My husband I don’t argue about much, but we do argue about aioli. Yep, aioli. We argue about the degree to which it is similar or different from mayonnaise. I say that aioli is practically sisters with mayonnaise, while he claims that the two condiments might as well be second cousins.
This typically takes place over wine and French fries in our favorite restaurants. We ask our server, “What is aioli?” Somehow his or her answer is always a point for both of us. I know, it’s silly.
If you ask me, aioli is quite similar to mayonnaise. They’re both made of raw eggs emulsified with oil (mayonnaise is made with neutral oil, while aioli is made with olive oil) and a little bit of acid (mayonnaise uses vinegar, while aioli uses lemon juice). Sometimes the French add a little bit of mustard.
Aioli also contains garlic, which we agree must be included. The word aïoli literally means oil and garlic (ail is garlic in French). The most original form of aioli, which I’m hoping to taste in Provence this summer, is made only with garlic and olive oil emulsified in a mortar and pestle.
Anyway, the point of all of this is that there are many opinions about aioli. I’m surely going to upset someone with this quick and dirty version of aioli that tastes just like your favorite restaurant’s. Want to learn how it’s done?
How to Make This Quick & Easy Aioli
My easy aioli recipe is made with—wait for it—mayonnaise! To make it, you simply soak minced garlic in lemon juice for 10 minutes, strain it out, and stir the garlicky lemon juice into the mayonnaise. Essentially, you’re using mayonnaise as the creamy base, and adding the most characteristic aioli flavors to it.
I learned this trick from my tahini sauce. This way, you get nice garlic flavor without any actual garlic floating around in your mayo. Minced garlic would only distract from the creaminess and could make your sauce too garlicky with time.
Watch How to Make Aioli
Uses for Aioli
Anywhere you might use mayonnaise, you could probably use aioli. Here are some ideas:
- As a dip for prepared artichoke, French fries, crispy potato wedges (shown below) or sweet potato fries
- As a sandwich spread, perhaps in lieu of mayo on my veggie breakfast sandwich
- Serve a dollop with prepared vegetables, like green beans, roasted cauliflower, potatoes or a grilled kebab
- Generally speaking, aioli plays well with Spanish and provincial French cuisine, and also on seafood, apparently
Please let me know how your aioli turns out in the comments!
Cheater’s Aioli
- Author:
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: ½ cup 1x
- Category: Condiment
- Method: By hand
- Cuisine: French
Learn how to make creamy, tangy, garlicky aioli at home with this easy recipe! You’ll just need good mayonnaise, lemon juice and garlic. Recipe yields ½ cup aioli; multiply as necessary.
Ingredients
- 5 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice, to taste
- Sprinkle of salt
- ½ cup good quality mayonnaise (I like Sir Kensington’s), to taste
- Optional: ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
- In a small, shallow bowl, combine the pressed garlic and lemon juice. Stir to combine and spread it into an even layer so the juice can work its magic. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes, so the lemon juice can absorb the garlic’s flavor.
- Place a fine mesh strainer over another bowl. Using a silicone or rubber spatula, scoop the contents of the bowl into the strainer, then press on the garlic with the spatula to get as much juice out as possible. Discard the garlic.
- Stir the mayo into the garlicky lemon juice until combined. Taste, and adjust only if necessary—if the garlic flavor is overwhelming, stir in more mayonnaise by the tablespoon. If you want it to taste a little more interesting, add the Dijon mustard. For more tang, add another little squeeze of lemon juice.
- Aioli will keep well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 10 days. It will thicken up more as it chills.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Sarah | Well and Full
I love how easy it is to make this version of aioli! Also, I want to add that as someone who has taken cooking classes IN France, I would agree that aioli and mayonnaise are sisters ;)
Kate
Thank you, Sarah! :)
Giulia
Made it tonight! I was looking for an easy and super quick recipe to make ajoli and here I am! Love the extra garlicky flavour and also love the title of the recipe ;)
★★★★★
Hayley Morrin
I love your version of aioli; using raw eggs in a sauce just puts me off a little, so I’m actually happy to try this one!
Kate
Great to hear! Let me know what you think of this one!
Julie Taylor
Congrats!!! I didn’t know you were married! Yay!
This has nothing to do with your aioli, but I wanted to say congrats :) I’ve been following you for years and have made countless amazing recipes because of you :)
Kate
Thank you!! :)
Jackie Bastyr Cooper
Ok, I love your blog and recipes and have shared with MANY friends (as well as purchasing two of your cookbooks so that I could give one to my brother!). But…when did you get married!??! WHOO HOO! Congratulations! lol
Kate
Hi! Thank you for your comment, Jackie and congratulations! We got married in June. :)
Jan Curran
Didn’t you say, in the message about how you and your husband disagree, that both are made with raw eggs? I don’t see eggs in the menu.
