When you hear the term “healthy mayo,” it may sound like an oxymoron. But that’s exactly what avocado mayonnaise is — a delicious condiment with a number of hidden health benefits.
You can make your own avocado mayo at home or purchase it from a reputable brand. Below, we explain what avocado mayo is, its stellar health benefits, how to make homemade mayo and what to search for when buying avocado mayonnaise.
What Is Avocado Mayo?
Avocado mayonnaise is regular mayo made with avocado oil, rather than olive oil, coconut oil or seed oils.
Mayonnaise should be a healthy condiment. In its purest form, mayo has three ingredients: egg yolks, oil and acid. Unfortunately, many large food companies transformed mayonnaise into an increasingly processed product, adding unnecessary and unwanted ingredients. Ingredients such as highly processed, chemical extracted vegetable oils, calcium disodium EDTA and other preservatives have turned most processed, store-bought mayo brands into something that you would never want stored in your cupboards [1].
Here's the good news: There is a mayo brand out there, you just need to know what to look for. Real avocado mayonnaise is made with just a few simple ingredients. When you look on the nutrition label, you should only see ingredients you recognise: eggs, acid (like apple cider vinegar), avocado oil and salt.
How Do You Make Avocado Oil Mayo?
If you have the time, you can make your avocado mayo at home. All you need is a blender, Mason jar and the aforementioned ingredients. Once you assemble what you need, simply follow the below instructions to make your own homemade mayonnaise.
Avocado Mayo Recipe
This homemade mayo is ready in a total time of just five minutes. To make this homemade mayonnaise recipe, you'll need the following ingredients:
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (may be substituted for lemon juice)
- 1 cup avocado oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
- Crack an egg and separate the yolk from the egg white. Place the egg yolk in a medium Mason jar and add a tablespoon of acid (either apple cider vinegar or lemon juice).
- Using an immersion blender (emulsion blender), start to blend the egg yolks. (You can technically do this using a regular blender or food processor, but the end consistency may be more liquid than you want.)
- Slowly — more slowly than you want to — add 1 cup of extra virgin avocado oil to the Mason jar. Keep blending the yokes as you add the oil.
- Continue to blend, even after all the oil has been added to the Mason jar. You will see the mayo slowly thicken to your desired consistency.
- Once the mayonnaise reaches your desired consistency, add a dash of sea salt or other seasonings. If you prefer, you can add-in other flavours, such as lime juice, chipotle flakes, onion powder, garlic powder or other seasonings.
You can store your mayo in an airtight container up to one week in the fridge. Do not store at room temperature.
What Are the Health Benefits of Avocado Mayo?
Avo mayo includes three nutrient-dense ingredients: eggs, avocado oil and apple cider vinegar. Here are just a few health benefits you'll enjoy this combo, and why you absolutely need avocado mayo in your life:
1. It Offers a Healthy Dose of Fats
Avocado oil and eggs are filled with healthy fats.
Ripe avocados contain a blend of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat. In addition, avocados contain oleic acid, an omega-9 fatty acid that can lower LDL cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease [2].
Meanwhile, eggs contain high-levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which can help improve triglyceride levels (another biomarker of heart disease) [3]. When choosing eggs at the store, try to select organic or free-range eggs.
2. It Contains Plenty of Antioxidants
Both avocado oil and eggs are filled with antioxidants, which reduce free radicals in the body.
Avocado oil contains beta-carotene, tocopherols and carotenoids, which help protect your body against oxidative stress (which leads to cellular damage) [4]. Eggs contain the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which can protect your eyes from macular degeneration [5][6].
3. It's Full of Vitamins and Minerals
Eggs are filled with a number of vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, D and E, as well as a number of B vitamins. In addition, it contains various minerals, including potassium, iron, selenium and phosphorus [7].
What Recipes Can You Make With Avocado Mayo?
Avocado oil mayonnaise can be used in a number of recipes. You can smother it within a BLT lettuce wrap, use it as a dipping sauce for sweet potato chips or mix it into a tuna salad.
Here are just a few recipes you can use with avocado mayo:
- Asian cashew coleslaw: This paleo-friendly coleslaw is made with shredded veg, including carrots, red onion and cabbage. Toss it with a dressing made from avocado mayo, coconut aminos and lime juice.
- Keto dill stuffed eggs: This low-carb snack is made from hard-boiled eggs, avocado oil mayo, dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar. Simply halve the eggs, scoop out the yolks, then mix the yolks with the other ingredients to make the stuffing.
- Keto chicken dippers: Avocado mayo makes an excellent dipping sauce for this fried chicken recipe. Simply dredge chicken breasts in almond flour, eggs and seasonings, then dip in avocado mayo once they’re fried to perfection.
- Avocado oil mayo coleslaw: Avocado oil can easily be used as a salad dressing, as seen in this coleslaw recipe. Broccoli, cabbage and carrots are tossed in a dressing made from lime juice, avo mayo and salt and pepper for an easy side dish.
- Lemon poppyseed chicken salad: This easy chicken salad is made with chicken breasts, almonds, onion and celery. Toss in a dressing of avocado mayo, lemon juice, poppyseeds and honey (optional).
- Keto BLT: This gluten-free BLT is made with cloud bread, or low-carbohydrate "bread" made from eggs, cream cheese and cream of tartar. Once your bread is made, top with high-quality bacon, avocado mayo, lettuce, tomato and a slice of creamy avocado.
- Egg and potato salad: This potato salad is made from just four basic ingredients: potatoes, eggs, avocado mayo and water. You can easily use it as a dairy-free, gluten-free side dish for a number of meals.
How to Find the Best Avocado Mayo
While you can easily make avocado mayonnaise at home, if you're short on time you can buy it from a reputable brand. But first, you need to know what to look for.
When shopping for avocado mayo, be sure to read the nutrition label. A high-quality brand will contain just a few ingredients: avocado oil, eggs, salt and apple cider vinegar. If you're looking for a flavoured mayonnaise, such as chipotle mayo or garlic mayo, you should be able to recognise every spice or seasoning (like garlic or chipotle flakes). Lastly, it should be gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free and free of additional oils.
With a reputable avocado mayo brand stocked in your kitchen, you can easily fit this condiment with an ancestrally inspired meal plan. Use it in lettuce wraps, as a dipping sauce or within salad dressings for added flavour.
All information provided on our website and within our articles is simply information, opinion, anecdotal thoughts and experiences to provide you with the tools to thrive.
It is not intended to treat or diagnose symptoms and is definitely not intended to be misconstrued for medical advice. We always advise you seek the advice of a trained professional when implementing any changes to your lifestyle and dietary habits.
We do however recommend seeking the services of a trained professional who questions the conventional wisdom to enable you to become the best version of yourself.
RESOURCES
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12396676/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4016882/
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6280955/
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2796540/
[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16988120/
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6164534/
[7] https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/111/2
