Do you miss mayonnaise on your sandwiches? Or, are you craving to dip your French fries in a side of the creamy condiment? Don’t worry! There are plenty of alternatives to mayo for vegan lifestyles. We’ll tackle some of the best easy vegan mayo recipes so you can continue enjoying your meals with a bit of tangy flavor.
1. 5 Minute Vegan Mayo by Veggie Desserts
This first recipe makes a smooth and creamy mayo that tastes incredible. The mayo is dairy and egg-free, which are the ingredients that typically prevent vegans from indulging in regular mayo. With this recipe, you skip the egg and use soy milk, vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, and a pinch of salt to balance and enhance the flavor.
You can easily vary the taste by adding Old Bay Seasoning for a fishy flavor or sprinkling some Baharat for a Middle Eastern flair. Toasted sesame seeds and soy sauce adds some Asian zing, while freshly chopped herbs give a zesty freshness.
Strong oils can taste bitter, so neutral-tasting oils like canola, vegetable, and sunflower are the top picks for vegan mayo. Soy milk adds to the texture, and lemon juice sours the milk, adding a noticeable sharpness.
2. Oil-Free Vegan Aquafaba Mayo by My Quiet Kitchen
This recipe is creamy, tangy, and only uses eight ingredients, without soy, gluten, oil, coconut, or eggs. It has half the calories of traditional mayo while staying rich, salty, and creamy.
This vegan mayo is healthy, combining cashews and aquafaba. Aquafaba is the liquid from a can of chickpeas that most of us pour down the drain. The aquafaba helps achieve the right, recognizable, thick texture of mayo. You can replace the cashews with raw sunflower seeds.
A combo of lemon juice, apple cider and white vinegar, mustard powder, and sea salt bring out a balanced acidity that you can adjust to your palette. You can choose from brown rice syrup, agave, cane sugar, or maple to add a splash of sweetness.
3. Oil-Free Vegan Mayo by Mental for Lentils
Vegan mayos need a strong base. In this case, it’s overnight soaked nuts, whether that’s cashews, almonds, or walnuts. It’s up to you! This choice will ultimately change the texture and flavor of the mayo.
Alternatively, you could use silken tofu, swapping an equal amount of the number of nuts called for in the recipe. If you want a lighter consistency, you can use white beans. Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar contributes to the acidity. Water or plant-based milk helps achieve the right consistency.
You can customize the mayo to your taste buds, adding mustard or any spices you like, such as garlic or onion powder. Black salt provides an eggy note that regular mayo has, but white salt will do just fine. Slap these ingredients into a food processor, and voila, you have vegan mayo!
4. Cashew Mayo by Shane and Simple
As we’ve seen, cashews are a common base for vegan mayo. Cashews are a great choice because of their neutral flavor, and these nuts get an awesome texture after you soak or blend them. This recipe is healthy, egg-free, and low-fat. Not only that, but it’s super delicious, thick, and rich.
You blend the cashews and spices (such as garlic and onion powder), sea salt, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar until whatever consistency you prefer. You can enjoy sandwiches with this mayor or use it as a base for a tasty dip, and it makes a great alternative to the real stuff. Yellow or Dijon mustard packs an additional kick.
5. Foolproof Homemade Vegan Mayonnaise by The Healthy Foodie
Store-bought vegan mayo can be expensive, but you can make it at home in mere seconds with four ingredients. You will use a similar technique when making regular mayo. You combine the aquafaba (yep, another recipe that uses it, do you see a pattern?) with the oil to get that deliciously creamy texture.
Use a neutral-tasting oil like avocado, macadamia, almond, walnut, grapeseed, or canola. Extra virgin olive oil can be too strong with its intense flavor. Additionally, the texture changes and the mayo won’t be as spreadable, which is a bummer when you want a sandwich for lunch.
Squirt in some mustard to stabilize the mixture, and add some tang with vinegar and any salt. Cayenne pepper gives a spicy edge. You’ll like this mayo even if you aren’t vegan but want to try a plant-based recipe!
6. Vegan Mayonnaise 3 Ways by Avant-Garde Vegan
This recipe has three creative ways to spice up vegan, gluten-free mayo. To start with classic mayo, you just need soy milk, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, grapeseed oil, and sea salt. You can make a bacon-flavored version (minus the meat) by splashing in some soy sauce, sweet smoked paprika, maple, liquid smoke, and garlic.
