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.
I am so giddy!!! This turned out great (except mine is not a bright white color but more beige???) I was always a miracle whip girl and this has the same tangy flavor =) My first thought was to make some delicious french fries and dip my heart out! I can’t wait to do another version with chipotle powder. Thanks for providing such a simple but delicious recipe.
This. is. awesome! I got great consistency and taste even though I had to cheat since I only have an immersion blender with processor attachment. Its a bit sweeter than mayo but being a Miracle Whip person, that made it even better! And so much better than Tofu mayo. I also love that it uses ingredients that I regularly have on hand. I made this for use in the Veganomicon Prospect Park Potato Salad recipe. Still have a bit leftover for veggie burgers. 🙂
Aaaaaah this takes forever and my blender is stupid. It appears it can’t handle it and I’ve just realised it’s probably not thickening it because it’s heated it 🙁 stupid blender! Well I will let it cool, blend it a bit to try thicken it and then see how it tastes tomorrow :/ it tastes nice at the moment, just tangy as you said. But very thin.
Sigh.
I need a better blender!
Definitely give your blender a break every now and again. Perhaps I will add that to the tips.
We made this yesterday and it turned out very well. Isa, you are a genius.
We ground our own flax meal, and used Earth’s Own Almond Fresh almond milk. It took several minutes in the Vitamix to fully incorporate the flax meal. It indeed requires several hours in the refrigerator for the flavours to reach optimal mayo-ness.
Hey Isa! I found Vitasoy at my local Asian supermarket!
Did you?! Where?
I’m in New Jersey. I found it at a market called Good Fortune on Rte 27. I’d be happy to send you a couple cartons!
Vitasoy is also available on Amazon
seems to be an ‘asian’ food item, so i think you can probably look for it at your local international or asian grocery
Yes, you can order it but it’s not widely available like it used to be, sadly.
I am going to try this. 🙂 I’ve never thought to add flaxseeds to vegan mayo before, it seems like a great idea
We are having a pasta salad contest at work next week and I am going to use this mayo in the recipe. Awesome! Thanks, Isa.
Thank you for this recipe! I have white truffle oil and the mayo is glorious!!
That sounds good!
I had just been searching for a substitute for the very expensive veganaise….and lo and behold, you have created just the recipe I need. Made it for my omni parents who are considering veganism but haven’t quite found acceptable substitutes for what they love. This recipe alone may have them convinced to make the change! thanks again Isa, for a delicious, spot-on recipe!
Loving your stuff.
hi. great recipe. perfect for this family of 4 with numerous food allergies. because almond is one of our allergens, i used flax milk instead. i am not sure if it is the flax milk or the crazy heat that the Vitamix Pro 500 generates but it is so watery. suggestions? tonight we are having the chickpea sammies. thanks for your awesome site and any suggestions
Hi, I just found your website via your book Vegan with a Vengeance and it’s very exciting to have a place to go for guidance and inspiration in my new plant-based diet! I’m also trying to eat whole foods, which means avoiding oils. Is there a way to substitute a whole food for the oil (avocado or some kind of nut, or a combination)? Many thanks!
Hi – my blender is huge and I was concerned about making a small quantity in the blender. Anyway… I used a hand-immersion blender for this mayo recipe and it came out great! Just thought I’d let others know in case you were considering using an immersion blender. I did stream in the oil very slowly and made sure to mix for the full 30 seconds after each batch (as Isa notes in the recipe).
help! I,m following the directions exactly, I’m using a vitamix and blue diamond almond milk too, but the mayo is coming out completely thin & runny.
Thanks!
Is the motor heating it up and melting it?
I followed the recipe. Wonderful, tasty mayo
For those whose ‘naise didn’t thicken, remember the speed of the blender has everything to do with whether you get a good emulsion or not. I have a Vitamix and if I make vegan mayo (which I have many times) on the highest speed it thickens so quickly I can only get in half (or even less) of the oil before it is very thick. So run the blender on high when you are adding the oil. I suppose there may be blenders that just aren’t up to the task.
wow – this sounds amazing. I also love Vegenaise, so I’ll be trying this very soon to compare. Thanks for the recipe…and the great notes!
