This is a paleo mayo made with avocado oil — mild, creamy, and free from the bitterness that extra-virgin olive oil can bring to a homemade mayo. It takes five minutes in a food processor and covers you for a full week of burgers, wraps, and dipping. Make a batch on Sunday and you won’t be reaching for a store-bought jar all week.
The short version of why this works
Two things make or break homemade mayo: temperature and pour speed. Your egg yolks should be at room temperature before you start — cold yolks resist emulsification and you’ll end up with a broken, greasy mess before you’ve added half the oil. The other thing is the oil addition at the start. The first tablespoon or two need to go in almost drop by drop; that’s when the emulsion is forming and it’s fragile. Once it visibly thickens and turns pale, the structure is locked in and you can pour the rest in a thin, steady stream. Rush that opening phase and no amount of extra blending will save it.
If something goes sideways
- Mayo looks thin and oily after all the oil is in: The emulsion broke. Add a fresh egg yolk to a clean bowl, then very slowly whisk the broken mayo into it — treat the broken batch as the “oil” in a new emulsion. It usually comes back together.
- Mayo is too pale and bland: The Dijon does a lot of flavor work here. If yours is old or dried out, the mayo will taste flat. Use fresh mustard and taste before you jar it up.
- Garlic flavor is too sharp: Raw garlic blitzed in at the end can turn aggressive after a day in the fridge. If you want a milder result, grate the clove on a microplane and let it sit in the lemon juice for five minutes before it goes into the processor — the acid takes the edge off.
- Mayo seized up in the fridge overnight: Avocado oil can solidify when cold. Pull the jar out 10–15 minutes before you need it and stir. It loosens right back up at room temperature.
- Texture is grainy rather than smooth: This usually means the processor bowl had residual water in it. Even a small amount of water can interfere with the emulsion. Dry the bowl and blade thoroughly before you start.
Leftovers and meal prep
Store the mayo in a sealed glass jar in the fridge and use it within 5 days — that’s the practical window with raw egg yolks. Label the jar with the date so you’re not guessing mid-week. This recipe makes enough for six generous servings, which maps well to a week of burger nights if you’re cooking for one or two. Skip freezing — mayo doesn’t survive it. The emulsion breaks on thaw and you’ll get a separated, watery mess. If you want to stretch the batch, stir in a chipotle pepper or a teaspoon of smoked paprika partway through the week; it reads like a completely different sauce and keeps things from going stale. One honest note on scaling: doubling works fine, but a standard food processor bowl can struggle with a triple batch — the oil-to-yolk ratio gets hard to control at volume.
Hearty Paleo Mayo Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 medium egg yolks
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 ½ cups avocado oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Put the yolks, lemon juice, mustard and salt into the food processor and blitz for a few seconds until it’s blended.
- With the food processor running, pour the avocado oil a few drips at a time. You need to start out adding the oil super, super slowly. We’re creating an emulsion, and for it to stay locked, you have to start out slow. When you see it getting a little thicker (after a tablespoon or two worth), you can start streaming the rest of the oil in, keeping the processor running. Slow and steady here. It takes a couple of minutes, but you will see it thicken.
- When it’s at a good, thick consistency, you can add the garlic clove and blitz for another 15 seconds or so. Check the flavour and add more salt if needed. If it’s too thick, add a touch of water. Not thick enough? A bit more oil. That’s it. You’re done. Find a jar with a lid and store it in the fridge.
- This is just the base for a million varieties. You can add roasted garlic, chipotle peppers, paprika, or anything.
Nutrition
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a regular blender or immersion blender instead of a food processor?
Yes, an immersion blender actually works very well for this — add all the base ingredients to a tall jar, place the immersion blender at the bottom, and blend without moving it until the emulsion forms, then slowly lift. A standard countertop blender works too, but the wide base makes it harder to control the slow oil addition at the start.
Is it safe to eat mayo made with raw egg yolks?
Raw egg yolks carry a small salmonella risk, which is worth knowing. If you’re serving anyone immunocompromised, pregnant, elderly, or very young, use pasteurized eggs — they’re sold in most grocery stores and work identically in this recipe.
Can I make this ahead and use it all week without it going off?
Five days in the fridge is the safe limit with raw yolks — keep the jar sealed and cold. The lemon juice and salt help, but they don’t extend the shelf life indefinitely, so make a fresh batch each week rather than trying to push it further.
More burger recipes to try
- Ultimate Avocado Bacon Smash Burger
- Angus Bacon Guacamole Burger
- Ultimate Guacamole Bacon Burger
- Animal Style Burger Recipe