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Paleo Mayo

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Last updated on November 18th, 2018

The best paleo mayo in 1 minute- say what? With the right ingredients and tools in hand, you’ll be well on your way to creating the most perfect paleo mayo ever!

The best paleo mayo recipe

A paleo mayonnaise recipe that’s a real winner!

Immersion blenders are AMAZING- I always use them when I’m making soups and stews, too- so convenient. Plus the cleanup is minimal: all you will need to wash is the blade of the blender (which detaches from the stick part!)

Why am I even making this paleo mayo recipe? Well, I started a Whole30 on Monday, and I have taken over the Whole30 Recipes Instagram page for the week.

There, I am sharing my best practices while Whole30’ing, recipes, and tips and tricks I have while grocery shopping, prepping food, etc.

One of my biggest secrets/tips would be to have a jar of this stuff in the refrigerator at all times. It’s so dang versatile, and you’re going to need all of those healthy fats during your journey!

Why is this paleo mayo recipe so awesome?

What’s the deal with paleo mayo? Why is it all the rage? Before trying this mayo, I was unsold on ever being able to like mayonnaise.

Kraft mayo from the store- no, thank you. The taste comparison is incredibly different, and I’d never find myself dipping vegetables and homemade roasted potatoes in a bottle of Kraft mayonnaise.

However, I find myself slathering this goodness all over everything: I’m talking about scrambled eggs, roasted vegetables, chicken, etc.

The best paleo mayo recipe

The customization options are truly endless and you get to control how acidic or salty your mayonnaise tastes! Make it your own.

Sure, you can buy some awesome brands that are Whole30 compliant like Primal Kitchen Foods, but homemade paleo mayo is really quick and easy to whip up when you’re pressed for time and can’t run to the store or wait for your order to be shipped to you.

You don’t need much and chances are, you’ll have the majority if not all of these ingredients already in your pantry!

I love mixing in different spices like: curry powder, some cayenne, garlic powder or turmeric into my homemade mayos! The possibilities and flavor combinations are endless. Pair it with your breakfast scramble, grilled meat & vegetables or use it as a dip!

This paleo mayo recipe

What’s awesome about this paleo mayo is that it can be used as the base in many other dips and aiolis.

Check out some recipes you can use it for below:

Dairy Free Whole30 Potato Salad

Paleo Whole30 Chicken Salad Boats

Low Carb Cauliflower ‘Potato’ Salad


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Paleo Mayo

Servings 1 cup
Prep Time 1 minutes
Prep Time 1 minutes
The best paleo mayo in 1 minute- say what? With the right ingredients and tools in hand, you’ll be well on your way to creating the most perfect paleo mayo ever!
Ingredients
  • 1 cup avocado oil or light-tasting olive oil
  • 1 egg at room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
Ingredients
  • 1 cup avocado oil or light-tasting olive oil
  • 1 egg at room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
Instructions
  1. In a tall and NARROW glass jar, pour in the avocado oil.
  2. Add egg to the oil. Add mustard and water to the mixture.
  3. Let all of the ingredients settle for 1 minute.
  4. Take the immersion blender and let it touch the bottom of the container, piercing the egg yolk completely.
  5. Turn the immersion blender on and leave it on the bottom for about 20-30 seconds, until the whole bottom has turned white in color.
  6. Very slowly lift it up to continue emulsifying. This process should take anywhere between 30 seconds to 1 minute. Continue blending until the mixture has thickened to your desired amount.
  7. Stir in the salt and gently fold in the lemon juice. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. The mayonnaise will continue to thicken as it sets in the refrigerator overnight!
Recipe Notes

It's very important for the egg to be at room temperature in order to help with emulsification!

Make sure your glass jar / container is narrow.

The mayonnaise will continue to thicken as it sets in the refrigerator overnight!

Author: Monica Stevens Le
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. My husband and I started the Whole30 this week too, and I’ve been looking for a recipe like this. I’m excited to try it out!