Sam Clarke
The eggs are already in the mayo.
Kate
Hi Jan, that’s why I chose to use mayo based on the egg component. I hope this helps!
Sarah
The French version is Aioli. The Spanish version is Alioli. This also accounts for adding mustard like the French, or not adding mustard like the Spanish whose is more garlic tasting. And yes, it is miles away from a plain ol’ mayonnaise. So much so that it is eaten alone with bread prior to your appetiser and main course in Spain, in the same way as you’d have oil and balsamic vinegar to dip your bread into in an Italian Restaurant. You really wouldn’t do that with Mayonnaise. ;-) The can of worms has officially opened! haha :)
Clare
Alioli is simply garlic, olive oil and salt —and a lot of elbow grease mixing it up with a morter and pestle. Aioli is a much weaker cousin.
Sarah
No, sadly that’s incorrect Clare. The traditional way of making Spanish Alioli is with garlic cloves, salt, fresh lemon juice and extra virgin Spanish olive oil. Anything different that is some inferior version…. however, these days they include egg yolks to make it easier to emulsify as you eluded to by the ‘elbow grease’ required without them ;-)
Elena Ochian
Just made that version garlic, olive oil, salt..also, the traditional version in my country. Super easy to make, but I do have a wood pestle specially for that. If your garlic is strong, you can a bit of vinegar to tame it down.
Kate
Thanks for sharing, Sarah!
Vicki
Great Recipe! If I don’t have a use for the strained garlic, I use it in my garden to keep away pests :)
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing, Vicki!
Jan Cammaer
We always use mustard in the mayo and either vinegar or lemon, which I think is better.
Aioli is always used with fish soup, as a spread on the toast.
Kate
Thanks for sharing, Jan!
Regan
What stood out to me most in this post was the mention of “my husband”! Congratulations! :)
Kate
Thank you, Regan! :) We are pretty excited.
John Gregg
This is funny I have been making this for quite a while with the addition of some melted butter for artichokes (excluding the mustard). Yum! With or without butter.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, John!
Elizabeth
Wait, since when are you married???
Can’t wait to try this on fries!
Kate
Hi! I got married in June. :) Let me know what you think!
Kurt Gundersen
Hmm not sure why the ingredients in Vegen Mayo are so disturbing. Here are the ingredients for Veganaise: Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Filtered Water, Brown Rice Syrup, Apple Cider Vinegar, Soy Protein, Sea Salt, Mustard Flour, Lemon Juice Concentrate. That’s it. Doesn’t seem so bad to me. And when you consider the treatment of billions of hens, especially those on factory farms with horrific conditions, it seems Veganaise might not be so bad after all. But I do agree the Cashew cream version is great. Generally I love your site, just not sure I agree about vegen mayo. Cheers!
Jennifer
I’m glad someone spoke up for vegan mayo. Personally, I hate mayo, but I have a kiddo with a severe egg allergy. So it’s not like it’s a choice to go vegan in this instance.
Kate
Thank you for sharing your opinion, Kurt.
Jan Slimmer
Can’t wait to try this. I do a cheater (light) version which is basically just a tablespoon of mayo (Best Foods is my fave or Dukes if you can get it), a teaspoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon of plain Greek yogurt. I will add the garlic next time. I drizzle on broccoli, cauliflower and use as an artichoke dipping sauce. Thanks, Jan
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Jan!
Terri Sallee
Tonight, I made this aioli to dip your sweet potato fries into and to add to my black bean burger. I added a bit more dijon mustard to the recipe. It was a hit! I love your recipes!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Terri!
Sasha
Although I’m more on your husband’s side about the aioli (your husband! Does it still sound weird?:)), your recipe sounds wonderfully practical. Just a note about your garlic trick: when I first made your tahini sauce, I was in a hurry, didn’t read the recipe carefully and merrily squeezed in all the garlic. We loved it! So whether you leave the all the garlic in or strain it out I think both the tahini sauce and the aioli are going to work fabulously. Incidentally, since I know you’re not a cottage cheese fan: heavily lacing it with your tahini sauce is completely transformative. I often have it with a cubed roasted beetroot [beet] and a generous sprinkle of nutritional yeast for a fast lunch.
Kate
I will be sure to tell him. :) Thank you for your comment, Sasha!
