This easy vegan mayo recipe has six ingredients and it is ready in five minutes. You can even add your favorite flavors to the basic recipe!
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Why you'll love this vegan mayo recipe
Authentic-tasting mayo
This vegan mayonnaise is creamy, smooth, and it tastes exactly as you expect mayo to taste, with no compromises. Serve it with your favorite veggie burger or stir it into any recipe that you'd use regular mayo in. No one will know the difference!
Wallet-friendly
It can cost upwards of 10 bucks for a small jar of high-quality plant-based mayonnaise. But this homemade vegan mayo is much easier on the wallet and it is made with real, wholesome ingredients.
Customizable recipe
You can add flavors you love to the base recipe, making it all your own. More on that in the ingredients list!
Fun to make
Making your own mayo is simply a wondrous process. No matter how often I make it, I am awed as the liquids combine and emulsify into a creamy sauce. You use the same science that creates egg-based mayo, only with different ingredients.
Ready in 5 minutes
All you need to do is the toss the ingredients into the blender. It really can't get any simpler.
Five-star review
I just made this! Amazing. My husband could not even believe that I'd just whipped it up!
-Lisa
The science of mayo (and vegan mayo)
To make mayo, you whisk oil into egg yolks and an acidic liquid, like vinegar, at high speed. The speedy motion disperses the droplets of fat evenly among the other ingredients, creating a thick, creamy emulsion.
In mayo, egg yolks make this magic happen because they contain lecithin, an emulsifying agent, and have other properties that make them strong emulsifiers. So when you remove eggs from the recipe, you are presented with a basic conundrum: how do you emulsify the vegan mayo?
The answer is an unlikely but easy one - soymilk.
Soymilk, like egg yolks, is a strong emulsifier. When you combine it with oil in the high-speed environment of a blender, you get a creamy, smooth, delicious mayo that feels and tastes like real mayo. It's the real deal with no compromises.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Soymilk: Soymilk is the best - and the only - plant milk option to use for vegan mayo. I use the Kirkland soymilk. You can use any soymilk of your choice but be sure to use an unflavored one.
- Apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar, or lemon juice): In mayo made with eggs, the vinegar acts as an aqueous agent--one of the two liquid agents (along with the oil) that the egg yolks emulsify. Since soy milk is both a liquid and an emulsifier in our soy milk mayo, you don't really need the vinegar for the emulsification. But the vinegar does add a nice tang and delicious, mayo-like flavor.
Flavor variations
You can stir nearly any flavoring into your homemade mayo, here are a few ideas:
- Wasabi: I used wasabi to flavor my mayo this time because it adds a wonderful, spicy flavor that I love.
- Mustard: You can use Dijon mustard or any creamy (not grainy) mustard. The mustard adds a nice yellow tinge and depth of flavor, and helps your homemade vegan mayo taste even more mayo-like.
- Cayenne or paprika, for color and zing.
- Garlic: I sometimes stir garlic powder into my mayo. You can also use roasted garlic for rich flavor.
- Herbs: Finely chop and stir herbs like chives, rosemary, basil or dill into the vegan mayo.
- Ground black pepper: Adds spicy flavor.
Recipe card
Vegan Mayo
Equipment you'll need
- Blender or immersion blender
Ingredients
- ½ cup soymilk (see FAQs above for other non-soy substitution ideas)
- 1 cup avocado oil or any neutral oil (or another vegetable oil)
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon wasabi (or horseradish powder, optional)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Place the soymilk in the blender. With the blender running on medium-low speed, pour the oil slowly through the feed tube until the ingredients emulsify and thicken.
- Turn off the blender, add the remaining ingredients to it, and turn it back on to medium-low speed until the mayo reaches a thick consistency. For the last few seconds you can increase the speed to high for just a couple of seconds to ensure all the ingredients are mixed.
- Store in a jar in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Information
Recipes to make with vegan mayo
- Classic vegan potato salad
- Vegan lemon pasta with basil
- Cauliflower risotto
- Vegan Maryland crab cakes
- Beet salad with garlic lemon vinaigrette
Recipe FAQs
Yes, but here's the thing: soymilk makes the best vegan mayo, hands down. I've experimented with a homemade cashew milk with okay, but not perfect, results. The cashew milk, which I made by combining a fourth of a cup of cashews with a fourth of a cup of water, did emulsify but the consistency was more fluid. It did thicken a bit when refrigerated.
You definitely can use an immersion blender, especially if you are making a smaller quantity of the mayo. To do this, put the mayo ingredients in the cup of an immersion blender or in a small cup. The blade should be immersed in the ingredients. Place the head of the immersion in the bottom of the cup and turn the blender on at high speed. Blend until the mayo forms.
If using a food processor, follow the same procedure as you would with a regular blender. Again, make sure that the blades are immersed in the liquid, otherwise double the recipe.
You can but be sure to check that the blender blades are immersed in the soy milk.
The flavor of olive oil can be a little strong and can make the mayo taste bitter. If you want to use olive oil, I'd recommend replacing no more than ¼ cup of the avocado oil with extra virgin olive oil.
You need twice as much oil as the milk for the mayo to reach the right consistency or you won't get the correct texture. This recipe makes 24 tablespoons of mayo and you'll have plenty to last you through several meals.
Store the mayo in the fridge in an airtight jar for up to a week. This recipe makes about a cup and a half of vegan mayo.
Kim says
Hello Vaishali,
Thank you for sharing this recipe. My son's girlfriend is vegan so I want to make her a personal hamper for Christmas.
Can you please advise if this mayo is freezable? I would like to make a larger batch that is freezer friendly, so she has some for more than a week 🙂
Thank you in advance.
Kim
Vaishali says
Hi Kim, you can freeze the mayo but because it is an emulsion it won’t look the same after it is thawed. It could separate and curdle a bit although it will still be edible.
Melissa says
I tried this recipe using oat milk. I know I know it didn’t work but it tastes like mayonnaise. Excited I went to aldi and bought organic soy milk came home and made mayo. It looked perfect but tasted horrible. It taste like chemicals. I’m convinced either my soy milk is bad or there’s a chemical reaction with milk and light tasting olive oil I used. Has anyone else experienced this? Please help. I want to try again but hate to waste ingredients.
Vaishali says
Hi Melissa, some soymilks have a strong aftertaste. Try using the Kirkland soymilk at Costco, which I love and use most often. You need a high protein content milk for the mayo to form. Also olive oil, even light tasting, will influence the flavor, so use a neutral oil if possible.
AngelaKin says
Finally I found the best alternate for Mayo!!!
Loved it!!!
Vaishali says
So happy to hear!
Marilyn says
Hi. Is the wasabi optional? Or just the horseradish? Thanks.
Vaishali says
You can use one or the other but you can also leave both out!
Lisa Potter says
I just made this! Amazing. My husband could not even believe that I’d just whipped it up! Wondering how long it will keep in refrigerator. Thank you.
Lisa
Vaishali says
Hi Lisa, so happy you made it. Because there are no preservatives in this it can only last for about a week in the refrigerator.
Michelle says
Hello,
I'm allergic to avocado, soy cow's milk and apple, what can I substitute for each of the items. I'm interested to try new thinks since I'm allergic to alot of foods. Newly found out issue. Thanks for your time and input!!
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi Michelle, unfortunately soy milk is an absolute requirement for this recipe. I've tested it with other non-dairy milks and it simply doesn't work. There are some non-soy, high-protein milks now available, including pea milk and protein flax milk, which might work, but I haven't tested any of these in my recipe. Instead of avocado oil you can use any neutral oil of your choice.