Immersion Blender Mayo

Thick, creamy, and bright with lemon and Dijon, ready in under a minute in a mason jar. For sandwiches, potato salad, deviled eggs, or whisked into a quick aioli.

What You’ll Need

• 1 large egg yolk, room temperature. Cold yolk straight from the fridge is the #1 reason mayo breaks. Let it sit out for 30 minutes.
• 1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard. Don’t skip it; it’s an emulsifier, not just adding flavor.
• 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice. Fresh works, but you’ll need to strain the pulp. Bottled is easier.
• ¾ to 1 cup neutral oil (avocado, light olive, or sunflower)
• ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste

Equipment You’ll Need

• Wide-mouth mason jar. The jar needs to fit the head of your immersion blender snugly. regular-mouth jar is too narrow and a wide bowl is too wide. This matters!!!
• Immersion blender. A regular blender or food processor won’t emulsify the same way in such a small batch.

Instructions

Layer everything in the jar

Crack your egg yolk straight into the bottom of a wide-mouth mason jar, then add the lemon juice, Dijon, and salt right on top of it. Pour the oil over everything last and leave it alone. Don’t stir, don’t swirl, don’t peek under the oil to see how it looks.

The layering is the whole trick here. The yolk needs to stay at the bottom so the immersion blender can grab it first and pull oil down into it gradually. If you stir at this point, you’ve already started working against yourself.

Blend from the bottom up

Push the immersion blender straight down to the bottom of the jar so the head completely covers the egg yolk. Turn it on at medium-low and just hold it there.

Don’t move it, don’t tilt it, don’t get curious. Five to ten seconds.

You’ll see the bottom of the jar turn pale and creamy first. That’s the emulsion forming, and it’s the moment everything depends on. Once that bottom inch looks thick and white, you can slowly start lifting the blender up through the oil, an inch at a time, pulling the rest of the oil into the emulsion as you go.

Don’t rush the lift. If you yank the blender up before the bottom has set, the oil floods in too fast and the whole thing stays runny. Watch the mayo, not the clock.

Taste and adjust

Give it a taste once it’s all blended. Most likely you’ll want a little more salt. Mayonnaise needs more than you’d think to taste like mayonnaise and not just oil. Add a pinch, blend briefly, taste again.

If it’s thicker than you want, blend in a teaspoon of water to loosen it. If it’s runnier than you want, that’s fixable too: crack a fresh yolk into a clean jar and slowly blend the runny mayo into it the same way you’d add oil. It’ll come together.

Store it in the fridge

Screw the lid right onto the same jar you made it in and stick it in the fridge. It’ll keep for three to four days. Because there’s raw yolk in there, use the freshest eggs you have.

Storage Instructions

Homemade mayo keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container — I just screw the lid right onto the same mason jar I blended it in. Because it’s made with raw egg yolk, the timeline is shorter than with store-bought, and you really do want to use fresh, high-quality eggs.

Don’t freeze it. Mayo separates when thawed, and you can’t bring it back.

Variations

• Garlic mayo (aioli-ish): blend in 1 small clove of grated garlic with the egg yolk.
• Chipotle mayo: add 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from a can of chipotles, plus a small piece of the pepper if you want heat.
• Herb mayo: blend in 2 tablespoons fresh herbs (dill, chives, parsley) at the end.
• Lemon-pepper mayo: double the lemon juice, then add ½ teaspoon of coarse black pepper.
• Spicy mayo: blend in 1-2 teaspoons sriracha or your favorite hot sauce.

Best Ways to Use It

• Spread thick on good bread, homegrown tomatoes, and salt and pepper.
• Use as the base for chicken salad, tuna salad, or egg salad.
• Stir into potato salad or coleslaw.
• Mix with garlic and lemon for a quick dip for fries or roasted vegetables.
• Slather on burger buns before grilling — it toasts beautifully.
• Whisk with a little vinegar and herbs for a creamy salad dressing.
• Use as the binder for deviled egg filling.
• Spread on both sides of bread before grilling cheese (way better than butter).

Questions and Troubleshooting

What oil should I use?

A neutral oil. Avocado, sunflower, or light olive. Skip extra virgin olive oil! Too bitter and way too expensive.

Is the raw egg yolk safe?

Use fresh, high-quality eggs, and you’ll be fine. If you’re nervous, buy pasteurized eggs.

Can I skip the Dijon?

Don’t! It’s not just for flavor — it helps stabilize the emulsion. Without it, your mayo is much more likely to break.

My mayo is runny. Did I ruin it?

No, it’s fixable. Add a fresh egg yolk to a clean jar, then slowly blend the runny mayo into it like you would with oil. It’ll come together.

My mayo broke and looks separated. What happened?

You probably moved the blender up too fast before the emulsion formed at the bottom, or your ingredients were too cold. Start over with a new yolk and slowly blend the broken batch in.

Can I freeze it?

No. It separates and the texture is ruined.