    Reply

  2. Very excited to try this recipe!!! My husband and I started the whole30 this week and it will be nice to have this on hand!

    Reply

  3. I’m a senior, and I learned to make mayo this way some time ago, but it used an Osterizer. I’m glad to see this method getting internet coverage. It’s so much easier than the old method. It’s practically no-fail. And makes great mayo. I added paprika, cider vinegar and cayenne to my recipe. Whatever did we do before immersion blenders?

    Reply

  4. Thanks for your recipe. I don’t have an immersion blender and tried it with my ninja – and couldn’t get it to emulsify. I made a second batch, but used a hand mixer and followed your second set of instructions and it worked. I then pulled a little of the emulgied stuff out (as a starter) and slowly added the unemulsified batch to it (using the hand mixer) and got it to work. Both batches were thinner than I expected, but still tasty, and will work for what I intend to use it for. Thanks!

    Reply

  5. This does not taste good. I used olive oil. I didn’t have avocado oil. I wish I knew how to make it taste better.

    Reply

  6. I just tried making this mayo with my new Immersion blender on its lowest speed and the consistency is still liquid. Could it be that my lowest speed is not slow enough. I am so upset because I bought it specifically to make mayonnaise. Ugh? What type do you use?

    Reply

  7. Where has this mayo recipe been all my life!
    Made no changes, used the immersion blender….easy, easy to whip up.
    To die for! A million hugs to you❣️

    Reply

  9. This is awesome I just made this and it worked perfect. I have been wanting to make homemade mayo for years I tried it once about 10 yrs ago with my food processor and it didn’t work. I am on a special diet and love mayo so this homemade is perfect, easy and delicious!! Thank you

    Reply

    • You’re SO welcome. I’m really happy to hear that because it’s been getting some bad reviews, and I’ve been wondering why. I’ve never had an issue with it emulsifying when using an immersion blender. Anyway, I’m so thrilled you love it. Enjoy!

      Reply

    • Hi there. I’m so sorry to hear that. It sounds like it did not emulsify properly. The immersion blender is what I have found to work best. Is there any way you can get your hands on one?

      Reply

    • I have never heard of any issues, personally. I buy my eggs from a local farmer who I know keeps good practices. Just make sure you’re purchasing good quality, organic eggs 🙂

      Reply

      • Also for anyone else with the question, the acid from the lemon juice or vinegar essentially “cooks” the eggs. So there isnt truly anything raw in it. Similar to the way ceviche is “cooked” in citrus.

        Reply

  15. I am so disappoInted. I used the exact ingridients and method, after two failed attempts i tried it several other ways and no luck 🙁 so much wasTed food… what am i doing wrong??

    Reply

  16. I used exact ingredients and immersion blender and it’s liquid. Also the recipe above calls for salt but doesn’t say when to add it

    Reply

    • Hi Kelly, I sometimes receive comments like these and it breaks my heart. Sometimes, it just doesn’t emulsify, but this only happens to me about 1 in 8 times. I wonder if we can troubleshoot somehow. I’d be willing to walk through it with you or send you a video. Did you see my video? Also, sorry about the salt. My mistake!

      Reply

  17. Hi there! Gonna try to make this in a vitamix blender. What is the blending speed I need it on to make the mayo? Fast or slow?? Thanks so much!!

    Reply

  18. Making sure the egg is at room temperature when you start will help it emulsify, if you’re having problems. I’ve used olive oil and avocado oil for this recipe and I like them both! Just different. I also added about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and omitted the mustard because I didn’t have any Whole30 compliant mustard on hand.

    Reply

    • Hi Rachel, thank you SO much for sending this over. I will be sure to include this in my notes so people have a bit more success. I love using avocado oil and light tasting extra virgin olive oil, too. I will need to try your method with the ACV. Yum!!! Have you already left a review towards the bottom of the recipe? That helps me out a ton!

