How to make a creamy and delicious garlic aioli in about 10 minutes. Using a whole egg instead of just an egg yolk makes this homemade aioli actually resistant to failure and extremely easy. A must try! Jump to the aioli recipe
What is aioli?
Aioli is a creamy garlic sauce made with garlic, salt, olive oil and sometimes an egg. It is popular in Mediterranean coastal cuisines like Provence, France and Catalonia in Spain.
In our recipe, we include egg, which adds an extra level of richness. It has a strong taste thanks to excellent extra virgin olive oil and raw garlic. We have provided below some tips to help you dial the aioli of your dreams. Let’s approach it, right?
How to make aioli from scratch
There are many recipes online for shortcut aioli, which use mayonnaise as a base and turn it into flavored mayo. If this is what you’re looking for, we’ve got you covered. Scroll down a bit and you will find our quick shortcut aioli.
What I want to talk about is how to make aioli from scratch. It’s absolutely delicious (preferably mayo flavored), and it’s easy! If you have seen our homemade mayonnaise recipe, you will notice that the method for this recipe is not that different. We combine eggs with lemon juice, salt and oil.
Just like in our Mayo recipe, we use a whole egg. It is common to see aioli made only from egg yolk, but we find that adding a whole egg makes this recipe more immune, and we love the results. In addition to the whole egg, we will add one yolk for more richness.
Then, based on that wealth, we use quite a bit of oil. Traditionally, you will see olive oil used to make aioli. We use olive oil but often cut it with a little neutral oil like sunflower oil or grape seed.
Olive oil can be quite intense, and depending on the oil brand, the taste of the olive oil can take over the rest of the ingredients. By cutting some of the olive oil with a more neutral oil, the aioli is more balanced.
Now, with all that being said, if you have a fantastic bottle of fruity and light olive oil in your kitchen, feel free to use 100% olive oil in our recipe. Our best advice here is to taste your olive oil before you choose how much of it to add. If it has a pungent and bitter taste, we recommend using a neutral oil to balance it.
On the other hand, if it has a fruity and light taste, you should consider using most or all of the olive oil. In our recipe below, we ask that you add 3/4 cup of oil – it can be 100% olive oil or a mixture. It’s entirely up to you. We usually use 1/4 cup neutral oil (I like sunflower or grape seed) and 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.
A small note on the use of raw eggs
Here is what the CDC suggests you do to reduce all risks of using eggs:
- Consider buying and using pasteurized eggs
- Keep the eggs refrigerated at 40 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Celsius) or colder at all times
- Buy eggs only from stores and suppliers who keep them refrigerated
- Discard cracked or dirty eggs
Our tips for making aioli
First of all, if you’re nervous about making aioli, do not be. It’s quick and easy. Here are some tips:
- It is better when all the ingredients are at the same temperature. If you have cold eggs and do not have time to leave them on the counter to reach room temperature, place them in a bowl with warm water. Set the bowl aside, and you will have eggs at room temperature within 5 minutes.
- Let the garlic, lemon juice and salt sit together for a few minutes. At this time the salt dissolves into the lemon juice, and thanks to this salt the garlic is seasoned.
- Slowly add the oil in tiny drops until about a quarter of the oil is absorbed. Adding the oil slowly is really important. If you were to throw everything away at once, you would have had aioli soup! For a visual representation of adding the oil, watch our video for homemade mayonnaise; Add the oil at 1:30.
Aioli shortcut
We highly recommend making aioli from scratch, however, if you are lacking ingredients or do not have the equipment, here is a quick garlic-flavored mayonnaise that is still quite tasty.
Mix 1 cup mayonnaise with 2 to 3 finely grated garlic cloves, a generous pinch of salt, 1 to 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice and a pinch of ground black pepper. Taste the mayonnaise, then adjust the seasoning with more salt or lemon juice.
For vegan aioli use the recipe for aioli shortcuts at the top, but use vegan mayonnaise.
How to serve aioli
Use homemade aioli as a sandwich spread or use as a dip for the following:
Aioli no cream from scratch
This is how creamy and delicious garlic aioli are made. Using a whole egg instead of just an egg yolk makes this homemade aioli recipe actually fail-safe and extremely easy.
We prepare this recipe using a 12-cup food processor (brand: Magimix), and it works beautifully. If you have a larger processor or you are worried that your model blade will not have enough contact with the ingredients, you can use the smaller bowl connection that usually comes with food processors. This recipe also works when prepared using a high-power blender. Finally, you can use a dipping blender.
In our recipe below, we ask that you add 3/4 cup of oil – it can be 100% olive oil or a mixture. It’s entirely up to you. We usually use 1/4 cup neutral oil (I like sunflower or grape seed) and 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil. See our article for more details.
Makes about 1 cup
You will have to
2 small cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon lemon juice or white wine vinegar, and more to taste
Pinch thin sea salt
1 large egg at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1/4 cup neutral oil like sunflower, grape seed or vegetable oil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper, optional
directions
Use a micro-plane grater to grate the garlic. If you do not have a fine grater, grind the garlic finely or mash it.
Place the garlic, lemon juice (or vinegar) and salt in a bowl of a food processor (or blender). Let the ingredients sit together for about a minute.
Add the whole egg and egg yolk, then beat until you get a whipped mixture.
Combine the neutral oil with olive oil in a measuring jug, which will help add the oil.
When the processor is running, slowly add the oil in tiny drops until about a quarter of the oil is added (this is critical for proper emulsification).
You can be a little less careful when you notice that the mixture starts to thicken and start. When the processor is running, continue to add the oil slowly but increase to a very thin stream instead of oil droplets.
When the oil is absorbed and the aioli is thick, taste and fix with the addition of lemon juice (or vinegar) and salt. I usually end up adding a few more pinches of salt and another squeeze of lemon juice to make the flavor explode. Aioli is not as thick as the store-bought mayonnaise.
Serve with a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper on top.
Adam and Joan’s tips
- Amount of garlic: Two small raw cloves of garlic add a strong garlic flavor to this amount of aioli. If you are sensitive to the taste of garlic please, consider reducing it to one tooth or use roasted garlic instead. If you want to increase the amount of garlic, go for it.
- What oil to use? Olive oil is authentic in this recipe. Olive oil can be quite intense, and depending on the oil brand, the taste of the olive oil can take over the rest of the ingredients. By cutting some of the olive oil with a more neutral oil, the aioli is more balanced. The ratio of olive oil to neutral oil depends on you. Our best advice here is to taste your olive oil before you choose how much of it to add. If it has a pungent and bitter taste, we recommend using a neutral oil to balance it. In our recipe, we ask that you add 3/4 cup of oil – it can be 100% olive oil or a mixture. It’s entirely up to you. We usually use 1/4 cup neutral oil (I like sunflower or grape seed) and 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.
- It is better when all the ingredients are at the same temperature. If you have cold eggs and do not have time to leave them on the counter to reach room temperature, place them in a bowl with warm water. Set the bowl aside, and you will have eggs at room temperature within 5 minutes.
- Nutrition Facts: The nutrition facts listed below are estimates. We used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you’re making this recipe, take a picture and tag it #inspiredtaste – we love seeing your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Nutrition per serving: Serving size 1 tbsp / Calories 99 / Total fat 11.1 g / Saturated fat 1.7 g / Cholesterol 23.2 mg / sodium 150.4 mg / carbohydrate 0.2 g / Dietary fiber 0 g / Total sugars 0 g / protein 0.6 g
