[This Avocado Oil Mayo is creamy and totally crave-worthy. Oh yeah, and IT’S HEALTHY.] 

I’m going to be really honest. From the age of 16 up until a few years ago, I was repulsed by mayonnaise. 

I thought mayo (and fat in general) was unhealthy and would make me fat. Now I know that’s not the truth! 

(The right kind of) fat is necessary for good health, it’s delicious, and it keeps us full and satisfied until our next meal. 

Homemade mayonnaise is full of really good for you ingredients!

Classic mayo is made with just a few simple ingredients. All that you need to make that creamy goodness is: 

• Some oil 
• Egg 
• Some acid (usually lemon juice or vinegar) 
• Maybe a little salt, mustard, herbs, etc for flavor 

BUT HERE’S THE THING. Most jarred mayo is full of stuff I don’t really want to put in my body. 

I’m talking about lots of preservatives, unpronounceable additions, and things that seem completely unnecessary in mayo, like sugar!

Let’s talk about the oil 

The other reason I’m not a fan of most jarred mayonnaise is because of the oil it’s made with. Most are made with cheap, industrial seed oil like soybean oil or canola oil. 

Those oils take a lot of processing to make, and when we eat them too often they can cause inflammation in our bodies. 

(Here’s a video of canola oil being made. You can see just how much processing it takes, including processing it with chemical solvents! Skip to around 1 minute 30 seconds into the video to see the processing)  

Luckily, you can make super healthy mayonnaise at home with just a few ingredients and about 1 minute!

I’m a big fan of avocado oil, which is why I chose to use it for this mayo. It has a nice neutral flavor, a fairly high smoke point (making it good for cooking with), and has lots of health benefits. 

In the picture above I used La Tourangelle brand, but I also love Chosen Foods brand! (It comes in a spray too, which is awesome!) And I also have used Ottavio, which I buy at Costco. 

You can use only avocado oil to make the homemade mayo, OR you can do I like did and use half avocado oil and half LIGHT olive oil. 

If you don’t have avocado oil on hand, you can use all light olive oil. But you really need to look for LIGHT. Extra virgin olive oil is is just too full-flavored for this mayo recipe. 

How to make the avocado oil mayo 

This method is so easy you’ll be wondering why you haven’t been making homemade mayo all your life! 

Basically, you’re going to add one egg, your oil, a little bit of lemon juice or vinegar, and some salt to a container (I use the container that came with my immersion blender, but a wide-mouthed mason jar should work too.) 

Then, you simply insert your immersion blender and start blending! As the ingredients begin to emulsify, you can lift the blender up slowly until all the oil is incorporated. 

That’s it! 

Healthy, Paleo mayo that’s perfect for any of your favorite recipes, which may include: 

• Chicken salad
• Tuna salad 
• Caesar salad dressing 
• Probiotic ranch salad dressing 
• Paleo tuna casserole with zoodles 
• YOU NAME IT

A few notes: 

• In my researching, I found a lot of people recommending using a room temperature egg to make homemade mayo. I’ve done that with success, but also have used an egg straight out of the fridge with no problem. 
• Some people may be concerned with eating raw egg or raw egg yolk. Statistically speaking, only 1 in every 30,000 eggs is contaminated with salmonella. The infection is usually only present in conventional, mass-produced eggs since sick chickens lay infected eggs. So if you start with good quality eggs, I wouldn’t worry about it! (I don’t at least) 
• An immersion blender works perfectly for this recipe, and it’s the only way I’ve tried. I do think you’re able to make the mayo with a food processor or standard blender, but I’ve never tried it so I can’t say so for sure!
• Since I’ve posted this recipe, a few high-quality jarred mayos have hit the market. I love Primal Kitchens Avocado Oil Mayo (the Chipotle Lime flavor is amazing!) but they are a little pricey. So I still make the homemade version 9 times out of 10. 
• Look out for jarred mayos that claim to be made with olive oil. A lot of times these will be made with a little olive oil and a lot of another oil, like canola oil or soybean oil. Just check your labels!

Healthy mayonnaise?

You better get on this ASAP! 

Recipe adapted from The Kitchn.