Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.

Ingredients

This sauce is simply my chermoula sauce recipe plus Greek yogurt. It’s a similar idea to my carne asada recipe where I reserve half of the marinade before it gets mixed with the meat, and instead mix it with sour cream. That makes such a great crema for carne asada. I applied the same idea to chermoula here by mixing a half batch with Greek yogurt. It’s so good! Here are the ingredients you need:

• Greek yogurt
• Fresh cilantro
• Fresh parsley
• Lemon juice
• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Paprika
• ​Cumin
• Coriander
• Cayenne
• Saffron, optional
• Salt

I list the saffron as optional because, even though it adds some good flavor, it’s a very small amount of an expensive ingredient. If you don’t have any in your pantry, don’t buy some just for this. Just skip it.

Making Creamy Chermoula Sauce

You start by making the chermoula the same way you usually would: use a food processor to finely chop up the herbs and fresh garlic. Add the lemon juice and spices and pulse to combine. Then, blend while drizzling in the olive oil until it’s fully mixed.

Up to there, you have chermoula as normal. Then the sauce part comes in. Transfer the chermoula to a bowl and stir in the creamy yogurt. That’s it!

Using Chermoula Dipping Sauce

My favorite way to use this sauce is to drizzle it over chicken dishes or as a dipping sauce, like I do with my Moroccan chicken recipe. But you can also use it with seafood, roasted potatoes, and vegetables to easily add great flavor. It’s amazing to use for an appetizer as a dip for pitas and crunchy veggies too.

Let me know what you’re serving it with in the comment section!

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. 

More Dipping Sauce Recipes

If you love dips as much as I do, you’ve got to check out more of my dip recipes. Here are some of my favorites:

• Creamy Dill Sauce
• Best Fry Sauce Recipe
• Lebanese Garlic Sauce
• Creamy Horseradish Sauce

Chermoula Dipping Sauce Recipe

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• Author: Christine Pittman
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 1 and 1/4 cup 1x
• Category: Sauce
• Method: Mix
• Cuisine: American

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If you don’t have a food processor, no problem. Chop up the cilantro, parsley and garlic really finely. Add the lemon juice, and all the seasonings. While stirring quickly, stir in the olive oil. And then stir in the yogurt. Voila!

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Ingredients

Units USM

• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp. cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne
• 1/8 tsp. crushed saffron (optional)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 (5.3 oz.) container Greek yogurt, about 2/3 cup

Instructions

1. Measure the cilantro, parsley, and garlic into the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely chopped.
2. Add the lemon juice, paprika, cumin, coriander, cayenne, saffron (if using), and salt. Pulse to combine. Scrape down sides of processor bowl.
3. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally. Once all oil is added, process for another 30 seconds to form a uniform sauce.
4. Transfer cilantro mixture to a medium bowl and stir in the Greek yogurt. Serve immediately or cover and chill for up to 3-4 days.

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Photos of chermoula dip by Victoria Bracey.

The post Chermoula Dipping Sauce appeared first on Cook the Story.

Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.

What Is Chermoula?

Chermoula is a North African sauce or condiment with pureed fresh herbs, somewhat similar to chimichurri sauce from South America. There are different regional varieties, but my version is closest to the Moroccan version and has lots of cilantro and parsley, lemon, and spices including paprika and cumin.

For this chicken dish, you’re going to use half of the chermoula as a marinade and then turn the other half into a creamy sauce by mixing it with Greek yogurt. So you see, the chermoula’s pulling double duty here to bring a ton of amazing flavor to the chicken.

Should I Brine The Chicken?

You absolutely can! And you can actually do it right while the chicken is marinating in the chermoula. What you’ll do is to get the half of the chermoula that you’re using as a marinade and then add an extra teaspoon of salt to it. That effectively turns the marinade into a brine.

Note that if you’re using chicken thighs, I don’t think you actually need to brine them. They’re tender and juicy enough. But for chicken breasts, I recommend you add that extra salt and let them marinate for the full hour with the added salt.

If you want to do a more basic chicken breast brine, here’s a great recipe and tutorial. And if you want to see another example of a brine that has lot of extra flavor in it, check out my crazy-flavorful turkey brine recipe here. 

How Long To Marinate In Chermoula

In the recipe, I give a range of 30-60 minutes of marinating time.

