I’d never made my own mayonnaise before, but we go through a fair bit of it in this large, hungry family. It was as I was reaching for a jar of olive oil-based mayo at the grocery store that the idea of making it with walnut hit me. If olive oil mayonnaise is a healthy step up from regular, then surely walnut oil mayo is even better? But having never made mayonnaise from scratch, I had no idea if it would work. I didn’t know if there would be something about walnut oil that would keep it from emulsifying properly with the egg yolk, or if it would taste a little strange. I knew it was worth a shot, though. I am always trying to find ways to get more Omega 3 fatty acids into my family’s diet.
I found two recipes that I liked the look of, one from Epicurious and one from Alton Brown, and in the end, I made something of a mix between the two of them. Except, of course, with walnut oil. Both of these recipes had you whisking the ingredients by hand. I could probably have saved myself some time by doing it with the whisk attachment on my stand mixer, but I thought it was kind of fun to do it the old fashioned way. Plus it was a fabulous arm workout. The only problem being that I used my right arm the whole time because my left hand is not so coordinated and can’t whisk very well. But my right bicep is now all nice and toned!
The Results: Making your own mayonnaise is so remarkably easy, it’s a wonder anyone buys the storebought kind. Granted, it would have been far easier in my stand mixer, but it was actually pretty cool to do it by hand and watch it all come together with the constant whisking. As for the taste, it turned out perfectly. It tastes just like mayonnaise, but with just a bare hint of that toasted walnut flavour. I used it in some tuna salad for my kids and they didn’t know the difference for a second! They devoured it and asked for more.
*Note: for anyone worried about consuming raw eggs, this is a perfect use for Safest Choice Pasteurized shell eggs.
Walnut Oil Mayonnaise
1 large egg yolk*
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup toasted walnut oil
In a medium bowl, combine egg yolk, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard powder and salt. Whisk until well combined, about 30 seconds.
Whisking constantly, add walnut oil a few drops at a time using a 1/4 teaspoon measure. Keep whisking and adding slowly until you’ve added about 1/4 cup of the walnut oil and mixture is noticeably lighter in colour. Very slowly, add the remaining 1/2 cup oil in a thin stream until mayonnaise is thick and a creamy light yellow.
Cover and keep chilled. Use within a week.
Makes approximately
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I just made this for my peas and carrot salad…the best mayo ever. Thank you so much, I have been trying to make a healthy mayonnaise for ages, but now, my searching is finally over. You just made my day 🙂
Thanks so much for this recipe. This is the first time my mayo came out creamy. I’ve tried 3-4 times before and it has never happened till now. I literally started jumping up and down in the kitchen 🙂 thank you! And it tastes good too. The one with olive oil was bitter.
This sounds really delicious. Could an egg substitute be used, such as flax eggs or Ener-G brand for those of us trying to eat vegan?
I don’t really know for sure, but I think your best bet is to take a vegan mayo recipe, like this one from Gluten-Free Goddess http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2009/07/egg-free-olive-oil-mayo.html and then sub in the walnut oil for the olive oil.
I can’t think of any reason it wouldn’t, but would this work well if made with an immersion blender?
Yup, it would work great and a lot faster. I just like doing things the old fashioned way sometimes!
This is great! Just the mention of Omega 3 is enough to give this a thumbs up. Thanks for sharing this Carolyn
this is awesome! i can't wait to try this!!!
I love walnut oil so know I'd enjoy this. I'm not a mayo fan in general, but do use it lightly in recipes. Wonderful idea!
So glad you liked it!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
i made this mayo a few minutes ago! brilliant!…i actually veer more plant based in my way of eating, but occasionally i have a hankering for just a touch of mayo in my potato salad or reuben…and this is a compromise for me on the egg yolk, but i can not stand the taste of vegan mayos and regular store bought processed mayos are gross….it tastes so yummy–again, in the spirit of using whole quality ingredients, i will eat that yolk!…i can't wait to introduce this to the kids' chicken salad sandwiches (they and daddy eat meat still)…thanks
I rarely use mayonnaise because unless combined with other ingredients, neither the hubby nor I like the taste too much. However, with this walnut oil, I think it might be a different story 🙂 Will try your recipe and make some for next time I'm making a Cobb salad!
I love homemade mayonnaise and I make it all the time, but I'd never considered making it with walnut oil. What a fantastic flavor idea – love it and thank you for the inspiration! I am featuring this post in today's Friday Food Fetish roundup (with a link-back and attribution), so please let me know if you have any objections. It's always a pleasure following your food…
The possibilities!!! Love this!
I have tried to make mayo so many times, and I just haven't liked the flavor. I think I've only maybe used olive oil, and the flavor is just too strong for me. I think I might like this one though. I got some walnut oil today so I'm ready to try it out. I really gotta get off the store bought mayo.
Walnut mayo?! This is so great! So much better than the bottled stuff!
The walnut oil must give the mayonnaise such a nice flavor! I'm all about walnuts right now so I'll be trying this for sure.
What an excellent idea! I adore walnut oil and homemade mayo is the BEST! I'm glad you've discovered a delicious way to work out your biceps 🙂
I love this mayo, and also when it's made with macadamia nut oil. Avocado oil is also nice, but you get green mayo–hey it's almost St. Paddy's day, so why not.