Creamy Garlic Aioli
- PREP 15min
- TOTAL 15min
Here’s how we make creamy and delicious garlic aioli. Using a whole egg instead of just egg yolk makes this homemade aioli recipe practically fail-proof and extra easy.
We make this recipe using a 12-cup food processor (brand: Magimix), and it works beautifully. If you have a larger processor or are concerned that your model’s blade will not have enough contact with the ingredients, you can use the smaller bowl attachment that often comes with food processors. This recipe also works when made using a high-powered blender. Finally, you can use an immersion blender.
In our recipe below, we ask that you add 3/4 cup of oil — this can be 100% olive oil or a blend. It is entirely up to you. We typically use 1/4 cup neutral oil (I like sunflower or grapeseed) and 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil. See our article for more details.
You Will Need
2 small garlic cloves
1 teaspoon lemon juice or white wine vinegar, plus more to taste
Pinch fine sea salt
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1/4 cup neutral oil like sunflower, grapeseed, or vegetable oil
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh ground black pepper, optional
Directions
Use a microplane grater to grate the garlic. If you do not have a fine grater, finely mince the garlic or mash it into a paste.
Place the garlic, lemon juice (or vinegar), and salt into the bowl of a food processor (or blender). Allow the ingredients to sit together for a minute or so.
Add the whole egg and egg yolk, and then pulse until blended and frothy.
Combine the neutral oil with olive oil in a measuring jug, which will help when adding the oil.
With the processor running, slowly add the oil in tiny drops until about a quarter of the oil has been added (this is critical for proper emulsification).
You can be a little less strict when you notice that the mixture is beginning to thicken and emulsify. With the processor on, continue to add the oil slowly but increase to a very thin stream instead of drops of oil.
When the oil is incorporated and the aioli is thick, taste it and adjust with additional lemon juice (or vinegar) and salt. I usually end up adding a couple more pinches of salt and an extra squeeze of lemon juice to make the flavor pop. Aioli is not as thick as store-bought mayonnaise.
Serve with a sprinkle of fresh ground black pepper over the top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Amount of garlic: Two small raw cloves of garlic add a strong garlic flavor to this amount of aioli. If you are sensitive to the taste of raw garlic, consider reducing it to one clove or use roasted garlic instead. If you’d like to increase the amount of garlic, go for it.
- What oil to use? Olive oil is authentic in this recipe. Olive oil can be pretty intense, and depending on the oil brand, the olive oil’s flavor can overpower the rest of the ingredients. By cutting some of that olive oil with a more neutral oil, the aioli is more balanced. The ratio of olive oil to neutral oil is up to you. Our best advice here is to taste your olive oil before choosing how much of it to add. If it tastes spicy and bitter, we recommend using neutral oil to balance it. In our recipe, we ask that you add 3/4 cup of oil — this can be 100% olive oil or a blend. It is entirely up to you. We typically use 1/4 cup neutral oil (I like sunflower or grapeseed) and 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil.
- It is best when all ingredients are at the same temperature. If you have cold eggs and no time to leave them out on the counter to come to room temperature, place them into a bowl of warm water. Set the bowl aside, and you will have room-temperature eggs in 5 minutes.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
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