      Reply

  19. This mayo is great and I’ve made it twice in my food processor. You just have to pour in the oil very very slowly while motor is running….super slowly….But ya know, my mom made this in the fifties with just a Sunbeam mixer….so use what you have and just realize emulsification is a process not a dump everything in kind of recipe.

    Reply

  20. I just made this. It has a beautiful consistency!! I cannot find avocado oil, so I used extra light olive oil. I added just a wee bit of garlic powder….not enough to measure. At room temp, it does taste a bit odd, but, I think it will be better when it gets cold. I didn’t have an immersion blender, and I used my mini food processor. I just kept hitting pulse, ever so quickly. Pretty sure I will make it again.

    Reply

  21. This looks like a great recipe!

    https://whole30.com/2014/05/mayo/

    This is the link to the official whole 30 mayo recipe- it talks all about the different reasons why a mayo won’t turn out and gives tips/tricks. Maybe check it out if this recipe isn’t turning out for some people?

    Hope this helps!

    Reply

  22. I gently fold in the lemon juice after the Mayo is done. I’ve read in other places putting it in ahead can sometimes cause issues with the immulsification. Just wanted to share this tip. It works for me…and I absolutely LOVE this recipe. Thanks for sharing it!

    Reply

  23. This just doesn’t work!!! I’m so tired of throwing away eggs and oil. I’ve tried every way imaginable to get this right. I fricking give up!!

    Reply

    • Hi Anita, I’m very, very sorry to hear this. I’ve made this mayo about 20 times and have never had an issue. Did you follow the instructions exactly and look at the video tip I included? Can you share with me your exact ingredients? I’d love to troubleshoot with you.

      Reply

  26. I made a batch and it turned out perfectly! Used 2/3 of it in a chicken salad so decided to whip up another batch. It’s did not turn out right and was liquidy. So tried again. Liquid again!! After using almost all of my avocado oil I was mad. Let the last batch of liquid mayo to sit while I ran an errand. Probably an hour later I put the immersion blender in my liquid mayo, turned it on and voila!! It whipped up instantly! So if yours doesn’t turn out right let it sit for a while and try again! Maybe you will be lucky like me!

    Reply

  27. this recipe is a disaster and i would absolutely NOT RECOMMEND. i used the exact proportions and followed the recipe perfectly, including using the immersion blender, and i ended up with something liquid and not like mayonnaise in the slightest. extremely disappointed and angry that i wasted a cup of avocado oil on this recipe. thanks for nothing!

    Reply

    • Hi there. I’m so sorry to hear that it didn’t turn out for you. Emulsification can be a tricky process, but I have done everything I can to list tips, tricks and provide a link to a helpful video. I’ve never had a problem with the recipe, and I’ve received hundreds of reports of it coming out just lovely. Again, I’m so sorry you feel disappointed and angry.

      Reply

  28. Thanks so much for this recipe! I tried a different recipe in the blender and it was a total fail! This was so easy and turned out perfectly 🙂

    Reply

  29. This recipe did not work for me. The only way I’m able to make homemade mayo is by slowly adding the oil to the egg. Kinda disappointed :/

    Reply

    • Hi there. Did you make sure the blade of the immersion blender had completely covered the egg yolk? You need to blend at the very bottom and once you start seeing some creaminess form, that’s when you VERY slowly start moving up and down. I’ve been making this mayo for years and have never had issues. I would LOVE to help you troubleshoot though. That’s what I am here for!

      Reply

      • I tried and it didn’t work. I have made paleo mayo 100 times. When I saw this easy recipe I thought I would give it a shot. Wish I would have read the comments first. I think a much more fool proof way would be starting with 1/4 cup of oil blend till thickened then slowly add oil. The problem is some blenders like mine mix all the oil in too fast. Also it needs to be a narrow container. If its to big you will have the same problem to much oil will be at bottom to emulsify. I have been to culinary school I had a feeling it wasn’t going to work because their are to many things that can go wrong with this method.

