. Your recipe (and Miss Bear’s – btw, don’t feel bad Miss Bear – foodies like us like to read lots and lots of recipes!) looks easy enough that I’ll give it a try – thanks! Ps I also miss seeing Vitasoy.
So I just made this with several substitutions based on what was in my kitchen and the mayo came out delicious! I used Silk unsweetened almond milk, garlic powder in place of onion powder, apple cider vinegar in place of white wine, lime juice in place of lemon, and extra virgin olive oil in place of grapeseed. The resulting mayo came out more beige than white, but the taste & thickness is what counts! Looking forward to further experimenting with this recipe…(chipotle/spicy mayo on my mind). Thanks for making my first mayo-making adventure a successful one, Isa. You always have such solid gold recipes that I never have to question them :]
Wow, that was fast! I think olive oil would make things more beige. Try a pinch of tumeric next time to make it look more eggy?
So, I know it’s the same ole story you always hear. I’ve been stalking your blog for years – blah blah blah. Your cookbooks have their own shelf in our (tiny, one-shelf) kitchen – blah blah blah. The day you taught me how to master pie crust is more memorable than the day I met my partner – blah blah blah. But some things demand that the same ole story get repeated. And this mayo recipe is one of those things. Many Thanks.
Haha, well, thanks for the love! <3
Is there a recipe for the chickpea salad? Looks delish and I’m currently going through a chickpea obsession phase!
I’m gonna put it up this week.
I had the mayo conversation with a friend a few days ago. I told her I wanted a tomato sandwich with mayo and avocado, and she made a face. She said no to mayo. I laughed, I grew up putting mayo on everything – cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, artichokes, sandwiches, burgers – everything! It’s inherited 🙂 Thanks for the recipe! I am a Vegenaise girl now too.
I am SO excited about this. Back in the non-vegan days I used to make aioli using olive oil, garlic, salt, egg yolk, and lemon. Since then I’ve tried replacing the egg yolk with a tablespoon or two of warm soymilk, because I read somewhere that soy milk has the lecithin I wanted to create a good emulsion. Sometimes it works, but the emulsion breaks really easily. It never occurred to me to use flax seed. But now that you’ve suggested it, it seems so obvious! Flax seeds are definitely high in lecithin — which I should have been able to guess, based on how gooey they get in my cereal every morning. (Just like the soy lecithin that I used to use as an egg substitute for baking in college.)
I am making this ASAP. With olive oil and fresh garlic. And then I’m going to put it on some roasted corn with a squeeze of lime, and then I’m going to die of happiness, because that is straight-up my favorite food.
PS, I’m moving abroad soon and won’t be able to rely on finding vegan mayo in the grocery store, so this is such perfect timing! Thank you!
Ah! LECITHIN! Of course, that’s it. Thanks so much for making that point. I’m just like “gloopy properties.” Haha.
Awesome! I’ve just started experimenting with homemade mayo and this one looks great. I tried a lower fat version on Bryanna’s blog and it just didn’t hit the spot for me, I guess I just like my mayo rich and fatty the ways it’s intended to be! I’m a Vegenaise fan and enjoy the purple jar so this might be the recipe I’ve been looking for! Thanks so much for all of your wonderful recipes <3
Awesome…I spent so much money on veganase! This is really simple.
Oh my gosh, thank you for saving me from another “mayo” recipe that instructs me to add the oil “literally one drop at a time” (which takes, you know, HOURS) only to end up with okay-tasting yet still watery mayonnaise (and a very tired arm). Three cheers for “gloopy properties!!!” You’re a friggin’ genius!
Lecithin isn’t for the faint hearted. Got some, spilled a little and had a gooey mess to clean up. Now am afraid to go near it. Glad your recipe doesn’t use it. Also plan to get Bob’s Red Mill golden flax meal – already ground flax seeds – unless you’d advise otherwise – I see it online and imagine WF will carry it.
That’s exactly what I use. And yep, my Whole Foods here in Omaha has it.
Isa we can’t get onion powder in uk…what else can I use? & btw to UK followers, flaxseed is linseed.
Can you get onion flakes or anything like that?
