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.
Oh, my goodness! I just made this and a whole new world has opened up to me! It’s delicious and so easy. The best part is, all of these ingredients are items I normally have on hand. No more 2-hour round trips for Vegenaise! Woohoo…thanks so much!
Is the onion powder essential? I am not the biggest fan of the way onion powder tastes. Would you suggest any substitutes? Thank you!
I finally made this (been meaning to for months). It is sooooooo good. The only things I did differently was sub rice vinegar for the white wine vinegar, Asian hot mustard powder for ground dried mustard (is that the same thing?), and used an olive/canola/grapeseed oil blend. I didn’t have any onion powder and thought about putting some actual onion or shallot, but didn’t want to take a chance with it having a weird texture. I’m so pumped about having an affordable alternative to store bought vegan mayo!
What happens to it after a week? It doesn’t seem to have delicate ingredients that might spoil in the refridgerator. I buy Vegennaise and like it – does it have some kind of preservative ingredient? I’m going to try this but I do hate to waste and don’t want to have to throw it out. Thanks for any advice!
Hi Isa. Can i substitute dry mustard with mustard paste??
I made this but I didn’t have flax. I had flax seed oil. I added 1/2 cup and I doubled the recipe. I used garlic powder and apple cider vinegar. Yummy!
I also used one packet of stevia instead of sugar
There is definately a lot to find out about this subject.
I like all of the points you’ve made.
Just found your site yesterday and this is the first recipe I’ve tried on this website. I made it exactly as you suggested and loved the vinegar added. Thank You so much for this recipe. As I type I am sitting here eating potato salad made with your mayo recipe. This mayo is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! I’m licking the plate. Will be using more recipes from this blog and this mayo is a keeper. Keep up the good work.
God Bless You!
AMAZING recipe!!!
This kind of recipes makes me so happy to be vegan. This is the first time I’ve ever made mayonnaise, and it came out beautifully. I’ll definitely do this recipe again and again!
This recipe should be known worldwide!
NB: I’ve made it with Dijon mustard (not powder) and agave (not sugar) and it worked perfectly.
Your recipe calls for “flax seeds (sometimes called flax meal).” What? Flaxseed is called flaxseed and flaxseed meal is called flaxseed meal. They are not the same. One is the seed; the other is the seed ground up into a flour consistency. Hope this help.
My recipe is correct, it says: 1 1/2 tablespoons ground golden flax seeds (sometimes called flax meal)
Best mayo, vegan or otherwise! I was a bit spacey and didn’t grind up my flax seeds first, so they went in whole; it still turned out great. I don’t use much mayo on average, so I made just enough to use for a batch of chickpea salad (yet ANOTHER stunningly amazing recipe from your gorgeous cookbook!). I snuck a bit for breakfast and am sooooo looking forward to lunch today: chickpea salad over greens with radish and avocado. Yum! Thanks, Isa!
I just made this for the first time and followed recipe exactly. The texture is great but it does not taste like Vegenaise to me. How close to veganaise is this supposed to be (ie were my expectations out of whack?). Can’t really describe what is different. Not tangy enough? I wanted to use it for eggless tofu salad but don’t know if it is quite right for that, as is. I think I will use it instead for a grilled tofu wrap. that sounds yum.
I just made this because I didn’t have any silken tofu in the house. WOW! I have not had mayonaise this thick and creamy since post vegan days. I didn’t even use all the oil.
The oil content does bother me a little. But since I mainly made this for my kids for blt sandwiches tonight, it’s ok. I will use avocado…if I can restrain myself (tastes so go too!).
oops, I mean prevegan! also, I used a vitamix at speed 7. next time I will turn it up slightly yo see if I can get away with using even less oil.
Oh my, thank you so much for the recipe! I am eating a spoonful right now, this is so awesome. I didn’t have onion powder or dry mustard, so i used 1/2tsp of mustard instead. I ground my own flaxseeds as well and used 2Tbsps apple cider vinegar. Came together in seconds (used a quality immersion blender)! This tastes a lot like miracle wip.