Or, try this out! The milk, vinegar, lemon juice, and oil blend together to get that mayonnaise consistency. Garlic and mixed herbs bring out the richness. After seasoning and mixing the previous flavorings into the mayo, you’ll want to eat it anytime you crave an Italian dish!
7. Simple Vegan Mayo by The Flexitarian
This vegan recipe is delicious, easy, and full of texture. It uses unsweetened soy milk and other ingredients to perfectly complement roasted veggies (like potatoes), butternut squash, and cauliflower. You can slather it on top of plant-based burgers, dip grilled dairy-free cheese in it, or spread it on sandwiches or wraps.
This recipe is similar to the previous ones, taking only a couple of minutes to combine with a blender. You can add more sunflower oil to make it thicker.
Here are a few suggestions on how to personalize the mayo. Chop up some peppers for a smoky, chipotle flavor. Grate some garlic or sprinkle a dash of garlic powder to add some punch. Add turmeric to get that mellow yellow color that better resembles mayo.
8. Vegan Mayo by Simple Vegan Blog
This vegan mayo only has four ingredients, but it’s tasty and creamy. The best part is that there’s no cholesterol! Going vegan can be challenging, and you may crave mayo after opting for a plant-based diet. But, this option tastes just as yummy or maybe even better. It feels good to eat healthy while enjoying the same foods, so you don’t miss out.
You can customize the mayo with any veggie oil type, except extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil. Coconut oil isn’t a great choice because it solidifies in the fridge. After tossing in some seasonings and herbs, you can use the mayo in every potato salad you make!
9. Homemade Vegan Mayo by Holy Cow Vegan
The best part of this vegan mayo is that the blender does most of the work for you, making it easy to make mayo whenever you want it. You can add your favorite flavors to this vegan mayo since it’s a blank space for you to draw upon. Never buying mayo again sounds pretty good, right? You can combine this mayo with other recipes, tasting and feeling like the real stuff.
The recipe is straightforward, using the same method as egg-based mayo but with different ingredients. Wasabi or horseradish powder gives depth to the condiment. Throw some paprika, mustard, or ground black pepper in for some spice. After thickening the mayo in the fridge, you’ll want to pair it with nearly every meal!
10. Easy Vegan Mayo by Simple Veganista
This recipe uses six ingredients, including tofu, oil, lemon, vinegar, Dijon, and salt. The mayo is clean-tasting, healthy, and easy with a luscious mouthfeel. Store-bought mayo tends to leave an oily aftertaste in your mouth, but not this mayo. It’s creamy and rich despite being eggless and dairy-free.
Its light flavor can be used as a spread or as a base for dips and dressings. Tofu adds a silky texture without adding a ton of flavor. Additionally, tofu is low-fat and a good source of protein, binding well with the oil and not separating.
Lemon juice adds a fresh bite, while oil and salt round out the flavors. If you’re not a fan of Dijon, add a pinch of onion powder. Season according to your taste; no one wants bland mayo! You can also use this mayo in baking!
11. Classic Vegan Mayo by The Plant-Based School
This recipe gives a tasty and versatile mayo that you can easily spice up into a piquant mayo. Or, you could transform it into a garlicky vegan aioli. This mayo has a similar taste and texture to the eggy condiment. It’s not runny, and you can spread it perfectly, using it wherever you would a normal mayo.
The ingredients are easy to assemble, irresistible, and finger-licking when combined. You use soy milk alongside sunflower, canola, and extra virgin olive oil. This combination makes a noticeable difference in flavor.
Mix Tabasco, or another hot sauce, with some sweet maple syrup for spicy mayo. Chipotle peppers add a smoky flavor and fresh garlic complements the syrup. You can improvise Ranch dressing by adding plant-based yogurt and herbs.
12. Easy Vegan Mayo + 2 Ways by From My Bowl
Don’t want to use oil? What if you avoid nuts or soy? No problem! The two vegan mayos in this recipe are healthy, with various options to choose from, celebrating the flavors of natural foods. The mayos have different tastes, textures, and colors. The recipe calls for cashews or tofu, lemon juice, or vinegar. Using half of each will give you a unique flavor and texture.
Nutritional yeast gives a dairy-like feel to these mayos, which makes these recipes different from the rest. The cashews provide a subtle sweetness contrasted by the sharp Dijon mustard. Draining the tofu gives this mayo a fluffy and thick consistency. Both these mayos are similar to store-bought with their texture, but the tastes are drastically different.
