Vegan Mayonnaise (Legume, Soy, & Nut Free)

Why make homemade soy free Chickpea free Mayo !?!

I love Follow Your Heart Brand Soy Free Vegan mayonnaise! Their vegan mayonnaise is tangy, thick, and creamy. It’s everything you want, EXCEPT their price and the fact that you cannot substitute any of their ingredients like pea protein, if you have additional allergies. So, I started to make my own “copycat” without chickpeas or soy, and with optional substitutes. The whole process turned out to be quite the science experiment! …..Well, when I first tried to make this recipe, I ended up with a soupy mess with oil floating towards the top and water on the bottom. After some study into the science of mixing water and oil, I found a method that works great when creating this copycat recipe! And now I can make allergy friendly mayo anytime I need it in casseroles, in sandwiches, or as a base to make ranch.

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Can water and oil blend?

Oil + hydroxide = emulsifier (ie: soap) Hydroxide is naturally present in water. The layer of air (when present) prevents the reaction of hydroxide with oil. When air is absent, the oil can react with the hydroxide in the water, creating a chemical reaction that causes emulsification of the two ingredients needed for this recipe! If you want to see more about the science behind water and oil emulsion, watch this video!

How to take the air out of water?

You can take the air out of water one of two ways:

1. Boil the water for several minutes, then allow to cool in a sealed container with no headspace.
2. Expose the water to a vacuum with stirring for several minutes. They make vacuum sealed blenders for this!

If you want to see how to use a vacuum blender to take the air out of water, click here.

Ingredients:

• Filtered water. This is part of our egg replacer in this homemade vegan mayo. The reason we use filtered water is to make sure the water is as clean as possible so that you will get the perfect emulsion every time. Some people use aquafaba or soy milk instead, which will cost you a little money but save you some time, if you’re not allergic to those ingredients.
• Neutral Oil. This is the second part of our egg replacer. Oil makes a big part of your Mayo, so choose the one you like the flavor of most! I love using extra virgin olive oil, but you may prefer something with less flavor and less expense like safflower, canola, or sunflower. But do not use any oil that solidifies at room temperature, because that will not work for this recipe.
• Rice Syrup. This adds just a dash of sweetness into your Mayo to counterbalance the vinegar tartness. You can also sub in agave or corn syrup, if desired.
• Rice Protein Powder. This helps add in binding properties to help the mixture emulsify and whip up properly. If you need a substitute and can do legumes, feel free to try pea protein powder or another protein powder and let me know how it goes!
• Mustard Powder. This adds subtle flavor but also contains emulsifying properties that will help the mayo whip up seamlessly.
• Apple Cider Vinegar. For that classic tangy mayo flavor.
• Lemon juice. To round out that tangy flavor with a hint of citrus.
• Salt.

How to Make This Vegan Soy Free Mayo:

When making the more traditional egg-based mayo, oil is slowly whipped or blended into the egg. By doing this very slowly, the mixture emulsifies. That’s why mayonnaise is thick, white, and creamy.

When making vegan mayo, the method is no different. In the egg-based recipe, the egg is what aids in the emulsification process. Whereas, in this vegan recipe, 1 part water mixed with 2 parts oil is key to a thick and creamy texture.

An immersion blender is my device of choice when making vegan mayo. Whenever I use it, the recipe always works. Mayonnaise is an emulsification, meaning the oil is suspended in the water (or soy milk or aquafaba), making a thick and creamy mixture.

Using a immersion blender is the easiest way to make it, so you don’t have to take several minutes pouring in oil slowly. Here’s the one I use and love! It even comes with a whisk and frother which I love using to make homemade whipped cream and coffee foam.

What do I do if I don’t have an immersion blender?

I do not recommend using a regular blender or food processor. The blender doesn’t properly emsulisfy the oil into water. The blender blends too quickly for the magic to happen.
Furthermore, if using a food processor, you will have to change how you do this recipe quite a bit and honestly I think it’s more work and cleanup than it’s worth. The biggest change is pouring the oil slowly into the rest of the mixture as it blends on low and I’m not sure if it will thicken as good for this recipe. However, I know many other Mayo recipes do use a food processor (we like this brand) so feel free to give it a try and let me know how it goes, using these steps:

1. Boil your filtered water for 3-5 mins and carefully lower a mason jar into the water with tongs, fill to the top with minimal headspace & seal without introducing air into the mason jar. Careful not to burn your fingers! Set aside to cool. 
2. Once room temperature, about 30 mins later, blend together the water, apple cider vinegar, rice syrup, and lemon juice, protein powder, mustard powder, fine sea salt, in a food processor on high, till smooth
3. While the food processor is still running at a high speed SLOWLY add the water/oil mixture into your slurry. This should take 2-3 mins. You want to only drop droplets of water+oil in every few seconds, till you see things thickening up (about 1/4 of the oil mixture). Once thickening, you can begin to slowly stream the remaining oil mixture into the slurry.
4. Scoop out to store in an airtight mason jar.

Pro tips:

1. Do not start your immersion blender on high when you start. Doing this will cause the oil to mix in too quickly and the Mayo to not thicken up as much. You can solve this problem with a pinch or two of guar gum.
2. Always put your immersion blender in the bottom of your jar to begin blending. This will help the oil slowly mix into the other ingredient properly and thicken up into mayonnaise. Once the bottom layer is thick, that is when you can move your immersion blender stick up and down to finish blending it all together.
3. I have seen many other recipes including 1/2-1 tsp of garlic into their mayonnaise and say they love it, so feel free to try that and comment how it goes!

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