A reader on instagram asked if we have a recipe for a vegan aioli and I realized that we did not! So I had to remedy that situation.
Aioli is usually made with olive oil, garlic and egg yolks (at least according to the many many recipes I perused online!). Since this is a vegan aioli we’ve omitted the egg yolks but we’ve gone ahead and used the garlic and the olive oil though, so it’s close enough (sort of).
I didn’t use a lot of olive oil though because when you’re blending, olive oil can become bitter. And when emulsifying mayonnaise, too much olive oil can end up with a slightly bitter flavor.
So I went with avocado oil as the base and only a little olive oil added in, 2 tsp of crushed garlic provides all the garlic flavor you need and a little dijon mustard and paprika provide the color.
Making this aioli is too easy as it’s just a case of putting all the ingredients into a measuring jug and then blending it up with an immersion blender. If you don’t have an immersion blender, a regular blender works too, but the immersion blender is the easiest for this recipe.
Don’t try and use something like a stand mixer though, that does not work. It’s a blender or nothing with this recipe.
We’ve been enjoying this aioli on top of vegan burgers lately and of course, as a dip for fries.
It’s going to be pretty amazing no matter where you use it though, as a spread, as a dip, as a dressing or as a topping for your vegan burgers or vegan steaks or wherever you might want to spread a bit of delicious vegan aioli.
I hope you’ll love this delicious vegan aioli, it is:
- Creamy
- Garlicky
- Rich
- Tangy
- Delicious as a dip, spread, dressing or topping!
Keep leftovers in a sealed jar in the fridge and consume within 5 days.
So let us know what you think of this vegan aioli in the comments and please rate the recipe too!
For more delicious vegan diy recipes, check out these options:
- Vegan Mayo and Vegan Mayonnaise (yes we have two recipes for this!)
- Vegan Cashew Cream
- Vegan Sour Cream
- Vegan Mozzarella
- Homemade Vegan Butter
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Vegan Aioli
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp Aquafaba (45ml) Liquid from a can of chickpeas
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- ¾ tsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2 tsp Crushed Garlic
- 1 cup Avocado Oil (240ml)
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil Extra Virgin
- 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- ¼ tsp Paprika
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a measuring jug or mixing bowl and then use an immersion blender (handheld blender) to blend it up into aioli.
Notes
- Aquafaba. This usually translates to about quarter of what you would usually get if you drain a regular 15oz (425g) can of Chickpeas. You can throw the rest away or keep it for other uses.
- Avocado oil. I really like the neutral flavor of avocado oil as the base for this aioli, but if you want to experiment with different oils you can do so with differing taste results. I would recommend not to use more olive oil than directed as the process of blending olive oil can make it turn bitter.
- This recipe makes around 1 and ½ cups of aioli.
Can you freeze this?
Hi Kathy, no, unfortunately it doesn’t freeze well.
Easy and tasty! Thank you so much for this recipe. Used it for grilled vegetable sandwiches
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Sara!
How long will this keep? I will make this but if it is as good as it looks I hate to toss out leftovers.
5 days in the fridge. 🙂
Mine hasn’t thickened up? Any ideas of what could have happened?
Thanks!
Hi Jack, so sorry to hear that! Did you use a hand blender? I have never had it not work, but I know there is much more variance between full blenders than there is with hand blenders so a hand blender is the safest bet for this recipe.
Easy to make and delicious! Very happy with the result, thanks Alison.
Awesome! Thanks Christine. 🙂
Super creamy and delicious 🙂
This is best aioli I’ve ever had including the standard egg based ones
Awesome! So glad to hear that, thanks Alex! 🙂
My family and I absolutely love this recipe. Mine didn’t come out the same color though. Not sure why, but in any case it was delicious. I made it with baked sweet potato fries.
Hi Yvette, so glad you liked it! I think the color in mine came from the paprika, and apparently paprika is not always super red (as mine is), so I think that could be why your color was a little different, but as long as it tasted good, and baked sweet potato fries are fabulous with this! Thanks so much for the wonderful review. xo
Can I Sub the chickpea water for anything else? If no, do you have any alternatives to this?
Thx!
Hi Jules, I haven’t tried it with anything else. You could maybe try unsweetened soy milk in the same quantity, but I’m not entirely sure it will work.
This looks fantastic! I haven’t tried making veganised aioli since going vegan, so will definitely be saving this recipe to try later. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I will definitely try this sauce but, I have to say this or the catalan in me will explode:
Allioli is, in its origin, vegan. Allioli it’s a catalan compound word that literaly means “garlic and oil” – garlic (all) i (and) oli (oil). Some people add the egg yolk because then the emulsion is easier, but let’s be honest, that’s cheating. Then you end up with a garlicky mayonaise.
So, that’s all I wanted to say, I hope it doesn’t come across as rude, is just that I wanted to share this 🙂
Thanks for all your great recipes!
Nora 🙂
Interesting! Thanks for sharing! 🙂 I have removed the word ‘traditionally’ from my post, I was operating from false info!
Thanks Alison, or gràcies, in catalan ?
Now that I have read your edit, I’ve looked it up and I see that the misconception is pretty common in the english speaking areas. I guess I have a lot of work to do! ahahaha
No really, thank for being so kind, I just wanted to share this small piece of my culture.
Better explained info to whoever may concern:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aioli
Hello!
Another Catalan here 🙂 (although almost 3 years later!)
Nora is completely right (I was looking through the comments in case no one had mentioned that already :))
The saddest part is that at most “traditional” restaurants in Catalonia, egg yolk is added to ease the emulsion. That means I rarely can have Allioli alongside some Cannelini beans 🙁
So useful for dips and gratifyingly attractive!