Easy Basil Mayo with Lemon
This basil mayo is everything! We love a good condiment or sauce, and this one is way better than “good.” It’s savory, herby, fresh, a little tangy, and a stellar partner for fresh summer tomato sandwiches, turkey burgers, or grilled cheese.
Why You’ll Love This Condiment
- Only 4 ingredients. You’re only 4 ingredients away from the best condiment of the summer. All you need is basil, mayo, lemon juice, and pepper.
- Bright summery flavor. Basil is one of our favorite summer herbs. We use Italian basil (also called “sweet basil)” in this recipe. It’s savory, slightly sweet, a little peppery, and has anise or black licorice notes. This condiment has all of the flavors of basil with the familiar richness of mayonnaise.
- Elevates your sandwiches or burgers. There’s nothing wrong with ketchup, but if you’re looking to do something different with your burgers this summer, slather some of this stuff on them instead. Or use it on sandwiches, like our favorite summer tomato sandwich.
Ingredients in Basil Mayo
- Mayonnaise – use good quality mayonnaise. Duke’s or Best Foods/Hellmann’s work best in this recipe. You can also use a savory vegan mayo if you have dietary restrictions.
- Fresh basil leaves – this is what makes this spread so good and herby. Be sure to use fresh basil instead of dried.
- Lemon juice – the lemon juice brightens up this sauce and makes it taste like summer.
- Pepper (and salt, if needed) – black pepper rounds out this condiment without dominating it. If your mayo isn’t very salty, you can also add a pinch of salt too.
How to Make Basil Mayo
STEP 1: To a high sided container, add the mayo, lemon juice, basil, and pepper (and salt, if using).
STEP 2: Blend the ingredients with an immersion blender until smooth. A personal blender could work too. You can also use a food processor, but the basil won’t be quite as broken down or blended with the mayo, making it slightly less basil-forward in flavor. This recipe makes about 1 cup of basil mayo.
FAQs: Basil Mayo
We like to say that this would taste good on a shoe, but we don’t recommend that. This basil mayo is excellent on turkey burgers, tomato sandwiches (regular or open faced), as a way to amp up your grilled cheese, or as a tasty dip for French fries.
It has the distinct flavors of basil (savory, slightly sweet, a little peppery, slightly anise-like, fresh), classic mayonnaise (rich and salty), and lemon (bright and citrusy). It’s not overpowering in any one flavor, making it a great option for many different kinds of dishes.
We think so, yes. Depending on the kind of mayonnaise you use in this recipe, you may end up with a slightly different flavor profile overall. Best Foods/Hellmann’s is fairly mild in flavor, making it a great base for the stronger lemon and basil notes. If you use Duke’s mayo, it has a slight lemon flavor already, so the final result might be a little more lemon-forward. Vegan options like Vegenaise would also work well. We just don’t recommend using mayo that borders on sweet (like Miracle Whip) or umami (like kewpie) as the end result may not be as balanced.
Easy Basil Mayo with Lemon
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup basil leaves tightly packed
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp cracked blacked pepper
Instructions
- In a high sided container, add the mayo, lemon juice, pepper, and basil.1 cup mayonnaise, 1 cup basil leaves, ½ tbsp lemon juice, ¼ tsp cracked blacked pepper
- Blend the ingredients with an immersion blender until the sauce is smooth.