I just wanted to tell you that I made this mayo tonight, and it is AWESOME! The only differences were my almond milk wasn’t unsweetened, so I didn’t add any sugar. I used apple cider vinegar, and canola oil. I used to make mayo with egg all the time before I was vegan. This recipe tastes even better than the egg version!! Even if I wasn’t vegan I’d keep making this one. You were right that the flavor is strong at first, but I can honestly say that I love it, even straight out of the blender! I’m interested to see how the flavors blend tomorrow. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
That looks like a good recipe but I cannot make a mayonnaise containing mustard as my son is allergic. He is also allergic to eggs, dairy, nuts and gluten. Veganaise contains canola oil, which comes from the mustard seed. Thus my desire to make a decent mayo at home.
Do you have a recipe sans mustard?
Really stupid question- can I freeze it? I doubled the batch, why? I dunno…
This turned out great. I used almond milk sweetened slightly with agave and also added a pinch more agave ( this is for my son and I knew this would win him over). I also used apple cider vinegar . I think I could use less mustard next time or a different mustard as it has a wee bit of a hot flavour which my son might taste. I’m hoping it will be ok for him to take to school as it still has nuts ( it makes it so hard) .
Thanks for a yummy easy mayo .:)
I can’t wait to try this! This seems like the recipe I’ve been waiting for. Wish me luck!
I took the time to read through the comments. I was looking to see if anyone has ever frozen it?
At the very end of the comments, there was a question, but not yet an answer, regarding this.
If someone did freeze it, what happened? If not, I will have to give it a test. Not knowing how long it will last in the refrigerator, and wanting to keep it on hand for when I need it, I was hoping I could keep some in the freezer.
BTW: I heard so many good comments on your cook book, I am going to check it out!
I made this, this morning after seeing the chickpea salad sammich recipe which is next up. I am not vegan or even vegetarian and make my own non-vegan mayo regularly via immersion blender. All kind of long story and I hope not offending (the non-vegan part) to say that I made this with an immersion blender in a jar. I saw at least one other commenter used the immersion blender.
My method…blend the milk & flax seeds very well, add the rest of the ingredients and let all settle. Blitz briefly with the blender on the bottom of the jar until the mix starts emulsifying. Then raise the blender incorporating all of the oil. – This is same way it’s done with egg and oil.
I used my own homemade cashew cream which is flavor neutral and naturally thicker than the almond milk I also make. I used 1/4 cup canola and 1/2 cup grapeseed oil. I use 3/4 cup oil with 1 egg when I make regular mayo so I guessed this would be correct quantiy which it was.
It was fairly thick when done but thicker now (2 hours later). I think it is a little sweet and will reduce sugar next round but I love it! On to the sammy!
Thank you for this recipe! I had had a few failed attempts at making vegan and had pretty much given up, but now I have found the recipe I was looking for 🙂
This recipe turned out so well! I never thought to make my own but I will from now on, it was so simple. And I’m a college student with only a magic bullet to blend with.
Thanks, Isa. I recently gave up eggs and was despairing at the lack of mayo in my life. This has caused me to no longer despair.
I’ve made this a bunch of times before and it’s always worked out. Today I made it with the only difference being that I made it with almond milk(like the recipe says) and not soy like I usually do and it feels thinner than the oil was to begin with! Any ideas what gives?
OK I admit it, I was sceptical. Shop bought vegan mayo is terrible and as a recent convert, this fact was getting me down. Firstly I used whole flax seeds (linseed if your from the UK like me) and ground them in a coffee grinder. You can see flecks in my version but maybe you don’t if you spend the extra a buy the pre ground seeds. Secondly I had to double the quantity as the initial mixture sat under the blades of my blender. Thirdly I used rapeseed oil as this is a local produce of my home town, it’s thick like olive oil but has a very mild flavour, perfect, however as soon as I got blending my mayo was too thick! Had to add more soy milk and help the blender along by dangerously string the mixture while blending… the horror! The result was 3 jars of super thick and really lovely mayo that was slightly darker than real mayonnaise but the exact texture. Thank you so much Isa, you are a true inspiration x x
I made this today and it is absolutely fab.
