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Which oils to consider for making nourishing homemade mayonnaise and which is best based on taste, consistency and healthy fat content.
Life without mayonnaise? Perish the thought! It is an essential condiment in the kitchen and learning how to make healthy mayo yourself is so simple and easy that once you give it a go, you won’t be settling for anything from the store – including the healthfood store – ever again!
Even homemade eggless mayo is super simple to whip up yourself. Psst. Don’t use aquafaba though!
The smooth, creamy texture and sheer elegance that quality mayo imparts to sandwiches, salads, and sauces are certainly unrivaled at least in American cuisine.
Never does the thought cross my mind to “go light on the mayo”. If I am feeling like a huge dollop or two, I feel free to indulge myself given that the mayo I insist on using is of superior freshness and quality and made with health-boosting oils and liquid whey for additional digestive enzymes and even probiotics.
Given that the fats used in the mayo are the most critical ingredient, which oils are the best ones to select?
Sunflower or Sesame?
I tell folks that when making mayo for the first time, use sunflower seed oil as this will give the closest consistency and taste to store mayo.
However, sunflower oil is a high omega-6 oil. This is fine if one follows whole food, traditionally based diet where the omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acid ratio is roughly between 1:1 and 1:4.
If one is still in the process of transitioning off processed foods, however, a lower omega-6 oil is probably a better choice. This is because processed foods are loaded with rancid omega-6 oils. Too much in your diet encourages inflammation.
Note that including even a few processed foods in the diet can skew that omega-3 to omega-6 balance in a hurry!
If you are concerned about your omega-6 intake, unrefined sesame oil is a good choice for mayo as it is higher in oleic acid (monounsaturated, omega 9 fat) and lower in omega-6 fats (polyunsaturated) than sunflower oil. Oleic acid is the healthy fat found in great quantity in avocados and olive oil.
Olive Oil
If oleic acid is so fantastic, then why not just use extra virgin olive oil for mayo?
While this can be a good choice for some, many folks find the flavor of olive oil mayonnaise too strong.
Using half olive oil and half sesame oil is an option for a milder taste which is still high in oleic acid.
In addition, some folks find that olive oil really packs the weight.
Oleic acid is a long-chain fatty acid and is more likely to contribute to the buildup of body fat than shorter chain fatty acids found in coconut oil or ghee. Let’s talk about both of those next.
Coconut Oil or Ghee
What about ghee or coconut oil for mayonnaise?
I’ve made mayo with ghee before and it turns out absolutely fabulous. The one drawback is that the mayo turns out too rich in my opinion. It also hardens in the refrigerator and loses consistency when brought to room temperature.
Since I like to use a lot of mayo, using all ghee doesn’t really work for me in most situations. However, half ghee and half sesame oil can work to lighten up the richness factor a bit.
A similar problem happens with coconut oil mayo. It hardens in the fridge and can’t be used quickly for chicken salad and other dishes.
If you choose to make coconut oil mayonnaise, be sure to use expeller-pressed, which is flavorless. Virgin coconut oil results in a coconut flavored mayo, which some people do not enjoy.
Blended Oils
Another option for homemade mayo is to blend fats together to achieve a good taste and consistency.
One I’ve used in the past is 1/2 sunflower or sesame oil and 1/2 expeller pressed coconut oil.
Since coconut oil goes very firm below 76 F/24 C, using half expeller-pressed coconut oil produces a mayo that is very thick and scoopable even after refrigeration.
Another option suggested by the Weston Price Foundation is what’s known as “Mary’s Blend” after the late Dr. Mary Enig, a PhD in lipids. She suggested a blend of 1/3 olive oil, 1/3 sesame oil, and 1/3 coconut oil.
Avocado Oil. My Favorite Fat for Mayo
As you can see, there are numerous options for healthy fats for making mayo.
Judging based on taste, nourishing lipid content, and consistency (both at room temperature and refrigerated), my favorite is avocado oil.
It is mild tasting, has a fatty acid profile similar to olive oil, and the mayo stays creamy in the fridge.
If you must buy, there are a couple of brands now available that are acceptable. This is the brand I use in a pinch. The only downside is that it does not use raw egg yolks, and it is a bit pricey.
Be sure to check my Resources page for a list of brands I trust that supply quality oils for all your mayo-making endeavors!
Here’s a short video of what avocado oil mayo looks like after I made a batch.