Great recipe! The only substitution I made was to use ground chia seeds instead of ground flax, as that is what i had on hand. The chia seeds work great but leave the mayo with a speckled appearance (not a big deal for me). 🙂
I am so excited for this…I get a bit exhausted spending $8 a jar on Vegenaise! Can’t wait to try it!
Hey Sebrina ,salba would not give you the speckled look.
Thanks Isa, this looks fabulous. For all those complaining about the price of veganaise, spare a thought for us aussies who can’t get it at all and have to beg everybody and anybody to bring us some back when they go to the states :(((. This recipe looks like it might be a good substitute. It’s been 6 months since my last veganaise hit!
I don’t find much usefulness in reading 87 comments that basically say “I have to try this!” or “OO!!! This looks tasty!!” I prefer comments that say, “I actually made this in my own kitchen people and it’s awesome.” So, with that little rant (or big rant, whatever), I can say I tried this mayo last weekend and it tastes way better than the stuff in the jar. I followed the recipe exactly except I doubled it. Used it in the chickpea salad sandwich recipe (also freaking amazing) and slathered it on anything else I could find. Thanks for an awesome recipe, Isa!
Made this last night and used brown linseed instead of golden, and grated onion in place of the powder – it was mainly juice, it never grates very well!! And I also used palm sugar as I had some in my cupboard and wanted to try it! I was thrilled with the result and I have previously been in the “not a big fan of mayo” camp, but this I am eating by the spoonful!!!!!!!
Awesome. Thank you from the north-west of England!!
Ahhhh! I just made this yesterday and omigosh delicious! I subbed ACV and an olive/grapeseed/canola blend bc that’s what I had, and skipped the lemon and the onion powder bc I didn’t have any. It turned out great!
And I just made the most incredi-bib-ble sandwich! Toasted multi-grain bread, homemade veganaise, organic tomatoes just picked earlier today from the csa, homemade vegan buffalo mozzerella in oil and italian seasonings. Mmmmm. I already had eaten dinner but the husband’s at the movies, the baby is in bed, and I was hungry. It was amazing, the end.
On the topic of mayo lovers and haters, I was always a hater. Was completely repulsed by mayonaise, but when I discovered veganaise, I don’t know why, but I loved it. Could eat it with a spoon. And this is no different. Thanks for the recipe, Isa, and congrats on the new cookbook coming out! Can’t wait!
I always wonder why a recipe like this should only be good for a week. The oil that went into it is fine for months on end in the fridge. I supposed the almond milk could go bad?? Anyway, I made this on July 28, threw it in the fridge in a jar with a tight fitting lid, and forgot about it until today. Just now I had the most fantabulous chickpea “egg salad” sandwich, and the mayo was absolutely fine. No, better than fine, the mayo made ordinary chickpeas (with chopped carrot, chopped shallot, salt and pepper) taste like freaking ambrosia. My husband sat across the table from me (eating a ham and swiss sandwich) mystified by the orgasmic noises I was making as I chewed……….Does anyone have evidence that this mayo will go bad? How long did it take?
I’m not a fan of mayo, because traditional mayo just grosses me out. And all of the store bought vegan mayo I’ve tried is terrible and overpriced. This stuff, however, is magic. SO GOOD! And easy. Genius.
I feel like I just did a vegan magic trick. Works perfect! I can’t believe how white and thick it got.
I made this and it came out fine. I did have to add more vinegar and salt for our tastes but the flaxseed egg mixture does the trick! thanks so much for cracking the mayo code!
Gosh, I’m so glad you didn’t really buy into that McDougall-Forks Over Knives-“don’t eat extracted fats” type crap that is doing nothing but scaring off would-be vegans.
Viva la mayo!
Let’s keep our food tasting good! Thanks!
Mine almost made it to the mayo stage but not quite. Flavor and color seem fine but texture is still too watery. It should make a great creamy salad dressing! The main problem seems to be heat generated by the blender. Take your time and definitely let your blender rest and cool down, especially if you have a cheaper one like I do. The mixture got very warm before I realized what was happening. Don’t rush it, no matter how much mayonnaise excites you.
I was completely anti-mayo (pro-mustard) as a child, but love it as an adult.