I had to use red wine vinegar (all I had in the fridge) and I used a mixture of sunflower and olive oil.
I did use ground flax but, like the last poster, I still had speckles in my mayo. But it didn’t deter from the taste.
Better than any of the shop mayo (and in the UK we only have a few), and with less ingredients.
OMG… BEST vegannaise EVER!!!!
To anyone wondering if coconut milk (the beverage variety in the carton) will work instead of almond milk, it will! I’ve made this a bunch of times with almond milk and it’s always delicious. This time I didn’t have any and all I had was coconut milk — the sweetened kind, unfortunately. But luckily for me it actually still needed a tsp of sugar and it was golden!
Probably the most essential vegan recipe so far in my steadily growing repertoire. Second time making (see comment 4 steps above) and even better this time round. Bought the ‘golden’ (very important for pale colour) ‘ground’ (very important for even colour without speckles) flax seeds this time but found that the mayo didn’t thicken up quite so well (previously it had actually thickened up a little too much too quickly). I think this is due to me measuring the flax seeds before I ground them & therefore using far more by volume. To remedy this problem (rather timidly) I added another 1/2 tablespoon of ground flax seeds after all of the oil was already incorporated into the mayo and continued blending. Et voila! Mayo thickened up perfectly within seconds. Next time I will add another 1/2 tablespoon right from the start but this may not work for you, I guess everyone’s blender works slightly differently.
Big up to Isa once more, just bought her new book ‘Isa Does It’ and could not recommend it enough. Beautiful recipes with lovely fun descriptions and unlike Veganomicon lots and lots of lovely enticing pictures!
i just love how the universe works! just this morning i was wishing for a recipe for egg free mayo they i could make with stevia. i love veganaise, but it has rice syrup that i would like to avoid for awhile…so i will be making this today. thanks!
Tried it with run-of-the-mill plain soymilk and it still came out really well (even if a tad too sweet for my liking). Like others, mine came out flecked, but it’s no big deal. I’m SO looking forward to trying it with different oils and customizing it! Will never go back to the store bought kind.
Just made this mayo today. I guess not this exact one because I used olive oil and apple cider vinager and garlic powder instead of onion..but I just used what I had in the kitchen. I followed all the instructions and portions and my mayo turned out great!! It’s way better than the premade store bought vegan mayo. This mayo is very creamy and tasty. This is going into my forever recipe box 🙂
Oh My GoD! This stuff is amazing!!! No it does not taste like grapeseed vegenaise – it’s better! I even made the garbanzo sandwich immediately after and yes I slathered more ‘vegenaise’ on each bite! I am not a mayo eater, I tried vegenaise on a whim and was hooked, now I have two excellent things to slather on sandwiches, omelets, baked potatoes, uh basically everything savory. PPK you are now on my radar YES!
Made this with unsweetened soy milk and it seemed to thicken up FAST. I only ended up using 3/4 c oil, and even added some filtered water to thin it out a bit. Figured the water was okay since it’s on my vegenaise label. 🙂 Also, used a canola & coconut oil blend I found on sale, added only 1.5 teaspoons sugar and was out of onion powder, so omitted. Great recipe!
I’ve just made a batch of this and it is mellowing in the fridge. I had to use a sunflower/olive oil mix as I’ve never seen grape seed oil in Portugal. I seem to have had the opposite problem to many people as it got too thick for me (ended up a bit gelatinous) – maybe my ground linseeds are gloopier? I’ll try adding a bit less next time. Looking at the other comments, it looks like I probably could have stopped adding oil once it was thick enough, although I would think that would affect the flavour quite a bit. Never mind, this stuff will be great for spreading if not dipping and I’ll fiddle a bit with the next attempt. Great to have mayonnaise back in the fridge again!