This homemade Tofu Vegan Mayonnaise recipe is easy to make (3 minutes, 5 ingredients) and so much healthier than regular mayo. Only 8 calories per serving!
Sure, it’s pretty easy to find egg free mayonnaise at the store these days, and it’s true that they taste pretty darn good (better than regular mayo, in my opinion). But, while they may be egg free, they are still basically just processed oil, and are far from healthy. Not to mention super expensive! I don’t use the stuff very often myself, but my kids love sandwiches and putting mayonnaise on them. I would love to stop buying the oil-laden stuff in a jar, so I went on a quest to make my own healthier, oil free vegan mayonnaise.
What is this vegan mayonnaise made with?
While you know I love cashews, I really wanted to avoid using them in this recipe. I needed this mayo to be SUPER easy to whip up for the week, and I didn’t want to have to soak cashews or blend it to death. The great thing about this tofu vegan mayonnaise recipe is you can make it with any kind of blender, food processor or even an immersion blender. You don’t need anything fancy!
The most important thing is the kind of tofu. If at all possible, get the Mori-Nu Silken Firm Tofu, in the little boxes, NOT the kind packed in water. It tastes better, and has a much smoother texture.
Where should I use tofu vegan mayonnaise?
Sandwiches, like this Vegan BLT
In creamy salad dressings
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Adapted from Genius Kitchen.
Tofu Vegan Mayonnaise Recipe (Oil Free)
Ingredients
- 1 12.3 ounce package Mori-Nu Silken Firm Tofu
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard (may use yellow)
- 1/2 teaspoon agave or pure maple syrup (may omit)
Instructions
- Add the tofu and all remaining ingredients to a blender, food processor or immersion blender. Blend until very smooth.
- Store in a glass container in the refrigerator for about 1 week. Use in sandwiches, burgers, potato salad, coleslaw dressings and anywhere else you would use mayo.
Notes
- Mori-Nu Silken Tofu is the best brand to use for this recipe. It has a mild flavor, and is very creamy and smooth. Regular firm tofu packed in water will yield different results and won't be nearly as good.
I want to make this recipe, however is the week in the refrigerator required before eating?
How long will it last in fridge?
About 5-7 days.
Thank you, Nora! Another excellent recipe. Was looking for a homemade mayo without oil and this is so tasty, easy, and inexpensive. Have you ever frozen it before? Asking as I don’t think we would use it all in a week or so.
Yes, I think it freezes quite well. Glad you enjoyed it!
This came out just like mayo. Perfect for the dip I was making. Thanks for sharing!
You say this recipe is 8 calories per serving, but how much is a serving??
About a tablespoon. There are 24 servings total. To know for certain, you’d probably need to either divide it or weigh it total, then weigh your serving. I don’t count calories like this and the nutrition information on my website is an estimate only.
Hi, I’m hoping you can help me. Can this be made with water (or something else) in place of the lemon juice? Not sure if an acid is required or not. Also, can mustard powder be used in place of the Dijon (or another substitute maybe)? I have severe reflux and can’t have acids. This looks like a good substitute for mayo!
If you can’t have any acid like lemon or vinegar, I’d just leave it out. It provides that little bit of tang like mayo, but if you can’t have it, that’s okay! Sure, use a little mustard powder instead of the dijon, or leave that out as well. You’ll still have a pretty good mayo substitute that hopefully won’t hurt you. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
I made this recipe and could pour it out of my blender afterwards. I used soft silken tofu instead of firm – do you think that’s what made it too liquid?
Yes, softer silken tofu will make it more runny. But it’s not a super thick mayo.
Have you tried Whole Foods silken tofu? It’s packed in water but works well for pudding so thinking it might work as well as one in this recipe?
I haven’t tried it but it should work well.
This was perfect. Way less expensive than store bought and so good.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the mayonnaise, Diane! Thanks for sharing your great feedback!
Love this recipe! I’ve like buying store bought vegan mayo and this is the perfect alternative!! I added an 1/4 tsp of indian black salt, next time i might try it with just the indian black salt. Also added an additional TBS of lemon juice. It had the perfect mayo flavor, and was the perfect additon to my vegan turkey club. Can’t wait to make it again.
Hi Kenyatta. I’m excited that you loved the mayo recipe! Thanks for your fabulous review and feedback!
I love the recipe and wish I had found it sooner! It’s fantastic for people who want to limit their oil intake. So far I’ve made a delicious raw salad—carrots, green peas, apple, purple cabbage, onion, crispy red pepper and walnuts! I shared with neighbors and they said, “Real food!”☺️
I can see that this is a recipe to be used in so many dishes! Can’t wait to make mushroom stroganoff with it. And maybe onion rings using this for both a dip and the batter. Thank you so much!🌸
You listed the nutrition facts as 9 cal per serving, but what is a serving? 1 Tbsp?
That is correct, but keep in mind it’s an approximate value.
This sounds great. Thanks for sharing. Just wondering if you could use it as a mayo substitute for a tofu “egg” salad sandwich, where you would use chopped firm tofu in place of egg? I’m trying to find a lower fat alternative to mayo. Thanks
You most definitely can use it anywhere you’d use mayo. I have a recipe for tofu egg salad you might enjoy. Thank you!
Sounds like a great recipe. Do you press out the water before you make the receipe?
No need to press tofu here, we are using silken tofu, not the kind packed in water.
Hi Nora,
Could this be frozen or do you think the texture might be affected?
Thanks!
I’ve never tried freezing it but it might work. The texture might end up a bit grainy once you defrost it, I’m not sure.
It tastes rather bitter to me in comparison to other mayo, what could I add to make it less bitter?
Try adding another 1/2 teaspoon of agave or maple syrup to make it less bitter.
I followed the recipe using a very inexpensive tofu. While it was okay it seemed to be missing something. I wanted to add more lemon juice but was out of lemons, so I added some apple cider vinegar instead. Came out great!
I use a cheap brand of Silken tofu, but the result is still great. Thank you, Nora.
Do you use Dijon mustard from a jar ?
Store bought ?
Thank you
SallyAnn
Just store bought dijon mustard from a jar.
Help! I made the vegan Mayo (with tofu) for the Mac salad!
But the salad has now soaked up the dressing making it too dry!
What can I add to make it more creamy ??? Also needs more flavor!
Hmm I wonder if the noodles were still warm when you mixed everything together, causing them to soak up the tofu mayo. I haven’t had that happen. At this point, you could add more vegan mayo to make it creamy. Did you add all the other ingredients, pickle relish through the garlic powder? If you want more flavor you could increase any of these ingredients, add more salt as needed, more fresh dill, whatever you like.
I made this but added Indian black salt for more of an egg-y French mayonnaise flavor. The flavor is as good as a homemade mayo. Mine is thinner than I’d like but it was warmed a bit in the blending and I’m hoping a night in the fridge will do something to help firm it.
I used it in a faux chicken salad with grapes, cranberry, apple, walnut, pistachio, and celery.
This is delicious! I added a bit more lemon juice to additional tang and it tastes just like mayo.
I’m thrilled you loved it! Thanks for your fabulous review and feedback!
Hello, just starting to use the silken tofu you recommend but have a quick question. A site I linked to about the various silken tofus suggested soft silken is better for mayo than the firm in this recipe. Do you have a thought on that? Thanks in advance
I think either will work just fine here, I generally have silken firm and that’s what I use most.
Doesn’t the (firm) tofu need to be drained and pressed to remove water first before adding other ingredients?
You can drain the excess water but it doesn’t need to be pressed! 🙂