How To Flavour Mayonnaise Deliciously 38 Ways

There are so many temptingly flavoured mayonnaise(es – what is the plural of mayonnaise?) on the market, but all of them are easy to replicate at home.  Such variety was certainly not available where I used to work as a chef (small island in the Caribbean) so I made all sorts of differently flavoured mayonnaise sauces myself. I see no need to change this now I just cook domestically in the UK.

If you have a jar of bought in mayonnaise (light is fine, that’s what I always use) or even homemade mayonnaise, you can make all of these.

Flavoured Mayonnaise to Create at Home

All the quantities below are for 120g mayonnaise but don’t take them as gospel!

You may well like to add a little salt, or you may not, lemon juice will brighten most flavours so add a squeeze if you’ve got it, garlic is good in lots of things, so is black pepper. Here is lots of information on seasoning to taste

It is important to remember, when using fresh ingredients, that even when combined with mayonnaise they can still go off so the following suggestions do have a limited shelf life, just make what you need.

Fresh Herb Mayonnaise

You need about 15g-20g of fresh herbs per 120g mayonnaise, either finely chop the herbs and stir in or purée the whole herb leaves with the mayonnaise. Use soft leaf herbs, I don’t think rosemary, for instance, will work for this. Try …

Dill or Fennel Mayonnaise

For fish, add some lemon juice too.

Lemon & Parsley Mayonnaise

Add chopped parsley to the lemon mayonnaise below!

Basil Mayonnaise

Purée whole basil leaves with the mayonnaise, taste and season – this is lovely, I used to serve it with seafood mixed grill.

Watercress Mayonnaise

Purée a small handful of watercress together with mayonnaise and a little lemon juice. This is perfect with poached salmon and good with all sorts of other things too.

Etc. – so many herbs to choose from, you have a go!

Or make a …

Mixed Herb Mayonnaise

A good combination would be ½ tablespoon each of chopped parsley, tarragon, chives, basil and a clove of garlic or do a Provençal Mayonnaise with

I’d just like to say a bit of chopped parsley, or other suitable herb, may enhance and definitely will make almost any of the following look prettier.

Fresh Fruit or Vegetable Flavoured Mayonnaise

Scallion Mayonnaise

A very simple but impressive dressing is made by puréeing half a bunch of coarsely chopped spring onions (scallions) with the mayonnaise. This makes a delicious potato salad! 

Roasted Butternut Squash Mayonnaise!

This is pictured at the top of this post. I made it on the spur of the moment and what a delicious surprise it was! I’m afraid I’m not giving quantities here as I didn’t take any measurements but basically …

Purée leftover Roasted Butternut Squash with Sweet Onion and Chilli with a good dollop of mayonnaise, probably a bit more mayo that squash. I so recommend this! 

Garlic Mayonnaise – aka Aioli. 

Add up to 1 (or maybe more – this is very much a matter of taste) very well crushed clove of garlic to the mayonnaise, a squeeze of lemon is good too. Sometimes I add a wincy pinch of turmeric to this so that it looks more homemade and authentically Mediterranean and I call it Aioli!

Ginger Mayonnaise

Stir in 2 teaspoons of finely grated fresh ginger plus 2 teaspoons of the citrus juice of your choice.

Mango Mayonnaise

Stir in 1-2 tbsp puréed fresh mango and add a squeeze or lime juice and/or a few drips of hot sauce.

Orange/Lemon/Lime Flavoured

Mayonnaise 

tir in 3 teaspoon of juice a spoonful at a time, the mayonnaise will thicken slightly. Taste and season and maybe add some finely grated zest. (Handy Hint – if you are going to use the zest grate it off the fruit before juicing, it is much easier that way.) Orange mayonnaise goes well with seafood and duck to name just two. Lemon mayonnaise is good with fish, of course, and lots more. Try adding black pepper to make, guess what? Lemon pepper mayonnaise! Lime is lovely with seafood and spicy things.

Caramelised Onion Mayonnaise

See here for how to caramelise onions (it’s my favourite way to cook onions, caramelised or not) and then, when they are utterly cold, stir or purée 1½ tablespoons of them into the mayonnaise.

Cooked Fruits or Vegetables

Apple Mayonnaise

Stir in 1-2 tablespoons apple sauce. Season to taste and serve with ham/pork/bacon/sausage type dishes and it makes a great dressing for coleslaw.

Roasted Garlic Mayonnaise

Mash 6 roasted garlic cloves l and stir into the mayonnaise. 

I must make a confession here; I love roasted garlic mayonnaise and usually get it from M & S!!! This is because my real man doesn’t like the smell of garlic, even when its roasting, so I kindly don’t fill our tiny home with its aroma.

Roasted Pepper Mayonnaise 

Finely chop 2 tablespoons of roasted red pepper (home cooked or bought in a jar) and mix into the mayonnaise.  Maybe add a little chopped parsley for prettiness.

Flavoured Mayonnaise from your Storecupboard

These will have a longer shelf life than the fresh additions above.

Mustard Mayonnaise

Add 1½ tablespoons of Dijon mustard OR wholegrain mustard or a mixture of both.