I use MissBear’s method as well, and it is pretty nice not having to stream or spoon in the oil little by little! I’m happy to see the seasoning recommendation tips here, though, since I haven’t gotten that quite right myself. Thanks. 🙂
Do you think Chia seeds could work in place of the flax? They have creepy cool slimy properties as well but I dunno if that would make a wierd final product or not.
I bet it would work! But it would probably show up more than golden flax. See you Tuesday!
Great recipe! My favourite oil for mayonnaise is olive oil (extra virgin). It gives it a very strong but amazing flavour. I guess it is my favourite because it reminds me my mum mayonnaise and my childhood. Thanks for remind us this great food: tomorrow, I will make some! 🙂
i’m guessing the flax seed is the “egg?” is there another substitute for the flax? it makes me so nauseous/gag whenever i use it… or can it be omitted all together?
Yum! Could one use chia vs flax? Or even omit it altogether? Also, I would have to use coconut milk vs almond!
That is one mighty tasty looking sammich. Mmm, mmm. I to am a mayo man. It was Hellman’s on everything. Excited to try this one out.
Oooh, lemme know how it goes for you Jeff! I bet you could do wonders with it once you put your HGS spin.
Thanks for this recipe! I live in AK and cannot find vegan mayo anywhere. Sandwiches just aren’t the same without it, ha ha. I will be giving this a try asap 🙂
I’m DEFINITELY a “mayo person”! : ) This is the first recipe I’ve seen for vegan mayo, though, that I actually want to make; the tofu-based versions have never sounded delicious to me. I do have one question: can I just omit the sugar? I’m surprised to see that ingredient in a recipe for something I don’t think should be sweet at all.
You can leave it out! It doesn’t make it sweet, it just heightens the flavors a bit and cuts out any bitterness.
Thanks for the receipe! You could use chia seeds as someone else mentioned (in place of flaxseeds) and also lime juice with small amount of cracked black pepper and some canned corn and cream of mushrooms. *Pictures awesome nachos with some vegan cheese 🙂
Looks like a winner- can’t wait to see your other mayo -using recipes 🙂
Oh my that looks pretty amazing! I love that you can make your own version with grapeseed oil. Where can I get mustard powder???
Shobha
YES!! one that doesn’t have tofu!! Bless you…bless you a MILLION times!!!
As a child I made what I called “special sandwiches” which were made of white bread heaped with miracle whip and and cheese puffs. Mayo for life. Vegan mayo, for life, obv.
Haha! Perhaps you can recreate that with Tings. I’m an enabler.
Gave this a try yesterday. Love it!
You are right we didn’t like it all that much right out of the blender amazing what a night in the fridge did to it :))
@jade t : onion powder is available in pretty much all supermarkets in the UK with the herbs and spices. also ground flax seeds are available from holland and barrett/health food shops.
I only cringed a little, well maybe a lot at the memories. But, I’ve come a long way. There is a cafe that has a vegan pblt, portobello, lettuce, tomato, that I love, but I do ask for light mayo. Incidentally, the portobello is sliced small and grilled. Yum!
+1
After almond milk you have “see note” but I don’t see a note… and do you think soy or coconut milk would work instead?
I make my own almond milk. Do you think it will work for this recipe given that there are no thickeners, stabilizers, etc. in it?
Just made this today, it’s great! I only needed half a cup of grapeseed oil before it was thick enough, and it was REALLY thick. I turned my spoon upside down and not a drop moved. I ground the flax seeds myself, could that be the reason? I followed the recipe exactly besides that. Half the oil, not too shabby. Maybe I’m onto something.
Oh, and I used soy milk since that’s what I had. I’d like to experiment and find out exactly why it thickened up so well with half the oil.
@Ka The note on the milk is above the list of ingredients – it’s the first item discussed under the recipe notes section (the recipe notes section is immediately beneath the picture of the sammich)
Hands down best vegan mayo I’ve had! I added two dried chipotle chilis (soaked for 20 minutes first), three garlic cloves and a teaspoon of paprika to make chipotle mayo. Delicious!
kmbjbb, go buy a handheld coffee grinder and dedicate it to spices and seeds. To me it’s one of the top three cheap kitchen appliance no one should be without. (The other two cheap ones are an electric griddle and a crock pot.)
This looks awesome can’t wait to try it, I’ve spent the last month putting your mac & cheese sauce on everything 🙂 btw to the poster below from the UK, you can buy onion powder on Amazon