13. Easy Homemade Vegan Mayonnaise by Eat Plant-Based
Five ingredients, five minutes. That’s all you need for this mayo. This mayo is heart-healthy and tastes great without eggs, dairy, and oil. Even though the taste is different, the mayo satisfies with a wholesome creaminess. You can feel good about your transition into a vegan diet as you munch on creamy coleslaw using this vegan recipe!
The tofu adds to the texture, and you can sweeten the mayo if desired with sucanat or agave nectar. You can be creative with flavoring by sprinkling in Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, or chipotle powder.
14. Vegan Mayo (Thick and Creamy) by Jessica in the Kitchen
If you can’t live without mayo, here’s the solution! This mayo is delicious and vegan-friendly. Store-bought vegan mayo might replicate the same consistency and flavor as the original for a pretty penny. But, you can easily make it at home, saving you money with basic, affordable ingredients.
Soy milk, oil, and salt are the essential ingredients to achieve the same texture as mayonnaise and provide the necessary fat. If you intend to add this mayo to a dessert, use a subtle oil and omit the garlic, pepper, and vinegar. Lime juice pops the fresh acidity and varies the flavor.
15. Spicy Vegan Mayo by The Korean Vegan
As seen before, you can whip aquafaba into foamy, soft peaks, or even stiff peaks, like eggs. It binds beautifully for a creamy and voluminous sauce. You can use the liquid from any can of beans, but the best is chickpea. Take your time when mixing to achieve the right texture; you can’t add all the ingredients together at once for this recipe.
This mayo uses chili oil, gochugaru, black vinegar, and maple syrup to balance out the sweetness and spiciness. Use the spicy vegan mayo on sandwiches, potatoes, or potstickers. You won’t miss regular mayo with the heat and dreamy flavor!
16. Easy Vegan Mayonnaise by Chef Ani
This mayo is delicious, creamy, and rich and made entirely from scratch in a couple of minutes. It tastes completely different from what you can buy in the store. The familiar combo of oil, soy milk, seasonings, and tofu appears again.
You can cut down on the oil amount to make it healthier, but it does contribute to a better flavor and consistency. The big difference is the neutral safflower oil and shredded horseradish that adds spiciness to the recipe. Anyone can enjoy the taste of this vegan mayo!
17. Vegan Mayonnaise by Fresh Tastes – PBS Food
This recipe calls for tapioca starch and freeze-dried corn powder, which makes it stand out from the others in this article. The latter ingredient gives the vegan mayo a warm yellow color and adds natural sweetness.
While this recipe is a little more complicated and requires stove-top cooking, it has similar ingredients like soy milk and grapeseed oil. For the adventurous types out there, tackle this recipe, and you’ll be surprised at how similar it looks to mayo in consistency and taste. It’s sure to fool anyone into thinking that it’s the real deal!
18. Vegan Avocado Mayo by Dominican Cooking
This fatty and tasty recipe can convince the most dedicated meat lovers into admitting that mayo tastes good even without eggs. This mayo has the creaminess and flavor of regular mayo while diverting away from ingredients that vegans can’t eat.
You can spread it on sandwiches or serve it as a dip at a party. Avocado is a nice change of pace from what we’ve seen so far, diverting from tofu and nuts. This green fruit also provides a hearty flavor and texture to the mayo. Garlic cloves, mustard powder, rice vinegar, and salt make a mild and outstanding combo that you’ll want to go back in for more!
19. Easy Vegan Sriracha Mayonnaise by Cadry’s Kitchen
Follow the next steps if you want a spicy, garlicky, and easy variation to your freshly made mayo! This addictive recipe is perfect for dunking fries, spreading on sandwiches, and drizzling over rice bowls. It’s creamy and tangy, bringing appetizers and meals to another level.
All you need is a bowl, spoon, and a knife to chop up the garlic. Combine the apple cider vinegar, salt, garlic, lemon juice, granulated garlic, and vegan mayo. Add more sriracha for spiciness, likewise more lemon for tartness, and vinegar for tanginess.
Easy Vegan Mayo Recipes, Final Thoughts
Hopefully, after reading this article, you have a better idea of how to make vegan mayo. There are plenty of alternatives out there without animal products. But, it’s nice to make your own because you ensure that no nasty preservatives, additives, and chemicals are added.
There are countless ways to achieve the same consistency, flavor, and deliciousness that mayo adds to sandwiches, salads, and baked goods.