Plant-Based Mayo Substitute

In the car this morning, I was brainstorming about recipes, which isn’t at all unusual for me. I thought about that new golden child of plant-based foodies, aquafaba. If you have never heard of the stuff, aquafaba is a fancy word that refers to the cooking liquid from chickpeas. Yeah, the same stuff most people just pour out of the can and down the drain.

Did you know that stuff is like vegan gold? I know!

While thinking about how I might exploit the wonders of aquafaba for my own personal gains, I wondered if I might use the stuff to make an egg-free mayo substitute. A short time after that, I was home and in the kitchen. Folks, I am truly excited about what I came up with, and I’m happy to share it with you all now.

This 100% vegan plant-based mayo substitute can be made in under five minutes, and it tastes so much like the real thing you’re not going to believe it. You can use it exactly as you would traditional mayonnaise!

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup aquafaba
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vinegar*
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons mustard powder (or Dijon mustard)
• cracked black pepper (optional)

* I use white vinegar, but you can also use any combination of white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice that equals 2 teaspoons.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add aquafaba and canola oil to a wide mouth jar (if using a stick blender) or to the blender jar (if using a regular blender).
2. Add vinegar, sugar, salt, and mustard powder.
3. Blend for about a minute, or until smooth and emulsified.

NOTE: Before I posted this, I looked around the internet, and every recipe I saw for any type of mayo (including versions that use aquafaba) tell you to slowly drizzle the oil in while the blender is running. I remember how critical that point is to making traditional mayo, so I was nervous, but as an experiment I put everything in and blended it all at once. The results were perfect.