Listen – we love ketchup, mayo, mustard, and all your other favorite condiments– by no means are we suggesting that mayo doesn’t have a place in BLTs and potato salad recipes. But, if you haven’t tried aioli — a popular dipping sauce with Mediterranean origins — you’re seriously missing out.
Aioli recipes are traditionally made with garlic, olive oil, and sometimes eggs (the combination of which is, of course, mayonnaise), but modern iterations also throw in lemon juice, garlic, and a whole plethora of other delicious herbs and spices. Here are 25 of our favorite aioli recipes, but be warned: once you dip your French fries in aioli, you’ll never go back.
Vanilla and Bean
Let's start things off with a little spice, shall we? This zesty, zingy aioli gets infused with jalapeños, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice to form the most delicious flavor.
Cooking With Curls
Let’s start off with the most mainstream, common version of aioli you’re likely to find. This easy-to-make recipe contains only five ingredients: mayo, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Like all aioli creations, this sauce is perfect for adding to sandwiches and burgers, and will also take your fries to a *whole* new level.
Goodie Godmother
Aioli recipes are *delish* on a quesadilla or another Mexican-inspired meal. The flavors of cilantro and lime pair with all kinds of flavorful (and spicy) foods.
The Iron You
Paired here with meatballs, rosemary aioli is a bit more herbaceous. The flavors of rosemary go well with meats. We also recommend serving this sauce on the sandwich portion of a hearty soup-and-sammie meal.
Hello Little Home
Use some store-bought or homemade pesto to mix into thick mayo, and you have yourself an exceptional (and easy!) aioli recipe.
Vikalinka
One bite of this rich aioli recipe, and you'll be hooked. It's especially tasty alongside some fries!
Feel Good Foodie
This pick is as straightforward as aioli gets. If you're looking to hone your kitchen craft with more homemade dips and sauces, this aioli recipe is a great place to start.
The Suburban Soapbox
Here’s another crowd-pleasing garlic aioli recipe for you. Pro tip: roast the garlic by cutting it in half, placing the middle side down on a piece of foil, drizzling with olive oil, and roasting for about 30 minutes. You’ll unlock a super-rich flavor that you just can’t get with raw garlic.
The Best Aioli Recipes
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Looking for something a little... tangier? This roasted red pepper aioli will definitely do the trick. It combines the flavors of traditional aioli and red peppers with mustard, lemon juice, and sun-dried tomatoes for a condiment with kick!
The Edgy Veg
Aioli recipes can be healthy — just ask this vegan caper aoil mixture. Salty capers meet mellowed-out mayo in this plant-based recipe.
The Minimalist Baker
This baby is spicy – and it also happens to be totally vegan. The “mayo” is made from soaked and blended cashews, while the flavor itself comes from fresh chipotle peppers.
A Spicy Perspective
You'll just have to trust us on this one – this aioli recipe holds pure magic. It's dreamy and bright, meaning it's the perfect pair to hefty, salty potato wedges and the like. Each dip will leave you wanting more and more!
Takes Two Eggs
Gochujang, a spicy Korean chili and soybean paste, gets the aioli treatment, resulting in a spectacularly spicy spread that can be used across dishes from sandwiches to loaded fries. All we can say is bring on all the spicy aioli recipes!
Fountain Avenue Kitchen
When shopping for paprika, go for a spice labeled “smoked paprika” or “sweet paprika.” Plain-old paprika tends to be a lot less flavorful. In the case of this pick, though, you’ll combine smoked paprika with a bit of cumin to achieve a rich, spicy flavor in your aioli recipe.
Joyful Healthy Eats
We’ve already covered aioli with lime and aioli with chipotle peppers — but this mouthwatering recipe combines the two. Bonus points for serving these with healthy and delicious sweet potato fries!
The Real Food Dietitians
This rich aioli is a sweet potato's BFF.
Savor The Best
Not so much into the peppery, spicy sauces? Keep things light and fresh with this lemon and dill-flavored creation. When prepping this aioli, be sure to bring your egg yolks to room temperature, or you may have some trouble getting them to mix with the rest of the sauce.
Healthy Green Kitchen
Here’s another one for the plant-based eaters out there. The secret ingredient in this recipe is aquafaba... that is, chickpea water. You can store this mixture for up to seven days in a covered container, so it’s great for making ahead (meal prep FTW!) and taking to work.
More Delicious Aioli Recipes
The Faux Martha
Chimichurri is often slathered on meats, and this aioli is just as – if not more – versatile. It shares a number of ingredients with traditional chimichurri sauce — a few of the stand-outs are cilantro, onion, lime juice, and jalapeño!
Barley & Sage
For a dip with more kick, this spicy lemon aioli strikes the ideal balance between tangy and zesty.
Half Baked Harvest
Saffron brings a muted, yet deep flavor to this blend that was crafted to pair with feta fries. It's one of the tastiest aioli recipes we've had!
Homemade Interest
When we say this recipe is easy, that’s kind of an understatement. There are literally two steps: whisk everything together, then allow it to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. It’s *that* simple.
Pink Owl Kitchen
All the best parts of creole cookin' falvor are included in this aioli. Make sure you've got a lot of spices on your hands, or else this spicy pick won't quite hit the same.
The Skinny Fork
What makes this Sriracha-infused aioli skinny, exactly? Instead of regular mayonnaise, you’ll sub in light mayo and Greek yogurt for a lower-fat, protein-packed alternative.
Cafe Delites
All those classic garlic aioli recipes we’ve shared above are fabulous, but adding some avocado can be a *total* game-changer. With this recipe, you’ll whip some fresh avo right into the mixture, adding creamy texture and stellar flavor.
Dad With A Pan
This lemon-parsley combo is decidedly British-inspired and perfect for dipping. It showcases the flavors of mayo, parsley, lemon, Dijon mustard, and garlic. Bonus points for serving it with fried blue cheese olives, as shown here.
Veggie And The Beast
If you’re interested in a red pepper flavor, but want to steer clear of animal products (or dairy in general), try this vegan version. You’ll sub in cashews (processed with water, of course) for mayo, keeping it dairy-free and super healthy.
Self Proclaimed Foodie
If you’re a big pesto fan, you’ll adore this basil-garlic sauce. In addition to being a perfect addition to French fries, it would also go great on any kind of Italian-inspired sammie, such as an eggplant Parm or meatball sub. (via Self Proclaimed Foodie)
Ruled.Me
See those eggs in the background? That’s because this recipe has you making mayo from scratch. It doesn’t get more wholesome than that. You’ll bring the eggs to room temperature before processing them with additional yolks, lemon juice, and garlic, and adding olive oil toward the end of the process.
Tasty Kitchen
We thought we’d round off our list with another classic iteration of aioli. This garlic-infused version is perfect for all your aioli needs, but we *especially* love it with French fries and a glass of white wine. Cheers!
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This post has been updated with additional reporting by Meredith Holser. This article originally appeared in 2017 as part of our Hit Refresh series.
