Cheater’s Aioli
Learn how to make creamy, tangy, garlicky aioli at home with this easy recipe! You'll just need good mayonnaise, lemon juice and garlic.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 16, 2024
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.
The point 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
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.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
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 :)
Just perfect, thank you xxx
‘Aioli’ comes from “All i Oli” which literally translates from catalan as “Garlic and Oil”. Avoid this recipe if you want real Aioli.
I made this then added lemon basil from the garden to use over pasta. It is fantastic. Made it using the vitamix
I love it, Dianne!
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
So easy to make. Superb taste. Thank you
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?
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.
That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing, Shelia.
This was a quick easy recipe and oh so yummy. We served it with roasted Brussel Sprouts and it has become a new favourite!
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.
Thank you for sharing, Meredith!
As garlic cloves vary so widely in size, will you provide a measurement for how much is needed, i.e., 2 tsp. grated garlic?
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!
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.
That is the best sauce ever!!!! I put it on a roasted vegetable taco and it was to die for!
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
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
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!
Simple and so good. Paired with shrimp burgers. Yum!
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! :)
Thank you for sharing how you used this recipe, Lori! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
I am a non- conformist, I use lime juice
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!
Nice recipe. It’s not aioli. Aioli has no eggs in it. This recipe is for a lovely flavored mayonnaise.
Hi! Thank you for your feedback. That is why I called it cheater’a aioli. :)
This was wonderful – so easy to make and it was a huge hit!!! Thank you :)
You’re welcome! I’m happy you enjoyed it, Kate.
This sounds awesome! I’m going to give this a try for sure! I’m wondering if I replace the lemon juice for pickle juice, if it would work for a nice burger sauce. Might be something I need to try.
Very good – easy and a definite keeper. Just need to find stuff to dip in it!
Awesome! Thank you, Paul.
Can’t remember if I posted here or not, so just delete if I already gushed. LOVED this! And for the vast majority of us cooks out here, we are NOT put off my starting with mayonnaise. We aren’t threshing our own wheat, either, so yes, thing that taste really good are always welcome. :). Followed the recipe exactly, and it was a dynamo! Making another batch today for the chicken tenders we will be having, some grilled and some fried. Thanks for posting this! :)
This is just fantastico !! Used ramekin bowl to suffuse the lemon juice and crushed garlic then beat juice into mayo in small bowl with spatula, Smooth zingy punchy delicious, easily adjustable according to taste. My freshly baked ciabatta disappeared in trice, V well done.
Thank you, Andrew! I appreciate your review.
Can I add butter and parsley to this recipe to make it for lobster? Maybe less Mayo? Curious on your thoughts!!
Hi! Sorry, I’m a vegetarian and don’t eat meat.
A little bit or tartare sauce in the recipe is also great. And I had some pink pepper corns that I ground up into it.
Oh my god this is brilliant. Tried it, love it!
I won’t ever make aioli any other way
Loved your Aioli recipe. It’s great on everything. I added the Dijon and increased the lemon for more tang. Yum!
Aloha! CM
Whipped this up to eat with crab cakes. Trashed the crab and ate the aioli with fries, potato chips, and after mixing in a little ketchup, it was amazing on onion rings too
Best I ever had. Good with anything. Make extra.
Thank you for your review, Kurt!
OMG this was fantastic, I could have eaten the whole thing by its self….will make again.
That’s great! Thank you for your review, Myssi.
Loved it!!
My other half asked me to make a big jar of it so he can put it on everything lolol
Great easy sauce was perfect on my families breakfast sandwich made with a creamy variant I put the sauce in a blender whipping it to a frothy whip that layed lightly across a fresh baked sourdough bun. Along with 5 hard fried eggs, three cheeses, rendered bacon, smoked deli ham,shredded lettuce, diced red onions and tomatoes. The 9″ bread was cut into 4 quarters sitting Toothpicked 4″ high. Complimented with cottage fries drizzled with a creamy sriracha sauce
Note: I should have made 2
@Kate: Thank you very much for this quick-and-easy recipe, which is something I have been looking for!
I used to make my own mayonnaise in high school (way back when…) from raw egg yolk and vinegar with a pinch of mustard. If you are confident that the eggs are free from stuff like salmonella, this can be very delicious.
But I also enjoy making Toum, the traditional Lebanese garlic sauce which would also qualify as vegan (I think)? … since it only contains lemon juice, garlic, and oil if you take the time and trouble to make it according to the traditional recipe (i.e., without any eggs or mayo, etc.).
I would say that Aioli is a closer cousin to Toum than to mayonnaise, and if you really want to do a vegan Aioli, you might want to investigate Toum. However, it is a lot harder to make Toum than to make mayonnaise!
I’ve been too intimidated to try “real” aioli but I’m so glad I gave this a try! I only used 3 garlic cloves but it came out perfect!
That’s great, Jay! Thank you for your review.
This was delicious and literally took just a few minutes!
Hi! :-) l just learned about aioli while doing a WordScapes game on my phone – ‘aioli’ was the word i couldn’t get! (till in desperation i looked it up on an online unscramber :-) Anyways, a google aioli search brought up your recipe first thing, and i was mesmerized by the simplicity and elegance. Also enjoyed reading many of the comments of your followers, very fun group of people! So, thank you for introducing me to aioli & the easy recipe!
We made this quick aioli and loved it. We also reserved the pressed garlic and stored it in a small jar of oil. We then used the garlic infused oil in recipes and the garlic slush in garlic butter. So very little waste. Very easy recipe – thank you
Thank you for sharing, Helen!
Wow, this is really good and super easy. I wanted to make Garlic aioli chicken quesadillas but all the recipes for aioli took over an hour (resting in the fridge) so this recipe was a life savor. I used Sir Kensington’s but I only had pre minced garlic, it came out a little too garlicy, I’m sure of I had cloves it wouldn’t have though. Thanks again!
Have made this aioli time and time again and despite the ease of prep it is one of the freshest nicest we have tried anywhere
Delicious! We’d run out and had to resort to making it myself (shock horror).
So, I’ve just had it over a cold roast vegetable salad with lamb and it was incredible.
This is delicious! The flavors are smooth and balanced.
Thank you for trying it, Frances! I appreciate your review.
This aioli was so easy to make and just the most amazing sauce for our dinner tonight. The garlic infused amazingly in the 15 minutes I left it- my husband hates mayonnaise and hates eating chunks of garlic but he loved this! Cant wait to try it as a dip!
Hi!
Is it possible NOT to use lemon juice and still can the dressing be callled Aioli?
You used the phrase too garlicy. I’m sorry but there’s no such thing .
Great recipe though, would be amazing with your sweet potato fries which are great.
This aoli recipe is very good. I used my vegan mayo recipe and garlic paste with the Dijon mustard. So good! Thank you Kate!
You’re welcome, Rebecca!
Excellent recipe, and so easy. My wife loves it and so do I. I add a few shakes of paprika for colour.
This tastes absolutely amazing and it’s so quick and easy. Thanks so much!
You’re welcome, Lauren.