Homemade Vegan Mayonnaise Recipe- Flax Seed Based, Soy Free, Nut Free, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free

 photo 4558a6be-4126-47ca-ae9e-df5faf05064c_zps69c9c770.jpgI haven't bought store bought mayonnaise in who knows how long. It's filled with so many nasty ingredients that I even would get a headache from them when I would be lazy and not feel like making my own mayo, and instead borrowed a spoon or two from a neighbor. Food colorings, artificial flavorings, preservatives, etc... Ick. Not to mention usually being made with soy oil or canola oil, both which I avoid because they're GMOs and because I try to avoid using poly unsaturated fatty acids, as they cause inflammation...
So I started to make my own homemade mayonnaise using only real ingredients, and even made it lacto-fermented so that it was probiotic as well.
But then I discovered that I was sensitive to eggs, so started making an egg free mayonnaise, based on mustard. It was also great for anyone who was wary of using raw eggs in mayonnaise. It was perfectly textured... only had a strong mustard taste, and some people hate the taste of mustard, and some foods just don't go with mustard.
So I was looking for another vegan mayo recipe, soy free, and mustard free this time, and saw that most such recipes were based on nuts... and I don't want to spend more money than necessary, and nuts are not so cheap round these parts. I finally found a recipe based on flax seeds,  and modified that to suit my needs, and came up with this recipe. You can add mustard if you want, but it doesn't need it at all and can be left out- I made mine without to see how it tastes- perfect!
The texture is amazing, exactly like regular mayonnaise (unlike a bean based mayo I tried... which tasted like oily hummus), it looks like regular mayonnaise (other than some flecks from the flax seed) and it tastes like real mayo (unlike an avocado based mayo I tried, which, quite frankly, tastes like guacamole).
Utter perfection. This will definitely be my go-to recipe for mayo from now on, and I recommend it be your go-to recipe as well.

You can use this recipe any place you'd use regular mayo, from making salad dressing to tuna salad to potato salad, to toppings for fish or chicken or whatever.

You can make this recipe vegan, refined sugar free, gluten free, using only healthy oils, which is why it's labeled as such, but I've included alternative ingredients so you can make it to suit your tastes. The way I made it is GAPS legal, but you can adjust it as needed.


Ingredients:
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
3 tablespoons water
1/2- 1 1/2 cups oil (any liquid oil will do, as will any liquified solid oil like coconut oil or palm oil, noting that solid oils will solidify in the fridge, so you should make these immediately before use)
Lemon juice or vinegar to taste, or a mix (any vinegar is fine, whether apple cider vinegar, wine vinegar, white vinegar, malt vinegar, kombucha vinegar, etc...)
Salt to taste
Sweetener to taste (honey, coconut sugar, white sugar, etc...) or leave out
Mustard to taste (either prepared or powdered, or leave out)
Garlic powder to taste (or leave out)

Instructions:

1. Combine ground flax seeds and water in a pot, and heat up, mixing constantly, until thickened. Let cool off until it reaches room temperature or close to it.

2. Put in a food processor or blender with one tablespoon of oil. Blend for 15-20 seconds.

3. Add another tablespoon of oil, and blend for another 15 seconds.

4. Repeat step 4 many times, never adding more than a tablespoon of oil at a time. If you do, the recipe will likely flop. At some point, usually by the third or fourth tablespoon, the color will become white and opaque, like that of mayonnaise. Keep adding more and more oil until it becomes the texture of mayonnaise.

5. Add lemon juice or vinegar to taste, blend up, then add more oil if necessary.

6. Add salt, sweetener, mustard, garlic, etc... to taste.

7. Use as you would any mayonnaise!

How about trying out one of these yummy salads and dishes made with mayonnaise, and use your new homemade egg free mayonnaise:

Easy Beet Salad



Mock Tuna Salad (Chickpea Based)


Russian Carrot Salad



Are you a mayonnaise fan? What is your favorite recipe involving mayonnaise? Do you use store bought mayonnaise or homemade mayonnaise? If you use store bought, is it because of the fear of raw eggs, and if so, does this recipe seem like something you'd use? If you're vegan or egg free, does this look like a recipe you'd try out?
If you make homemade egg free mayonnaise, what is yours based on?

Linking up to Real Food Wednesday and Allergy Free Wednesday

Penniless Parenting

Mommy, wife, writer, baker, chef, crafter, sewer, teacher, babysitter, cleaning lady, penny pincher, frugal gal

39 Comments

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  1. Wow Penny this looks awesome!!! I eat eggs but I have some very dear friends who are very alergic to eggs and I can't wait to share this with them. Its so interesting to me that flax seeds and water will emulisify like eggs and oil do.

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    1. I know, amazing, right? I've even heard that you can make a meringue type thing out of flax gel, but haven't tried it yet!

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  2. Replies
    1. The more oil, the more it'll make. I haven't actually measured it out yet, but my guess is 1-2 cups.

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  3. Thanks for sharing this recipe! How long will it last in the fridge?

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    Replies
    1. I don't know, I always used it up within a few days.

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  4. Marvelous, this is what I have been looking for! Great blog!!!

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  5. I followed exactly the recipe step-by-step, but it's still completely liquid. I'm frustrated!

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  6. I started all over again and fixed it. Phheww!

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  7. I had same results, Coyo. Total liqiud - no mayo! :( Was excited because the vegan mayo recipe I usually use involves soy milk and I only had vanilla flavored almond. But I guess I need to buy some soy milk and go back to the tried and true.

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    1. If yours flopped, its likely because you added the oil too quickly. Are you adding it very slowly, like a tablespoon at a time, and then mixing it in?