Mae Gregory
I do so hope you enjoy your trip to Provence. There you will find that aioli as you say is not like mayonnaise being only garlic and extra virgin olive oil, no egg, made in a mortar and pestle. Sisters, not, but kissing cousins maybe. I do like your idea of a cheats aioli but it is more of a garlic flavoured mayonnaise and I’ll try it cause I like the idea of adding garlic soaked in lemon juice though I do use lemon juice in my mayo anyway. Have you ever tried roasting and then pureed garlic in your mayonnaise, this is very tasty too with an added dimension.
★★★★
Kate
Thank you! Thank you for sharing, Mae.
Janet
“Your husband?” I didn’t know you were married. Congratulations!! When did that happen?
Kate
Thank you, Janet! We got married in June :)
Rebecca
Can you please share the amount of parsley by weight or other measurement? For those of us who garden or get our produce from a farm, measurements like “bunches” are too vague. Love your recipes!
Kate
Hi Rebecca! What recipe are you referring to? This is for the aioli and doesn’t include parsley. I would love to be more specific for you!
Cheryl
The allioli from Catalonia in Spain has garlic, olive oil and salt while the Provencal version, aioli, has raw egg yolks, olive oil, garlic, salt and a touch of lemon juice. It also needs to be served immediately at room temperature….not chilled. So you would need to be sure about the quality of the eggs! So, I think aioli (Provence) or allioli (Catalan) are second cousins!
Kate
Thank you for sharing these interesting insights!
Monica
Nothing to do with the Aioli, although I’m sure it’s wonderful like all your recipes but you totally shocked us all with that first sentence. You can’t leave us hanging like this Kate. We’re so very happy for you but you must post a wedding photo. Pretty please, por favor. Congratulations…
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you! :) I have some photos here: https://cookieandkate.com/what-to-cook-this-june/
Alex Winters
What the frick? Xo!! I didn’t know you were engaged, let alone MARRIED! SOO happy for you, girl! Your hubs is so lucky to have a vegan chef at the ready haha.
Kate
Thank you, Alex! I was keeping it pretty quite for awhile, until we got married :) I appreciate your excitement!
Maria Rodrigues
Made this on the weekend, it was so good it got eaten before anyone remembered to take a photo. Followed the recipe except I doubled it, made it night before. Served it with Spanish Tortilla as part of a Tapas themed dinner. Everyone raved about it & will definitely make it again.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Sounds like a delicious combination, Maria.
Emily
Yum! Will definitely try this. And congratulations, Kate! So happy for you!
Kate
Thank you!!
Katarina
I’ve recently developed a passion for Aioli and avocados. This recipe is Fabulous and easy to create!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for your review, Katarina!
Randy McNeal
Excellent! I made this aioli to put on cucumber/smoked salmon/avocado/dill stacked appetizers. They were gone in five minutes with people raving about the “sauce.” I’m doing baked radish chips tonight (first time) but I know using this aioli as a dip will make them a hit.
★★★★★
Yoly
OMG. My husband and I loved this. It was even better as we dipped into it about an hr later. This was easy to make. A little time consuming because of the strainer step but it was doable. And it was so worth every step. BTW in explaining what this was, it was easier to describe it to my husband as flavored mayo. After he tasted it, he didn’t care what it was called.
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! Thanks for your review.
Oscar
Amazing Recipe and very easy !!!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing, Oscar!
bartman
I’ve made this aioli now twice, love it on salmon and other fish; probably wonderful for artichoke dipping, can’t wait to try that (being Californians we love our ‘chokes). Thanks!
★★★★★
Kate
That seems like a great way to use this!
Laurie Willimott
I just learned from your article, that for the last 30+ years, that I have been making aoli and NOT the homemade Caesar’s salad dressing that I thought I was making. All I have to say is that I’m not going to change anything for my salads. It tastes so good with romaine, croutons and parmesan. I just have one more ingredient- Worcestershire sauce. And of course, bc I’m making from scratch, 2 eggs. Cheater’s aoli already has the eggs in the mayo, and is delicious.
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing, Laurie!
Erin
This was so good!! Really does taste like my favorite restaurant’s aioli!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you think so, Erin! Thanks for your review.
Jaimie Shorten
Tasty. I didn’t read the bit about discarding the garlic, seems fine not to me. Had it with pan cooked cod loin, green beans and chopped hard-boiled egg
★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing how you had this, Jaimie!
Donna Blanton
Would Kraft Miracle Whip work?
★★★★★
Kate
You could try it, although not a favorite of mine. :)
Blair
Yep, this works really well. Controllable to your taste. Manageable quantities. This is my method from now on. Thank you for the great idea!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Blair!