If you’ve added extra salt so that it also brines the chicken, I suggest marinating for a full hour, but no longer than that or else the chicken will get too salty.

Without the extra salt, it can marinate for longer than an hour if needed for your schedule. But like with any marinade that contains acidic ingredients, marinating for too long can start to make the meat mushy or have other textural changes.

Note that the recipe below calls for 8 boneless chicken thighs, and the amount of marinade that you make is enough for that. That amount of marinade will also work for 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts or for 6 bone-in chicken thighs.

Cooking Chermoula Chicken

I love to bake these marinated chicken thighs in the oven. It’s super-easy and convenient and takes about half an hour at 450°F. If you have bone-in chicken thighs, use a lower temperature, 350°F is good, and cook for about 45 minutes instead. Either way, make sure the chicken has reached 165°F internally before serving.

You can also grill or air fry this chermoula chicken. For grilling, use the timing in my grilled chicken thighs recipe. I’ve found the sauce clings nicely to the chicken and browns as it cooks.

To pan fry, chopping the chicken into bite-sized pieces before marinating (it’ll only need half an hour in the marinade once cut into pieces). Then pan-fry and serve over rice. It’s so good!

Storing Leftovers

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you’re not going to use all of the chermoula dipping sauce, pour some into an airtight container before any has contact with chicken. Refrigerate that separately for up to 3 days.

More Chicken Recipes

Browse my full collection of chicken recipes, or try one of these favorites next:

• Brown Sugar Chicken Thighs
• One-Pan Chicken and Broccoli
• Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs
• Baked Chicken with Tomatoes and Chilis

Easy Chermoula Chicken Recipe

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• Author: Christine Pittman
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Marinate: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Entree
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: Moroccan

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Mix up the bright herb mixture. Then use half to marinate the chicken and the other half to mix with Greek yogurt as a tasty dipping sauce. Note that if you’re using chicken breasts instead of thighs, I recommend that you add an extra teaspoon of salt to the marinade mixture which will help make the breasts more tender and juicy. Be sure to marinate for the full hour.

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Ingredients

Units USM

• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 1/4 tsp. crushed saffron
• Salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• Cooking spray
• 1 (5.3 oz.) container Greek yogurt (about 2/3 cup)

Instructions

1. Make the chermoula by measuring the cilantro, parsley, and garlic into the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely chopped. Add the lemon juice, paprika, cumin, coriander, cayenne, saffron, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Pulse to combine. Scrape down sides of processor bowl. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally. Once all oil is added, process for another 30 seconds to form a uniform sauce.
2. Put half of the chermoula into a zip-top bag. Transfer the other half to a large bowl and set it aside. Add the chicken thighs to the bag of chermoula. Seal bag and shake to fully coat chicken. Refrigerate to marinate for 30 to 60 minutes.
3. To the bowl of remaining chermoula, add the Greek yogurt. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate.
4. Take chicken out of fridge. Preheat oven to 450°F. Spray a large baking sheet with baking spray (or rub it with a bit of olive oil).
5. Transfer chicken pieces from bag to prepared baking sheet. Leave any of the chermoula that’s clinging to the chicken in place. Discard any chermoula remaining in the bag. Arrange chicken on prepared baking sheet making sure that each chicken piece is unrolled and lying flat for maximum surface area. Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt.*
6. Once oven has preheated, put chicken into the oven. Bake until darkened in spots and cooked through to at least 165°F, 30-35 minutes.
7. Transfer chicken to serving platter and drizzle with yogurt sauce, or serve yogurt sauce on the side as a dip.

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Notes

*Skip the salt if you added extra salt to the marinade to make it a brine.

Photos of chermoula chicken by Victoria Bracey.

The post Chermoula Chicken appeared first on Cook the Story.

Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.

Why I Love This Sauce

• It’s quick to make and there’s no cooking needed.
• It’s an easy way to transform your dinner.
• The sauce has beautiful color with an herby and earthy flavor.

What Is Chermoula?

This is an North African sauce or condiment with pureed fresh herbs that can also be used as a marinade, a little like chimichurri sauce from South America. 

Since it’s found throughout Northern Africa, there are many regional varieties. Because of that, some versions are more green and others are more of a reddish color from added harissa paste. Mine is closest to a Moroccan version, with green herbs, lemon, and spices. 

