Aioli is a garlic-flavored mayonnaise for which we have the French to thank. In fact, it's one of the mother sauces in French cooking. If you skip the garlic, you will have an equally delicious option — homemade mayonnaise. Once you've tasted this homemade version, you’ll see there’s nothing quite like it. Making mayonnaise is surprisingly simple. You can make it in under 5 minutes, and the recipe requires only four ingredients: eggs, garlic, oil, and Dijon mustard. Your small investment of time will yield a multitude of uses for easy meals.
Aioli can be used on vegetables, potatoes, leftover meat like chicken, turkey, and lamb, in slaws and in deviled eggs. It’s not only superior to the store-bought jar of mayonnaise, but it also gives you more ways to make a meal worth talking about.
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 to 1 1/2 cups olive oil — or a combination of olive oil with grapeseed or sunflower oil (see notes below)
3 to 6 cloves of fresh garlic
Celtic or sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Separate the eggs: Place the egg yolks and about 1 tsp of Dijon mustard in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Set aside whites for another use. (Perhaps a nice omelet!)
Add the olive oil: Turn the mixer on high and slowly drizzle in the oil (about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups) until the mixture thickens and emulsifies.
(The egg and olive oil should “connect” and bind together. If the egg does not bind with the oil, the mayonnaise will “fall,” meaning it will remain liquid and won't form properly.)
Season: Add salt and pepper to taste.
Turn it into aioli: Use a garlic press to mince 3 to 6 cloves of garlic and mix them into the mayonnaise to create an aioli.
Notes:
You can make this with only olive oil, or use half to three-quarters olive oil and the rest sunflower or grapeseed oil for a lighter aioli.
You don’t need to measure the oil exactly. A French chef once told me that an egg yolk can absorb an infinite amount of oil, so I simply add enough to achieve the desired amount of mayonnaise.
I use a stand mixer because it’s hands-free, simple, and produces a nice, firm aioli very quickly. But you don’t need one to make it. You can use a hand mixer — or go the traditional French route and whisk it by hand.
To make aioli by hand, start with a small bowl and a whisk or fork. Beat the egg yolk and mustard until combined. It helps to set the bowl on a towel to keep it from slipping. Then, while whisking, add the oil, drop by drop at first — slowly is key. Once the mixture begins to thicken and emulsify, you can start adding the oil a little more steadily, whisking all the while until it forms a smooth, glossy aioli. Then add the minced garlic.
You can also use a mortar and pestle to make aioli by hand. To use a mortar and pestle, start by crushing the garlic cloves with a pinch of salt until you have a smooth paste. Add the egg yolk and mustard and continue working it with the pestle in a circular motion. Then begin incorporating the oil very slowly, just a few drops at a time in the beginning, so the egg "catches" the oil. Continue stirring in a circular motion to emulsify the mixture, then add the rest of the oil in a steady stream while stirring.
It takes a little time to make aioli by hand, but the result is still a thick, rich aioli.
Use your homemade mayonnaise or aioli anywhere you’d normally use mayo — and get creative.
Here are some ideas:
Make mimosas: not the brunch cocktail — the French appetizer. These are a refined take on deviled eggs, named after the mimosa tree with its delicate yellow blossoms. Grated egg yolk sprinkled on top of the eggs mimics the look of the flowers. For a pretty presentation, serve them in small plastic spoons — perfect for entertaining. You’ll find the recipe and full details here.
Get creative with your deviled eggs. Serve them on slices of tomato and put a shrimp and a basil leaf on top.
Try some aioli in a French rice salad — perfect for picnics.
Serve the French dish called "Aioli," also called Grand Aioli, as a main course. The dish Aioli is presented with potatoes, a variety of vegetables, and steamed fish such as steamed whitefish, shrimp, carrots, and asparagus. Hard-boiled eggs are also often included. All the ingredients are served on a platter with aioli on the side for dipping.
Classic grand aioli dish — steamed whitefish, carrots, and potatoes. This is a kid-friendly family dinner idea.
Aioli as a dip for king crab or lobster is divine!
Serve as a dip for raw or steamed vegetables.
I'll whip up some aioli to repurpose leftovers and make an easy dinner. Here, we served aioli with leftover shrimp and avocado — a fabulous combination.
Serve with cold meat, like roast chicken, lamb, or turkey. This is a classic in France in the summer heat. It's also a delicious and easy way to repurpose your leftovers into something new.
Roast pork served cold with aioli on the side
Leftover roast chicken served cold with aioli is outstanding.
Transform your turkey leftovers with a side of aioli.
Or use aioli as a sandwich spread.
Homemade mayonnaise is also the base for tartar and remoulade sauces — this is a recipe worth knowing.
Just add herbs to your aioli for a fresh twist.
Made it for the first time today. Used it in potato salad with chives, capers, celery and a little caper juice. Love it!!!
Yay! Potato salad and aioli with capers is a classic combination in French cuisine. Bravo! I love the addition of the chives. I am saving this idea, and am going to make it. Thank you!
And dill. Didn’t have fresh dill but it was still good.
Dill is amazing too. The fun part about basic recipes like aioli, is that each time you make it, it can be different. Dill one time, chives the next, then basil, cornichons... and you never get bored with the same recipe.