The first time I served this homemade garlic aioli at a dinner party, my friend Mark, a self-proclaimed condiment connoisseur, dipped a carrot stick with visible hesitation. “Store-bought is fine,” he muttered. After one taste, he was silently loading more onto every bite and eventually asked for the recipe! This wonderfully pungent, creamy garlic mayonnaise transforms ordinary vegetables and grilled meats into something extraordinary. While restaurants charge premium prices for this simple sauce, you can create this silky, flavor-packed condiment at home in just 5 minutes with ingredients you likely already have. The difference between homemade and store-bought is simply no comparison.
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Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
The emulsion technique creates a perfect stable sauce with the ideal creamy texture. Using raw garlic provides a bold, authentic flavor that mellows slightly as it sits. The small amount of Dijon mustard not only adds flavor but helps stabilize the emulsion, making this recipe more foolproof than traditional methods. The two preparation options allow you to choose the method that works best with the equipment you have available.
Ingredients
- Eggs – Provide the base for emulsification and rich texture
- Dijon mustard – Adds subtle flavor and helps stabilize the emulsion
- Lemon juice or white vinegar – Contributes acidity that balances the richness
- Sunflower, vegetable, canola, or avocado oil – Creates the smooth, creamy base
- Garlic – Delivers the signature pungent flavor that defines aioli
- Salt – Enhances all flavors and balances the garlic
- Ground black pepper – Adds subtle spice and depth
- Red pepper flakes – Optional garnish that adds color and mild heat
How to Make Garlic Aioli
With an immersion blender:
- Place all the ingredients except oil in a container slightly wider than the immersion blender tip and about 6 inches in height.
- Pulse the blender to combine the egg, yolk, mustard, and lemon juice.
- Slowly drizzle the oil into the container while blending.
- After adding some oil, lift or tilt the blender slightly to let some air inside the mixture.
- Continue to add oil while blending. The mixture will thicken into mayonnaise.
- If using aioli as a dip, you can garnish it with red pepper flakes if desired.
By hand:
- Place the egg, yolk, vinegar, and mustard in a medium bowl.
- Whisk until combined.
- Add the oil, a little at a time, and whisk vigorously after each addition to emulsify the mixture into mayonnaise.
- Add the minced garlic and stir it into the mayonnaise.
- Add salt and pepper and stir it into the aioli.
- If using aioli as a dip, you can garnish it with red pepper flakes if desired.
Storage Instructions
Store homemade garlic aioli in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Due to the raw eggs, it’s important not to keep it longer. If the aioli separates during storage, you can re-emulsify it by whisking it in a teaspoon of warm water. Never freeze aioli, as it will break the emulsion.
Homemade Garlic Aioli – Creamy Restaurant-Style Dip
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice or white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup vegetable oil or sunflower, canola, or avocado oil
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional garnish if using aioli as a dip
Instructions
- Chop or mince the garlic. Chop for immersion blender method and finely mince for hand method.
Immersion Blender Method
- Place all the ingredients except oil in a container that is just a little wider than the immersion blender tip and about 6 inches tall.
- Pulse the blender to beat the egg and yolk and combine them with mustard and lemon juice.
- Slowly drizzle the oil into the container while blending to give time for the emulsion to appear.
- After adding about a third of the oil, lift or tilt the blender slightly to let some air inside the mixture.
- Continue to add oil while blending. The mixture will emulsify and thicken.
- If using aioli as a dip, you can garnish it with red pepper flakes if desired.
By Hand Method
- Place the egg, yolk, vinegar, and mustard in a medium bowl.
- Whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Add the oil, about ½ tablespoon at a time, and whisk vigorously after each addition to incorporate it into and emulsify the mixture. This creates mayonnaise.
- Add the minced garlic and whisk or stir it into the mayonnaise.
- Add salt and pepper and whisk or stir it into the aioli.
- If using aioli as a dip, you can garnish it with red pepper flakes if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Love homemade sauces? Try these recipes!
- Campfire Mayo
- Cocktail Sauce
- Garlic Pizza Sauce
- Horsey Sauce
- Jezebel Sauce
- Secret Sauce
- Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Taco Bell Quesadilla Sauce
- Taco Sauce
- Yum Yum Sauce
Favorite Garlic Recipes
Check out my easy sauce recipes and the best DIY recipes here on CopyKat!
RAW eggs???
Yes, mayonnaise has raw eggs. You could consider using pasteurized eggs.
How long would it last in a Airtight mason jar? Do you know?
I can’t wait to make it.
I too have never heard of garlic aioli. But the sound of garlic mayonnaise to be able to use it for dips sounds delicious!
I went to a French culinary school, we would use this for up to a week after making. The chefs said in France the French would make this and it could say for up to a month.
I am assuming one could also use coconut oil, it that okay?
Can you make it with olive oil instead of peanut oil?
I think it would be fine with olive oil as well.
I’d never heard of Garlic Aioli before and looked to Google for a recipe that I could include on my site to accompany a Coconut Shrimp recipe. Yours sounded the yummiest so I hope that you don’t mind that I linked to it!
Thanks!
Please link to anything you like!