Chermoula Ingredients

You can use the tender stems from the herbs in this as well, just leave out any thicker, tougher stems.

I use regular, freshly squeezed lemon juice in my recipe. Some variations use preserved lemon, but that’s not something I always have on hand.

The saffron in this recipe is nice, but it’s optional. It’s an expensive ingredient, and if you don’t often use it in other dishes, you may not want to purchase it. If you do get your hands on some, use it in the chermoula and then use it in this shrimp paella recipe too!

Texture Of Chermoula Sauce

If you want to use this as a condiment or relish, you may want a chunkier texture. To do that, add in the herbs last and just pulse instead of blending smooth. I’m most often using it as a marinade, so I like mine smoother, as you can see in the photos. For that I pulse it all and blend until smooth.

Chermoula Without a Food Processor

If you don’t have a food processor, do the following. Mix together the lemon juice, paprika, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt, and saffron, if using. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking quickly to emulsify the sauce into a smooth consistency. Or measure it all into a jar, put the lid on, and shake it a lot.

Then you’ll really finely chop the cilantro and parsley and stir them in. The sauce will be chunkier but will have the same amazing flavor. 

How to Use Chermoula

The bright flavors and warm spices give great taste to lots of different dishes. You’ll love the versatility and find plenty of uses for it for sure.

It’s excellent on meats, especially chicken and fish, and can be used as a marinade or a finishing sauce on the plate. The sauce is also delicious as a dip for vegetables or pitas.

You can spoon some over roasted veggies or potatoes. Or stir in a spoonful to rice or soups. If you mix in some Greek yogurt, you turn it into my tasty chermoula dipping sauce.

Leftover sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

More Sauce Recipes

You can browse my full collection of sauce recipes, or try one of these favorites:

• Creamy Dill Sauce
• Homemade Lebanese Toum
• Chili Garlic Sauce
• Browning Sauce

Homemade Chermoula Recipe

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• Author: Christine Pittman
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 1 cup 1x
• Category: Sauce
• Method: Mix
• Cuisine: Moroccan

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Bright and fresh but also earthy, you’re going to love this recipe! It makes 1 cup, which is enough to marinate 3-4 pounds of chicken pieces. Note though that what I love to do is to use half as a marinade and then the other half as a dip for the cooked chicken. You can even swirl some plain yogurt, sour cream, or coconut milk into it to make it a creamier dip, yesssss!

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Ingredients

Units USM

• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 1/4 tsp. crushed saffron, optional
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions

1. Measure the cilantro, parsley, and garlic into the bowl of a food processor.* Process until finely chopped.
2. Add the lemon juice, paprika, cumin, coriander, cayenne, saffron, and salt. Pulse to combine. Scrape down sides of processor bowl.
3. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally. Once all oil is added, process for another 30 seconds to form a uniform sauce.

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Notes

*If you don’t have a food processor, do the following instead: mix together the lemon juice, paprika, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt, and saffron, if using. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking quickly to emulsify the sauce into a smooth consistency. Or measure it all into a jar, put the lid on, and shake it a lot. Then finely chop the cilantro and parsley and stir them in. 

Photos of chermoula sauce by Victoria Bracey.

The post Easy Chermoula Sauce appeared first on Cook the Story.

Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.

Ingredients

Like I said, there are very few ingredients in this recipe. It’s just these:

• Mayonnaise 
• Mustard
• Honey 
• Lemon juice
• Salt

Mayo is classic in honey mustard sauce, and is actually the main ingredient. Are you surprised? I know I was! But if you aren’t a fan of mayonnaise, you can make this instead with sour cream or plain yogurt, or half of one of those and half mayo. It changes the texture and the flavor though. If you omit some or all of the mayonnaise, you’ll need to add extra salt and extra acidity (lemon juice or vinegar). Use up the sauce within 3 days.

You can swap out the lemon juice for lime juice or for plain distilled or white wine vinegar. There’s a really small amount of lemon juice in the recipe, so you’re not going to get much different flavor by changing this.

Instead of the honey, you can use a different sweet syrup like maple or agave, or try an infused honey.

Mustard choice is a bigger decision, so let’s dive more into that:

What Kind of Mustard?