        Reply

  31. Tried this and I love the Mayo. It is a little loose. Just put it in the refrigerator and next day it is perfect. After it is mixed up I add the salt, garlic, and dillweed. I use it mostly as a base for sauces and dips. Perfect!

    Reply

  33. OUTSTANDING! I normally HATE mayo and use it in as small quantities as possible. I dislike most store bought paleo mayos as well. This, however, was easy and great. I note however: I used to make lotions and hand creams. Emulsification absolutely requires not only that the two things you are mixing are at the same temp but also that they are at a slightly warm temp. I used body temp as my guide when making lotions and did the same here, and it worked like a charm (literally stick your finger in the oil and the egg until they feel the same as your body temp). I also halved this recipe by mixing the egg ahead of time and giving half to the ever grateful dog. I did use olive oil and recommend using avocado oil or lighter because the flavor is strong (which I like but others might not). I subbed apple cider vinegar for the lemon juice and it worked well.

    Reply

  35. Hi I tried this recipe for the first time yesterday. I was impressed with the consistancy and it looked like store bought mayo… The taste left something to be desired. It has like this card board after taste that I can barely stomach. I used avocado oil too which is sad beause it’s so expensive. How do I remedy the after taste?

    Reply

    • Hi Christina. Hmph, I feel a bit stumped by this? I’ve never been given this feedback before. If you aren’t loving the taste, I’d play around with more acid, salt/pepper or add some dried drill/garlic to the mixture. Can you let me know what you think?

      Reply

  36. Ok, I’m old school. This is how I learned to make mayo in culinary arts school. Start with the egg yolk in the bowl. Make sure you have no white whatsoever. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice and whip your yolk until it is the palest shade of yellow. I was taught to do this with a hand whisk but an immersion blender or a regular blender works just as well. Once the egg yolk is beaten to pale yellow start adding your oil literally one drop at a time, then progress to the thinnest stream. I can’t emphasize enough go really, really slow when adding the oil. The key to getting it to emulsify is adding your oil slowly. Then when all your oil is added you can adjust the taste. If you go too fast and your mayo starts to break/separate add another egg yolk and beat the Heck out of it before you continue adding oil.

    Hope this helps
    -Kristie

    Reply

      • Hi….can you freeze this mayo? Is the consistency ok after thawing? It makes way more then I can use in a week.
        This will be my second try and both times it worked great! But this time I would like to freeze some so I don’t have so much waste.

        Reply

        • Hi there. I have NEVER tried to freeze mayo, but I don’t see why you couldn’t. Can you let me know how it turns out after being thawed? I’m so curious and would love to share with the rest of my readers! 🙂

          Reply

  37. Yay! It worked for me, and I’m so excited to have some yummy mayo! I followed the instructions in the Whole 30 cookbooks, and it turned out completely liquidy, so I’m very glad I found your recipe on Pinterest! Thank you!

    Reply

    • Hi Jody. That makes me so happy to hear. Paleo mayonnaise can be super finicky, so I’m relieved this recipe is working for you. You’ll have to try it incorporated in my chicken and tuna salad recipes, too. So delicious!

      Reply

  38. I have made it three times now and perfect every time! Love it! I never knew making my own mayo would be so easy. And it’s been a life saver while doing Whole30! I have used it to make chicken or tuna salad. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  39. Thank you for the Mayo recipe!! I have never been a fan of mayo, I have always preferred miracle whip instead. But, since starting the whole 30 I am really trying to expand and try new foods. I did read that sometimes if your olive oil has an aftertaste it will affect the taste of your mayo and that may be some peoples issues with taste. A recommendation that I had seen somewhere is if you don’t care for the olive oil taste on your finger alone, then you will not like it in your mayo. I was also starting to wonder if maybe some people’s half of a lemon may be larger than others. When I juiced my half I had over 6 Tbsp. I thought that if I added all of that I was certain it would make it to runny. So I only added about 3 Tbsp. and if seemed a little loose so I went at it with the blender again and it thickened right up. It’s too bad there are so many critical comments. I think we all need to understand that sometimes it is trial and error and also need to understand that the store bought mayo is full of unhealthy preservatives which affect taste and we have become accustomed to the take of all that garbage. I do thank you for the recipe as I know that I will make it again and I can already imagine dipping my sweet potato fries in this. Yum!

