There are probably a million recipes out there for immersion blender mayo. So why did I write another one? Well, for starters I’ve developed my own ingredient list over the years as I learned what I could from several different sources. Additionally, I have a recipe nearly ready to post that uses mayo, so I wanted to share the one I actually use. Finally, and most importantly, I know that people often have trouble with immersion blender mayo. Sometimes no matter how many videos they watch, they just can’t get it right. My version uses both an immersion blender and a mini whisk to get a perfectly smooth and even mayo. If you don’t have a mini whisk you can use a fork, but it the whisk is much faster.
Jump to RecipeIn addition to the basic recipe, I’ve also included some techniques to help save “failed” batches. Since I learned these tricks, I’ve never had to throw out a batch of broken mayo. Never! So even if you have another favorite recipe that you love but you sometimes have trouble with it, I hope you can read suggestions and find them helpful.
Jump to RecipeThis post will also show my debut cooking video below the recipe. I wanted to show the process of making mayo from the chef’s perspective and at normal speed. Many of the videos out there are played at 1.25 or 1.5 times speed, which I personally think can lead to mayo failures because people try to rush the process. It also seems like many videos also show the process from the side, which admittedly is more visually appealing, but again isn’t as helpful when you actually try to do it yourself. Upon reviewing the video, I realized that I need to figure out a better lighting situation. I almost didn’t share it, but I decided to let go of my perfectionist ways and go with good-enough-for-now. Eventually I will make videos for the broken mayo techniques. My family won’t eat multiple batches of mayo before they go bad, and I really wanted to get this recipe out right away. The next time I make mayo I’ll try to deliberately have it fail so I can record a video on how to fix it.
Jump to RecipeCan I use different oils?
Maybe. Check out this post for my recommended healthy oils and oils to avoid. For mayo it is generally advised not to use extra virgin olive oil, because it has a very strong flavor that most people don’t want in their mayo. I would caution against using all MCT oil. I’ve done it when I ran out of avocado oil, but it doesn’t seem to emulsify quite as easily and the resulting mayo is not quite as thick. All avocado oil works great though if you don’t have any MCT!
Jump to RecipeWhat if I don’t have an immersion blender?
I have successfully made this mayo in a regular (not high speed) blender and a food processor. I’m fairly confident you could also make it with a stand mixer, a hand mixer, or even just a bowl and a whisk, but I haven’t tried those methods.
For a regular blender, simply place all ingredients except the mayo in the blender, turn it on, then slowly drip the oil in through the hole in the lid. When I used to do it this way I would poke a hole in the bottom of a small paper Dixie cup, place the cup in the blender hole – it fit perfectly without falling through – and then drizzle the oil into the cup. This way if I accidentally poured to fast the cup would slow the oil down to a drip. When I got about halfway through adding the oil I could start to pour much faster, eventually just adding all the remaining oil to the cup. The pressure from the extra oil in the cup made it drip faster.
For a food processor it works about the same as the blender. There was a small hole in the food pusher for the food processor I had, so I simply used the food pusher in place of the Dixie cup.
I’m unsure how it would work in a high speed blender like a Vitamix. There are recipes online for doing this, but most caution that if you take too long the heat from the friction of the blades will get too high and cause your emulsion to break. With my low profile Vitamix container, I don’t think ingredients would even come up high enough to engage the blades until a significant amount of oil had been added, which would not be good for getting it to emulsify. The taller, narrower Vitamix containers would probably work better. Perhaps when I go to make my “fail” videos I can try using my Vitamix to see what happens, and then rescue it if it doesn’t work.
Easy Homemade Mayonnaise
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp ground mustard
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ¼ cup MCT oil (approximately, or additional avocado oil)
- ¾ cup avocado oil (approximately)
Instructions
Making Mayo
- Mayo will emulsify more easily if all ingredients are at room temperature or slightly warmer. If your egg is refrigerated, place the egg (still in its shell) in a coffee cup and fill it with hot tap water. Set aside for five minutes while you gather the remaining ingredients.
- Place the egg, apple cider vinegar, ground mustard, and salt in a wide mouth pint size mason jar. Add MCT oil (if using) up to the 4 ounce marking on the jar. Then add avocado oil up to the 10 ounce marking.
- Place the immersion blender in the jar. Make sure the egg yolk is under the blender, the blender is touching the bottom of the jar, and the blender is parallel with the sides of the jar.
- Turn the blender on high. Leave it in place until there begins to be emulsification at the bottom of the jar, approximately 10 seconds.
- Tilt the running blender until it is resting on the side of the jar.
- Slowly pull the running blender up through the jar. This should take about 30 seconds. Move very slowly to allow the blender to gradually pull the oil into the emulsion. If you go too fast, your emulsion will break.
- After all the oil is pulled in, turn off the blender and remove it from the jar. There might be small pockets of unemulsified oil. I like to stir the mayo a bit with a mini whisk to make sure it is smooth and creamy throughout.
- Top the mason jar with its lid and band and store the mayo in the fridge for up to a week.
Rescuing Broken Mayo
- If your mayo is only slightly broken, like it looks almost emulsified, but not quite, or if it was emulsified at first but then broke as the blender neared the top of the jar, you may be able to rescue it with your mini whisk. Simply whisk the broken mayo until it becomes smooth and creamy.
- If whisking didn't work, add another egg to the broken mayo and repeat steps 3-8 above. Make sure to move VERY slowly when pulling the blender up through the mixture. The resultant mayo will be slightly thinner than usual, but it will still work in recipes.