Lara
This pairs fantastically with your sweet potato fries recipe! I tried them both for the first time tonight and although the French fries were a little over cooked (I think I cut them too small), they were still delish with this aioli. Thanks!
★★★★★
Jim Schmidt
Hi Kate,
I’m trying your “cheater’s aioli tonight.
A birthday dinner w/ steaks, sweet potato fries,lettuce, spinach & strawberry salad, perhaps asparagus and definitely mushrooms.
I’ll let you know how it goes over tomorrow.
Thanks
Jim (Sonoma County,Ca.)
Kate
I hope you love it!
Jim Schmidt
Aioli was delicious and so easy to make!
★★★★★
Debra
hey there : ) in the midst of making this and did not strain out the garlic prior to adding to the mayo-LOL I’ll find out the result tonight, but i’m curious for other thoughts regarding leaving the minced garlic in the sauce…thank you!
Kallan
This recipe slaps! A great blend of spice and zing, definitely add the Dijon!
★★★★★
patty
Thank you! this is an awesome recipe. Super easy and my first attempt tasted delicious.
★★★★★
Lisa
Fabulous recipe, thanks for sharing it! love it & all your other recipes!
★★★★★
Kate
Made this over the weekend as I didn’t have the time or energy to make a full emulsion. Turns out I might be working to hard. This was super easy and everyone loved it both with zucchini fries for dinner and then the leftovers with crispy breakfast potatoes and egg sandwiches.
Kim Arsenault
I have made this twice and really enjoyed it. However, I would like to kindly contradict your statement that vegan mayo has strange and processed ingredients. As a vegan, I use Hellmann’s mayo, which has the same ingredients as it’s original, minus the egg. So, for those who don’t want to consume animal products, that mayo works for this recipe and tastes delicious.
★★★★★
melissa hall
Hi,
Since aioli is usually made from olive oil, have you tried substituting traditional mayo for an olive oil mayo?
Just curious…
Kate
Hi Melissa! I haven’t tried an olive oil-based mayo here, but if you have one you like, I think it would be a great option.
Sara
I was googling for a recipe for aioli and wanted a quick and easy one, and stumbled across this. Didn’t actually have either the patience or the time, nor frankly the skill, to make real aioli. Realized a bit late that the food I was cooking would be great with aioli rather than the dill mayo I had planned. This was absolutely PERFECT! It came out tasting just like aioli, a little less thick but I didn’t have time to let it sit in the fridge very long and the consistency didn’t bother me anyway. I’m definitely bookmarking this recipe and doing it again!
I had it with pan grilled white tuna and oven roasted potatoes, and it was so yummy!
★★★★★
pauline
Just made this yesterday to go with sweet potato fries and my turkey burgers. Tasted great with both! I let the garlic sit in the lemon juice for at least 30 minutes in order to ensure as much garlic infused flavor as possible. I ended up mixing in more garlic infused lemon juice with the mayo than the recipe calls for because the mayo flavor was still pretty strong at first and I noticed that the garlic did soak up a lot of the lemon juice, which was hard to strain out later. I also added some garlic powder for extra flavor at the end and the dijon mustard which gave it a nice kick!
★★★★
James Whitney
I make my aioli with Hellman’s olive oil mayo — tastes great and one step closer to the original. I’ve made my own mayo from scratch on many occasions, and certainly agree that mayo and aioli are sisters.
★★★★★
Nish
Perfect ratio of everything on the best aioli recipe. I’ve tried multiple recipes over these months, but nothing was spot on except yours. Thank you for perfecting the recipe. I used Just Mayo brand Mayo.
★★★★★
Rebecca H
Worked perfectly & absolutely delicious
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy to hear you liked it, Rebecca!
Susan Willets Van Cott
Loved this. Really did, because you didn’t make me scroll through endless pictures of the process. You got right to the point, and made a case for BOTH options. I will seek you out again, THAT I can promise you.
derek
i fail to understand why those who post recipes feel the need to write personal essays as introductions to their recipes. we’re here for the recipes, not reading material.
as for the recipe, it makes little sense to call it a shortcut when you direct people to take the time and trouble of soaking the garlic in lemon juice and then….throwing away the garlic. i’ve been making my aioli this way for years, and the minced garlic has never offended my delicate sensibilities, nor ever made the aioli become “too garlicky.”
Kate
Hi Derek, I’m sorry you are frustrated by my content and approach with this recipe. I found this one worked best for me, but I’m happy you have found one you like.