    Reply

  40. So after reading a slew of comments I am ready to post my failure. Followed the recipe using olive oil and some mustard powder as I have no mustard. I was using a magic bullet and it was rather liquid. Thoughts? (Aside from buying an immulsion blender. I live in the middle of nowhere and running out to grab one is not an option.) Alos at the end I “folded” in the lemon juice and now it just seems to have curdled it?

    Reply

    • I’ve never heard of the curdling… and I’ve never used a magic bullet. Have you tried using YouTube to find a how-to video with that method? I want to troubleshoot with you 🙂

      Reply

  42. Total fail for me too. I did use my mixer because don’t have immersion….but thought it would still work. ☹️ Disappointed.

    Reply

  43. I just made the mayo in a coffee mug since my small jar mouth was too small for my immersion blender. I was nervous due to previous failure but counted to 30 as I turned on the blender sitting in the bottom of the cup, I watched as pillows started billowing up and I held it down to the 30 second count, then slowly raised it to about the half way mark and counted another 15 then to the top another 15. It was perfect. Sad news .. it tasted rank, almost rancid.
    my only mistake was a big one. I used extra virgin olive oil, not light. I had no idea it would make that big a difference. For those complaining of hating on your recipe and trying to advise you to do differently please don’t listen! Thanks, I’ll be making again when I get the right oil.👍
    Tina

    Reply

  44. Hi! I absolutely love this recipe! I am counting calories. With the recipe exact how many calories would I count for like a tablespoon or so?

    Reply

  45. Wow, thank you. I followed the intructions exactly, it turned out great.
    (after we each tried the Whole 30 cookbook recipe, and failed earlier today)

    Reply

  46. I swear this is the same recipe I used recently and it was so easy but I did it just now and it’s soupy. I can’t figure out what’s different. I tried using two extra egg yolks but it’s still liquid. We are using a vitamix (no immersion blender).

    Reply

  47. I made this today and it worked wonderfully. I added a splash of cider vinegar for a bit of punch. It emulsified just as it should and is sitting pretty in the fridge. I also use a cuisinart. I found it a little bitter, but I accidentally used a portion of lime. Not the same. My fault. 🙂

    Thank you!

    Reply

  48. Mixture never thickened. Not too surprised though. Traditionally you add oil slowly to an egg YOLK as it emulsifies. I’ve never seen someone dump all the oil in at once. Even used an all clad immersion blender. Plenty powerful.

    Reply

    • Hi Brian. I’m sorry you were having trouble with this recipe. The importance of using a narrow jar is crucial… that is how the mixture emulsifies without having to pour in the oil slowly. If you feel up for trying it again, I welcome your feedback.

      Reply

  49. Made this tonight in preparation of starting paleo on Monday. Instead of dijon mustard, I subbed for onion powder and mustard powder- amazing!!! I have to say the importance of using a narrow jar is extremely important, with the emulsification of the egg at the bottom, with the blender. Your instructions were pretty explicit, which I really appreciated.

    As a side note, your responses to some of these commenters has been very graceful and constructive. It can be difficult when not everyone gets the same result with a singular recipe. Thank you for this! It worked for me!

    Reply

    • Hi Amanda. Thank you so, so much for your sweet words. I have never had an issue with the mixture emulsifying when using a narrow jar- as you said. I understand why / how people have allowed themselves to get so frustrated, as the ingredients are NOT cheap. However, I am so happy the mayo turned out fo you. It’s one of my favorite staple recipes on and off a Whole30!