Honey Mustard Mayonnaise

Replace half a tablespoon of mustard in the above ‘recipe’ with runny honey.

Horseradish Mayonnaise

Stir in ½ – 1 tbsp horseradish sauce plus a little lemon juice and season to taste. Due to an enzyme in the horseradish this tends to thicken considerably over time so don’t make it too much in advance.

Sweet Chilli Mayonnaise

Stir 3 teaspoons of sweet chilli sauce and 2 teaspoons of lime juice into the mayo.

Green Chilli Mayonnaise

I make this using Patak’s wonderful Green Chilli Pickle  (I am sure there are others too). It is VERY potent so start cautiously and abstemiously with, say, a scant ¼ teaspoon of the pickle stir it in, add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice and taste.  Add little more if you wish. This is great with chicken and fish, especially fish and chips as a kind of feisty tartare sauce substitute and it makes a lovely dressing for chicken salad.

Mango Chutney Mayonnaise

ake 1-2 tbsp mango chutney and finely chop the lumps. Stir into the mayonnaise perhaps with a little citrus juice, This is good with duck, spicy dishes and seafood.

Chipotle Mayonnaise

Stir in a little chipotle paste, start with about ½ a teaspoon and work your way up.

Wasabi Mayonnaise

Mix ½ tablespoon of wasabi powder to a paste with 1 teaspoon of water, stir it in and see what you think of it.  Bit of lemon juice maybe? Touch more wasabi? Lovely with tuna.

Caper Mayonnaise

Add a tablespoon of finely chopped capers, a squeeze of lemon juice and maybe some finely grated zest if you have some.  Perfect for salmon or, even better, smoked salmon. Or make your own …

Tartare Sauce

120g mayonnaise
½ tbsp finely chopped capers
½ tbsp finely chopped gherkins
juice of ¼ lemon

~   Mix all together. That’s it.

Pesto Mayonnaise

Add 1 tablespoon pesto to the mayonnaise. 

Tapenade Mayonnaise

Stir 1½ tbsp of tapenade plus some chopped parsley and black pepper into the mayonnaise.

Green Peppercorn Mayonnaise

Drain and finely chop 2 tbsp green peppercorns, stir into the mayonnaise and serve with steak, to name just one idea.

Anchovy Mayonnaise

Very finely chop 4 or 5 tinned anchovies and stir into the mayonnaise. Add some lemon juice but NO salt unless you are a maniac.  Take this further and make …

Caesar Dressing for Cheats

Here is my easy and quasi cheating recipe for Ceasar Dressing and,to be honest, I prefer to the more authentic version!

Sesame Mayonnaise

Add 1 tsp (or a little more) sesame oil and season to taste with a little salt or soy sauce. Some good additions to this would be sesame seeds, toasted sesame seeds (even better) and/or finely chopped spring onions or a teaspoon of finely grated fresh ginger.  Speaking of which …

BBQ Mayonnaise

This is 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce stirred in together with a good grind of black pepper.

Marie Rose Sauce for Prawn Cocktail etc.

120g mayonnaise
1½ tbsp tomato ketchup
a little hot sauce or Worcestershire sauce

~   Mix all together – a splash of brandy or vodka is good in this too!

Spiced Mayonnaise

Black Pepper Mayonnaise

Obviously the way to make this is to grind in as much black (or mixed)pepper as you like. Add a little lemon juice if you fancy it.

Curry Mayonnaise

Stir in 3 teaspoons of curry powder and 2 teaspoons of lemon or lime juice. Add a little chopped fresh coriander if you have some.

Red or Green Curry Mayonnaise

Add 2 tsp of whichever curry paste you are using plus a squeeze of lime juice and, as with above, a little coriander if you have it.

Saffron Mayonnaise

Heat a small frying pan and add 4 or 5 saffron threads. Toss around for a few seconds till the saffron is a little darker. Remove from the pan and cool. Crush the saffron in a pestle and mortar to a powder, add a clove of garlic and crush to smooth. Stir into the mayonnaise, taste and season with salt and lemon juice. 

Smoky Paprika Mayonnaise

Add half a teaspoon of smoked paprika and a squeeze of lime juice.

 A Few More Mayonnaise Ideas

Bacon Mayonnaise aka Baconnaise

See how to make bacon salt here (it is so delicious and useful you might as well make some) and prepare the bacon as instructed.  Instead of crushing it with the salt, crush it all alone and stir into the mayonnaise.

Blue Cheese Mayonnaise

Mix in about 60g of crumbled blue cheese. Black pepper is great in this. Good with beef, salads containing pears and lots more.

Black Garlic Mayonnaise

I LOVE black garlic so, naturally, I make this a lot! Mash 2 black garlic cloves to a paste and stir into the mayonnaise. Maybe add some black pepper. This goes great with steak, blue cheese and licked off the spoon, to name just a few ways to enjoy it.

38 is quite a few suggestions but if you think of any more please let me know! Here are two suggestions I personally don’t fancy at all – Creme Egg Flavoured Mayonnaise and Pigs in Blanket Flavoured Mayonnaise.

See here for lots of ways to use mayonnaise, flavoured or otherwise.

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