I made this yesterday, using barely sweetened homemade soy milk (barely sweetened means 2tsp of sugar for 5 liters of soy milk), and soybean oil. For me, the recipe came out too sweet, so next time I will leave the sugar out. Other than that, the flavor and texture is amazing! I was a little worried using soybean oil, but it’s what I had, and fortunately it really didn’t negatively affect the flavor.
I didn’t notice the mayo was getting warm til it was very, very warm, like hot to the touch, like you might not be irritable if your soup was that temperature in a restaurant, but for me it came together anyway.
I made 2/3 of the recipe in my GIANT blender, and it was no problem.
Probably too late now, but Jade T – onion granules are available in the UK in Tesco (in the little glass jars) and most major supermarkets and also in many ethnic food stores. It subs in fine for the powder.
Made the mayo to go with dinner last night. Delicious! Next time will add garlic, more mustard and lemon juice to make it into vegan aoili. Thanks
This is outstanding. I used all organic ingredients, including cider vinegar for its alkalinity (instead of wine vinegar – acidic), and did not include the mustard due to how it eats the lining of the stomach.
I did not use the flax because of a seed allergy and it still whipped up nicely.
The unsweetened organic almond milk worked well but my husband has severe almond, soy, rice and dairy allergies, so I will be in think tank mode to come up with a perfect solution.
Until I cure what causes those allergies I’ll need to come up with an alternative.
Anyways, this is delicious mayo! I LOVE it.
When I make homemade almond milk, and when it goes sour, there is creamy thing on the top, and something sour, watery, fizzy and werid, like whey. This almond cream looks damn inspiring, better and more neutral than coconut cream. And almond milk is sooo easy to make into foam, this thing could be vegan wipped cream! I should never pour away whole “spoiled” almond milk, I should keep the “almond cream”. It could be great for mildier mayo, kind of vegan salad cream. But I feel so wrong about all this homemade almond milk I forget about and wasted :/
Okay, I had a bizarre problem. My mayo was white and thick when I added one last tablespoon of oil, and the mayo instantly separated into a liquid. Just beige clots in yellowish oil. What happened?? Oh yeah, and this was my fourth time making it. The first three were an unqualified success, so I am baffled!
Hi Isa- long time reader/maker of your recipes, first time commenter….this and the chickpead salad sammies were so good! I’m not even that great in the kitch but your recipes make me (and the others I make food for) think otherwise. I tried to grind my own flax seeds for this mayo and even though it didn’t get as gloopy as store-bought stuff, it still came out delicious! I bet it will be better after it sits for a bit. THANK YOU for sharing such tasty vegan recipes with the world! Xo
🙂
I am loving this recipe already. we have a lot of allergies in my house but a nice tuna salad would be nice once in a while. vegan mayo is very expensive. can you suggest some help though. I attempted this recipe with FLAXSEED MILK (soy and nut allergies). it is very thin? what should I do? the flavor is soooooooo good though! I love the flavor!
I just read your notes again. I think it was because I did not make a flax-egg in the beginning. it was very thin from the beginning. I will try again.
I just made this with sunflower oil, and it tastes amazing straight out of the blender!
Thank you for this, I was wondering if I could use sunflower oil instead of grapeseed?
lol disregard with my comment I missed one of the other comments! I cannot wait to try this. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Hi Isa- I tried this out the other night, it is SO delicious! I used chia seeds because it’s what I had on hand, and it did affect the color which didn’t bother me at all. It didn’t “firm up” as much as yours, so if anyone wants to use chia seeds I would up the amount maybe just a bit. I’ve been using this to make vegan breakfast sandwiches- English muffin with a spread of the mayonnaise, baked tofu, lettuce, tomato, and bell pepper- YUM!
Wow! I JUST made this and I LOVE it even now. Gonna make a little sandwich on the raw zucchini bread I “baked”.
Looking forward to tasting it tomorrow
Mmmmm, made it just this afternoon. It’s superb! Even with lime instead of lemon, garlicpowder instead of onion (sorry we don’t do dried onion in Amsterdam apparently) and olive oil instead of grape seed oil. Thanks for the recipe, It made my day!
It took less oil than the recipe said, but that’s good, I guess 🙂 Hugs!