Hannah
I made a bacalao tonight. It needed something extra, and one suggestion was aioli. In the time, we use what we have on hand. And I had everything for your quick version of aioli, something to add just a bit more raw garlic and some contrast in flavour. I’ve spent the day gardening, cleaning, etc. Your recipe was what I needed, a quick punch of creaminess and garlic. Love your site, use it frequently. Thank you!
★★★★
Alexa
I ran out of fresh garlic so I ended up using dried and this was STILL amazing! I can’t wait to try it with fresh stuff!
I don’t love separating eggs for various reasons, so it’s nice to have an alternative method that still comes out tasty :)
★★★★★
Lynne
Just perfect, thank you xxx
★★★★★
Arnau
‘Aioli’ comes from “All i Oli” which literally translates from catalan as “Garlic and Oil”. Avoid this recipe if you want real Aioli.
★
Dianne Koehler
I made this then added lemon basil from the garden to use over pasta. It is fantastic. Made it using the vitamix
★★★★★
Kate
I love it, Dianne!
Faith Echtermeyer
Thanks so much for this! it is terrific for a single serving.
I also add a little bit of turmeric to the lemon juice for color, makes it look more like real aioli
★★★★★
Sparky
So easy to make. Superb taste. Thank you
★★★★★
cooking calamare
You are a geinious!
cooking calamare. want aioli. I love the idea to strain some garlic juice into simple aioli. maybe even a dash of olive oil, hmmm hmm?
Shelia s Huffman
2nd time to make your cheater’s recipe and serve with air fryer French fries. Had Aioli and fries on the patio at RM 12:20 Bistro in Dallas and loved the combo.
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Thank you for the recipe.
★★★★★
Kate
That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing, Shelia.
Kari Elliott
This was a quick easy recipe and oh so yummy. We served it with roasted Brussel Sprouts and it has become a new favourite!
★★★★★
Meredith B
Oh. My. God. I was really not expecting this to be THIS good. Especially since I just had plain Hellman’s, I mean how much could a little garlic infused lemon juice really alter such a distinct flavor? Turns out – SO much and SO for the better.
If you like it extra garlic-y like I do, I’d recommend grating the garlic and letting it sit in the lemon juice for a little longer (15-20 minutes), but definitely still strain it out! I tried it a second time without straining it, thinking that having grated it will keep the creaminess, but it makes it a much less uniform flavor.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Meredith!
Sara
As garlic cloves vary so widely in size, will you provide a measurement for how much is needed, i.e., 2 tsp. grated garlic?
Kate
Hi Sara! That is true, I didn’t measure this sorry for that. Use your best judgement on medium size. You will get a good result!
Natasha
We went to one of my favourite restaurants the other evening and I figured I could copy my entree at home. I used this recipe and it was amazing!! I sliced ciabatta bread, brushed with olive oil, and baked at 200F for 10 minutes. Then, once cooled enough, spread on some of this amazing aioli and topped with a slice of tomato and pinch of salt. It was amazing.
★★★★★
Kayla
That is the best sauce ever!!!! I put it on a roasted vegetable taco and it was to die for!
★★★★★
Natasha
Yum!! I used Lime juice because I didn’t have lemon, crushed garlic from a jar (3 TSP) kewpie mayonnaise added a tiny bit of pepper and measured nothing Worked out AMAZING!! Thank you soon much for this simple recipe for my chicken
★★★★★
Catherine
Hi Kate! I love your recipe. We’ve used it loads when we have arancini. It’s perfect and amazingly easy and fast! Thank you! Catherine
★★★★★
Tim Tobish
I didn’t discard the minced garlic. When I had aoli in Provence at the village summer fetes, it was loaded with chunks of garlic!
★★★★
Liane @ Foodie Digital
Simple and so good. Paired with shrimp burgers. Yum!
★★★★★
Lori Putnam
Oh, baby! I made this and will definitely make again. I did use the dijon, and might play with the proportions if I’m ever making it to serve to others, for the GARLIC is wonderful, but mighty! We used it as a topping/dip for some baked eggplant that wasn’t as tasty on its own as I wanted it to be. Yum yum yum – allowed me to eat eggplant as a main dish instead of meat. I have no idea if I’ve ever used/seen your recipes before. I shall now bookmark you in some way to get more. Thanks for posting! :)
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing how you used this recipe, Lori! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
Keith
I am a non- conformist, I use lime juice
★★★★★
Paul Wilson
Don’t know that I had ever tasted aioli sauce before, but I was looking for something to go with deep-fried delicata squash rings. So I tried this and it is outstanding!
★★★★★