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    2. I ruined an egg based homemade mayo recipe, threw it out then started agian, only to read the instructions at the end that stated if you over blended it or added the oil too quickly, just start adding all of the ingredients again as per the recipe and the "spoiled" quantity will correct itself. Perhaps worth a try rather than throw away!

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    3. I ruined an egg based homemade mayo recipe, threw it out then started agian, only to read the instructions at the end that stated if you over blended it or added the oil too quickly, just start adding all of the ingredients again as per the recipe and the "spoiled" quantity will correct itself. Perhaps worth a try rather than throw away!

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    4. do not throw out the flop. start again and then use that as your oil. no waste that way.

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  8. Great no soy vegan solution! Thank you so much! Made a great potato salad with your mayo. Thought I'd have to give that up when we figured out soy was making me sick.
    Love your gf flour mix too!

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  9. Could an immersion blender be used to make this mayo. Any idea on the measurements for mustard, lemon juice, garlic etc? I am only as good as the precise directions LOL!

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    Replies
    1. Indeed, I used an immersion blender (stab-mixer in German).

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  10. Can an immersion blender be used to make this mayo? Do you have approximate measurements for the lemon juice, mustard, garlic etc? Im not much of a cook but would love to try this since I have soy, nut and egg allergies. Thank You!

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  11. I may have thickened the ground flax seeds too much ... think I cooked them. also, my blender blades are so high up that a tablespoon of oil won't even touch the blades ... seems to be true of my food processor, too. :( maybe my little battery powered milk frother/mixer would work?

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  12. I use flaxseed powder for everything in place of eggs and everything so far has been delicious! I can't wait to make this for use with eggless potato salad as I'm allergic to eggs. I'm also allergic to garlic so will leave that option out :(. Sad because garlic makes everything better and there's no replacement for it!

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    Replies
    1. Garlic chives. or Chines leek, have a mild garlic taste, if u can eat the allium family of plants.

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  13. How long will this last in the fridge?? thanks!

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  14. Sounds great but... so much oil XD hmmm

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  15. f-it, frustrated! a lot of time and waste-doesn't thicken-HEB here I come!

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    Replies
    1. Did you first cook the flax seeds with water, until it thickened? And then did you let it cool? Did you add the oil, a tiny bit at a time, to the flax mixture?

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    2. I did not even have to cook flax and water. They turned to a nice thick paste as soon as I combined them.

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  16. Mine looked nice and thick until i added lemon juice and vinegar, then it became a liquid again.

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  17. Absolutely FANTASTIC. Tastes like the ordinary one (with eggs), looks like it too. Better then any store-bought as one can season it to one's own taste.
    My flax seed were ground so fine that as soon as I added water the mixture got nice, thick. Mixing with a 300 W hand blender in a tall narrow jar, it worked like a charm. Even when I impatiently added oil in just two steps.

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  18. This turned out wonderful! My blender's blades are too high so I had to use a spatula to mix a bit between each round but the taste is so precise! I added turmeric for a bit of color.
    It looks like mayo, smells like mayo & tastes like mayo (and makes me a bit like mayo did :P)
    Good work!

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  19. This recipe is *incredible*! I used 2 TB Flax (Ground), as I initially misread the recipe, but I still didn't have to use more than 1/2 C of Oil. I added ~1 tsp ACV, garlic/onion powder, a healthy drizzle of mustard and ~1 tsp Sea/Pink Himalayan (combined) salt..YUM! I will likely *never* use soy mayo again, as this was just insanely E.A.S.Y! Highly recommend to any skeptics out there...thanks for sharing!!

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  20. Fabulous! Very easy and tasty! I already use flaxseed for about everything as I cannot digest soy, so after hours of reading recipes and blogs, it was wonderful to find your vegan oil based mayo using ingredients I already have! Tastes great! I added a few spices for an organic chipotle mayo for vegan wraps...yum! Thank you so much for the recipe and very helpful tips!!!

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  21. After my third attempt...IT WORKED!!! I had my 10 yer old do a taste comparison with this and Hellman's and she said she could barely tell the difference; about the same to her. First time the food processor didn't work after about 4 Tbsp., it flopped. Someone else commented on immersion blender, that worked 'till the end - then massive separation. Made a tsp. more flax 'cause that's all I had left, and reused the flop both times to save on the oil (evoo first and then canola since it's cheaper and wanted to make sure it worked), was more careful not to heat it up and when the right consistency hand stirred in the vinegar and seasoning. THANK YOU SO MUCH! It's been so hard recently since learning the allergies were why I was always sick. No egg, dairy, wheat or brewers yeast has made food choices slim.

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    Replies
    1. I too came down with food allergies within the last year, soy is a big problem for me, I was excited after reading your post and will be trying this tomorrow, thank you!

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  22. Wow! I'm so glad you shared this recipe. I'm new to the whole eggless life and am so stoked I gave this a go. The result is amazing, tastes like the real foods mayo but without the additives. Cheers!

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  23. Kia ora from Aotearoa New Zealand! Thanks once again for this recipe, I've made it countless times and love that you can personalize it, more garlic, less mustard, add some tumeric and onion powder, whatever you have on hand - works every time! I will say that if it does separate, add another flax egg and let the blender do the rest, I've even managed to revive it after a disproportionate amount of neglect as it wintered over in the fridge, one more blend in the processor with some extra garlic, just in case, and mayo lived on while we suffered no ill effects! Thanks for making the veganisation of our lives tasty, possible and accessible on a budget, we love your work!

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