Who Makes the Best Vegan Mayo?

Mayonnaise can make anything better—wraps, deli salads, sandwiches, and even chocolate cake (in the batter, not as frosting). It adds a necessary moisture element and creamy texture all of these foods need. While mayo is traditionally made with eggs, vegans don’t have to go without this essential, multipurpose condiment. 

Fortunately, there is vegan mayo, and it’s championed the innovation of plant-based cuisine since the 1970s. Here is where to buy vegan mayo, how to make it, and what to do with it.

The original vegan mayo

Independent hippie cafés and home cooks may have been whipping up vegan mayo under the radar, but the first popularized form of eggless mayo was created by the founders of Follow Your Heart Cafe in 1970. A prior product, Jack Patton’s Lecinaise, claimed to be egg-free, but the founders soon discovered that the spread was mislabeled and did in fact contain eggs.

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Follow Your Heart

At a loss of what condiment to pair with their café’s signature sandwich—Avocado, Tomato, and Sprouts—the four founding members attempted to create a vegan mayo of their own. After several iterations, they came up with Vegenaise, and customers started asking for it by the jar. Fifty years later, the name has come to represent the entire category of egg-free mayo, much like how we refer to Kleenex when we really just mean tissue. 

Mayo and the FDA’s strict standards

Legally speaking, vegan mayo cannot be labeled as mayonnaise according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). By the FDA’s definition, mayonnaise must contain at least 65-percent vegetable oil and at least one “egg yolk-containing ingredient.” Other ingredients aren’t upheld to these strict guidelines, but typically, mayonnaise also contains salt, acid (like lemon juice or apple cider vinegar), and mustard, along with sweeteners and stabilizers for store-bought options.  

Eat Just

This little-known fact made national headlines when Hampton Creek—now Eat Just—launched its Just Mayo. The product was on shelves for two years until the FDA sent its first warning letter to the brand in 2015, demanding Eat Just strike mayo from its label. Following a drawn-out dispute between Eat Just, retailers, the American Egg Board, and the FDA, the vegan company prevailed with only making minor concessions to its packaging. This ultimately helped pave the way for other emerging brands to use the term “mayo” without fear of legal repercussions. 

What is vegan mayo made from?

Vegan mayo can be made from a host of ingredients, but some sort of plant-based fat and vinegar are key. The usual ingredients include oil, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, mustard, salt, and aquafaba. However, both brands and food bloggers have experimented heavily with this essential condiment, producing oil-free options, whipped nut-based spreads, and creamy tofu mayos. Read below to discover how it literally all comes together. 

How to make vegan mayo

Vegan mayo is made in very much the same way animal-based mayo is made. It’s an emulsion of fat and acid, along with a few other ingredients. Whereas mayonnaise sources its fat from both oil and egg yolks, the vegan variety relies exclusively on oil as the primary fat source.

First, aquafaba, mustard, vinegar, salt, and liquid sweetener (brown rice syrup works well) are combined. Next comes the crucial step: emulsification. Essentially, you’re forcing two liquids that typically would not dissolve into one another (like oil and water) into a cohesive, smooth suspension. To emulsify the aquafaba mixture with the oil, it is critical to drizzle in the oil slowly yet steadily while continuing to rapidly whip the aquafaba. Thanks to science, the resulting condiment should be thick, fatty, and silky smooth. 

The Plant Based School

This is the most traditional method, but vegan mayo can be made in a number of different ways. The most common alternatives to aquafaba and oil call for either silken tofu and/or cashews as a base. No matter what route you choose, know that there is going to be a lot of whipping involved, so arm yourself with a trusty Vitamix or immersion blender before attempting to make your own. 

Best vegan mayonnaise brands

Reach for these vegan mayo brands during your next trip to the grocery store.

Follow Your Heart

1 Vegenaise

There’s no ignoring the original. Not only was Vegenaise the first, but it also serves as the gold standard of vegan condiments. Follow Your Heart has expanded this inaugural product to include an assortment of flavors and formulations from chipotle to soy-free, but the OG will always have a place on our vegan deli sandwiches. 
FIND IT HERE

Eat Just

2Just Mayo

Although Eat Just’s labeling battle set a precedent for makers of vegan mayo nationwide, the company quietly discontinued its plant-based spread, and fans, to the say the least, were disappointed. Vocal consumers begged the company to relaunch Just Mayo, and four years after the condiment was officially discontinued, it made its return to grocery store shelves in January 2024.
Find it here