      Reply

  51. I tried this recipe for the first time today, and it was so easy! I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to make my own paleo mayo!

    Reply

  52. I tried making mayo about a year ago, and didn’t like the taste. I decided to try again, and this time I love it! I’m wondering if maybe the brand of avocado oil makes a difference. This time I used Primal Kitchen. I liked the flavor so much after adding the salt, I didn’t add the lemon juice for fear of messing it up. My egg and mustard were straight out of the fridge and I had no problems emulsifying. I used an empty ghee jar and my trusty immersion blender. Just wanted to thank you for your recipe and let others know to keep trying with different oils if they aren’t happy with their first batch.

    Reply

  53. Hi! This is the first and only mayo i have ever been able to successfully make on my own! And it’s delicious. Thank you so much for the recipe, and for all of your help! I really appreciated it and will definitely steer any friends that ask to this recipe!

    Reply

  54. I have tried to make this twice. The first time in the Bullet as I didn’t have an emulsifier- did not work. I bought an emulsifier, still didn’t work. I wasted an entire bottle of avocado oil. I followed the directions to the T. A couple of my friends were not successful either. It’s very upsetting.

    Reply

    • Hi there, I’m so sorry to hear this. I have made this recipe a hundred times and never had any issues. Did you use a mason jar / glass jar that was just a smidgen bigger than the immersion blender base / blade? Did you wait for several seconds blending at the bottom until you saw it emulsify and turn white before moving it up slowly? I’d like to help you troubleshoot! I’m also sorry I didn’t respond quicker, I was in Hawaii until yesterday!

      Reply

  55. This was my first time making homemade mayo for a buffalo chicken salad, and it turned out great! I used safflower oil instead of avocado oil, a tall & narrow glass and followed the instructions exactly. My egg wasn’t quite at room temp, so I ran it under some warm water for a few seconds and that brought it to room temp! This is now a staple in our kitchen!

    Reply

  56. I followed your recipe as in the instructions, and I’m so god damn happy I can make my own Mayo now.
    Thank you, thank you.

    Reply

  57. Hi, I am eliminating all high-histamine foods for a few weeks to test for sensitivity, so I cannot use lemon or lime juice, vinegars, aminos, mustard, etc. Any recommendations for substitutions during this time? Thanks in advance?

    Reply

    • Hi there. That is so wonderful you are doing this… I am doing the same thing with my 6-month old daughter as I begin introducing solid foods. I’m not sure how the mayo would turn out without mustard and lemon juice… no apple cider vinegar either, correct?

      Reply

  58. Awesome recipe! I made sure that the egg, mustard, and water were at room temperature. It came out perfectly! Thanks!

    Reply

    • That makes me so happy to hear- I’ve never had issues either. Feel free to rate the recipe using the star system within the recipe card. That helps my readers and I out tremendously. Thank youuuu!! 🙂

      Reply

  59. Hey… everything is pretty clear cut. The only question is, What the heck does it mean FOLD IN the lemon juice? help a brotha out.

    Reply

  60. So delicious! I’ve been making this for over a year now and haven’t bought premade mayo since. I follow the ingredients, method exactly and have never had any issues. Thanks for the awesome recipe. It gets my mayo loving hubby’s approval!

    Reply

  61. Love this recipe. I even made it wrong the first time by pouring all ingredients in in the beginning and not letting them come to room temp. It worked perfectly so that’s how I do it every time. I use a 4 cup measuring cup and a breville immulsion blender set at the highest speed. Folks, the recipe is solid. If it doesn’t work for you, keep trying!

    Reply

    • Andrea, this makes me so happy to hear. I’ve made it about 300 times, and I love it too 🙂 Be sure to rate the recipe using the star system on the recipe card if you can. It helps me out tremendously!

      Reply

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