Grapeseed oil is industrially processed with hexane and other carcinogenic solvents, and traces will remain in the oil. It is also very high in omega 6 fats so best to avoid.
I also was buying safflower oil then read it wasn’t the best choice. So I’ve been using sunflower oil from whole foods, think it’s expeller pressed. Is that ok? I also don’t want such a heavy tasting mayo. I’ve been buying Louanna coconut oil from Walmart. Is this ok to use. With a really limited budget for our family of 8, I have to really pick and choose. otherwise, the price at the healthfood store for coconut oil is double!
Yes, sunflower is fine. You might want to try half expeller coconut oil and half sesame. The fatty acid profile of this mix is better than plain sunflower and the taste is still very mild.
chelsey, grapeseed is great and has hardly any flavour!
Hi Deb, expeller coconut oil works well for mayo but blend it with half sesame oil as it can get too hard in the fridge otherwiswe.
thanks for this article, I might give your suggested oils a try, We’ve been experimenting with different recipes but all using olive oil and my family can’t stand it. If I don’t find a recipe that will work mayo may be the fall of the GAPS diet for my husband 😉
So I’m a little confused. Ghee has to be a little warm to stay liquid but the mayo never seems to come together unless it’s perfectly room temperature. How do you do it?
Just gently warm it in a glass jar on the stovetop and liquify before making your mayo.
I have a question. I make homemade mayo and at first I tried and tried to find expeller pressed sunflower oil at my health food stores. I finally was able to special order it at my local Healthy Life Market. I found that expeller pressed safflower oil was much easier to find. Is safflower oil ok for mayo?
Also, does sesame oil have a flavor? I have only used toasted sesame oil in the past and, of course, it is extremely flavorful.
Thanks!
Plain sesame oil is much much milder than the toasted sesame oil. Safflower is not a great choice as it is not a traditional oil and is very high in omega 6 fats. You can get a high oleic safflower oil (omega 9 fats), but if you’re going to go that route, sesame oil would be better as sesame is definitely an oil that was used by traditional cultures.
thanks!
Oops…that sentence is supposed to start, “It has the consistency…”
it is so funny that you posted this because I have been experimenting with making mayo this week. I make a lot of chicken salad for lunch and salmon salad so I like making my own mayo to mix in. I used olive oil for the last couple of batches that I made but I am going to go back to using an oil blend that my chiropractor wants me to take. It’s the 3.6.9 oil blend from Omega Nutrition called “Essential Balance.” It has flax oil, pumpkin seed oil, sesame oil, olive oil, and avocado oil. I may experiment with half of this oil with half coconut oil or maybe ghee.
Ghee is awesome. It adds a richness that is something I have never experienced before with mayo. Half ghee is probably best though as it can get too rich using just ghee alone,.
Sarah, I have a question. I’ve made my own mayo several times and discovered a few things: one, olive oil mayo is gross tasting–I threw it out–and if I can even find organic safflower oil, it’s wa-aay pricey, and I can’t find an organic sunflower oil. Does Whole Foods carry it, I wonder? ANYWAY…my question is this: I’ve become enamoured of coconut oil and coconut palm oil, which are both very good for us. I’m wondering, since the coconut palm oil doesn’t smell or taste like coconut, would that work for the mayo? I has the consistency, however, of softened butter–not as stiff as virgin coconut oil. Still should work, right? What are your thoughts? I’m thinking of making a batch with the coconut palm oil, a product of Tropical Traditions.
The only thing to consider is if you are going to make more than you need at a time and refrigerate it a more saturated fat oil like coconut oil will be a much stiffer mayo when you first pull it out of the fridge. Otherwise if it is a pretty neutral tasting oil it would work fine. This can be remedied by letting it sit out 5-10 minutes before using it if you think to (which isn’t really bad as long as you have added whey for lacto-fermentation. Of course to blend it up to make the mayo it would need to be in a liquid form but not too hot.
Spectrum Foods carry quite a few different kinds of oils, some are organic some are not, some are refined, some are not – so be sure to check and double check if you decide to order.
http://www.spectrumorganics.com/?id=6
If you decide you want to order something, sometimes their products are available at amazon or vitacost, too. I’m sure there are other places online, as well. If you want to order directly from Spectrum, go to the very top right-hand corner and click on the ordering section.
They have grapeseed oil.