Sarah McLaughlin | VegNews

3Kewpie

Founded in 1919, Kewpie has earned a dedicated cult following. The fan-favorite mayonnaise is beloved for its rich, custard-like texture and feel. Luckily, vegans don’t have to miss out on the fun. The brand has debuted a plant-based spread that’s sure to elevate any sandwich or deli salad.
Find it here

Hellmann’s/Best Foods

4 Hellmann’s/Best Foods

The brand from your pre-vegan years has caved into the pressure of the booming plant-based movement. Those who are brand loyalists need not step outside their comfort zone in search of an egg-free mayonnaise. Hellman’s/Best Foods’ vegan “dressing and spread” tastes just like the original.
FIND it here

Sir Kensington’s

5 Sir Kensington’s

The knight of condiments, Sir Kensington’s has created a cult following around its dips, spreads, and dressings. Not all options are vegan, but we do appreciate the four vegan-certified varieties of this classic spread. Flavors include classic, chipotle, Special Sauce, and avocado oil. 
FIND it here

NotCo

6 NotCo

Chilean company NotCo taps into the power of artificial intelligence to create vegan mayo. The company’s sandwich spread utilizes canola oil, vinegar, chickpeas, and lemon juice, among other ingredients. NotCo is working on veganizing Kraft Heinz mayonnaise as part of the two company’s partnership under The Kraft Heinz Not Company.
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Chosen Foods

7 Chosen Foods

Chosen Foods is not a vegan company, but it does make a serviceable vegan mayo. In addition to the usual suspects—avocado oil, aquafaba, sugar, and vinegar—this creamy condiment gets a boost from fava bean protein, and it definitely works. 
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Fabalish

8Fabalish

As the name suggests, Fabalish vegan mayo uses aquafaba as its base. In addition to chickpea brine, this plant-based spread also uses apple cider vinegar, lemon, Himalayan salt, and kombu (a type of kelp) to recreate the classic texture and flavor of mayonnaise. Choose between classic and chipotle mayo.
Find it here

How to use vegan mayo

Vegan mayonnaise can be used any way one would use egg-based mayo (or even Miracle Whip). There’s the obvious slathering on sandwiches and tossing with potato salad, but it can also be used in more inventive applications like creamy dips and even desserts (yes, we’re going back to that chocolate mayo cake). Here are seven dreamy vegan recipes that incorporate vegan mayo in the best ways possible. 

Jackie Sobon

1 New York Style Vegan Reuben

That addictive dressing so elemental to a good Reuben sandwich is fairly simple to make at home. All you need is vegan mayo and ketchup. The distinct condiments harmoniously come together to create a wonderfully tangy and complex schmear for this iconic sammie. 
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Zhoro Apostolov and Michelle Cehn

2 Picnic Potato Salad

One of the great advantages of egg-free mayonnaise is that you don’t have to worry about it in the sun. Go ahead and pack a mayo-laden deli salad on even the balmiest of picnic days. 
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Desiree Nielsen

3Shiitake BLT Sandwich

This humble handhold doesn’t need much to satisfy. There’s something about the combination of crispy vegan bacon, fresh lettuce, and juicy tomato slices that just works. A slick of vegan mayo on both sides of the bread acts both as an adhesive and a tasty moisture element. 
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Natalie KW

4 Kale Slaw With Barbecue Walnut Crumble

It’s coleslaw, but dressed up a bit. Evenly coated with homemade vegan mayo, cruciferous kale softens into a delightfully toothsome side dish. The added barbecue walnut crumble turns this side into a light meal. 
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Hannah Kaminsky

5 Ultra-Moist Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake

Here you have it: a foolproof recipe for mayo-infused chocolate cake. We guarantee you don’t taste or see the mayo once it’s beaten into the deep chocolate cake batter. This fat-forward condiment adds a heightened level of moistness and indulgence. Try it once, and you may never go back to your mayo-free cake recipe. “Without the mayo, this cake couldn’t happen,” says recipe developer Hannah Kaminsky. 
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Simple Veganista

6Macaroni Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is our favorite kind of salad. And while you won’t find those classic leafy greens in this type of salad, this recipe calls for diced veggies alongside macaroni noodles and a silky, mayo-based dressing. It’s perfect for summer potlucks. “This is pretty much the ultimate vegan macaroni salad and my new favorite classic side dish for summer picnics and BBQs,” writes Simple Veganista. 
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Hannah Sunderani

7 Vegan Egg Salad

Whip up this classic deli side in a matter of minutes with a few scoops of vegan mayo and a block of tofu. Season the mixture with a bit of mustard, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper, and lunch is done. 
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