It’s fairly common to use half Dijon mustard and half yellow mustard here. If you have both of those, that’s my recommendation. Dijon has more depth and yellow mustard has a more sharp acidic tang, so incorporating them both gives you more flavor.

Brown mustard can be swapped in for yellow mustard. A grainy mustard can be used here but you will need a bit more of it, and I wouldn’t use it as the only kind of mustard but just for 1/4 to half of the total mustard amount. If you’d like to use a truly hot mustard here, only use a tiny amount. Mix up your honey mustard sauce using other non-hot mustards and then add a teaspoon at a time of hot mustard and until it’s as hot as you’d like.

Using Honey Mustard Sauce

This is perfect as a dip for chicken nuggets or chicken fingers, as well as french fries or even fresh veggies. It’s really tasty on chicken sandwiches or wraps too!

If you’d like to use it as a honey mustard salad dressing, you can mix in a little water to thin it out for better drizzling. 

Storing Leftovers

This tasty sauce can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

More Sauce Recipes

If you want to make more homemade condiments and dipping sauces, try one of these recipes next:

• Homemade Aioli Recipe
• Best Fry Sauce
• Sweet and Smoky BBQ Sauce
• Honey Dill Sauce

Honey Mustard Sauce Recipe

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• Author: Christine Pittman
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: ¾ of a cup 1x
• Category: Sauce
• Method: Mix
• Cuisine: American

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The amount of lemon juice that you’ll need for this recipe depends on the type and brand of mustard that you use. Every mustard is different, after all. You’ll see that the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and then just a pinch of salt. These are both on the lower end of what you’ll need so that you can taste and then add more, as needed.

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Ingredients

Units USM

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp. mustard*
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. lemon juice**
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. In a bowl or jar, mix together all ingredients until well combined. Taste. Add more lemon juice and/or more salt, if needed.
2. Use immediately or store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

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Notes

*I recommend using half prepared yellow mustard and half Dijon mustard. 

**Plain vinegar or white wine vinegar can be used instead of lemon juice.

The post Homemade Honey Mustard Sauce appeared first on Cook the Story.

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Ingredients And Substitutions

I know the ingredient list looks a little bit longer than usual for my recipes. That’s because the recipe includes a homemade dressing. To make this salad more quickly and easily though, I sometimes use a store-bought dressing. My favorite is a sweet poppyseed dressing sold in the refrigerator in the produce department of my grocery store.

The Homemade Dressing:

This salad dressing is inspired by my popular honey dill sauce that I use as a dipping sauce, but thinned out and a bit less sweet. These are the dressing ingredients:

• Mayonnaise
• Honey
• Lemon Juice
• Dried dill
• Garlic powder
• Worcestershire sauce

Note that the actual amount of Worcestershire sauce is quite small, and you may taste the dressing and think it needs more. But trust me here, as it sits while you’re making the rest of the dish, the Worcestershire sauce becomes a bit more pronounced and everything rounds out. So, don’t add more until it sits and you taste it again!

The Salad Veggies:

Here’s what I used for my salad, but as long as you have some lettuce or other salad greens, you can use whatever other vegetables you’ve got on hand:

• Salad greens
• Cucumber
• Grape tomatoes
• Radishes
• Red onion

You can even grab a bagged salad from the grocery store to make it easy. After all, the salmon with its crispy skin is the star of this show, and we’re talking about that next…

The Salmon:

Yes, the salmon is the star here, so I highly recommend keeping true to this part of the recipe.

• Salmon fillets, about 6 ounces each, with skin on
• Salt and Pepper
• Unsalted butter

I prefer skin-on salmon for this main dish salad. The butter helps the skin have great contact with the pan and get really crispy and delicious. If you’d like more information about using butter, take a look at my pan-fried salmon with crispy skin recipe. 

If you have skinless salmon fillets, you can still put butter on one side and cook them. They will brown well but won’t have that crispy skin. 

Note, if you have a side of salmon instead of fillets and you want to cook it whole and then cut it into portions to put onto the salmon, you totally can. Follow the instructions here for broiling salmon knowing that my method absolutely gets you that crispy skin.

The other way to get juicy salmon fillets with crispy skin is in the air fryer, and I explain how to do that here.

As to that crispy skin, you have a few options for serving it, which I’ll explain in the next section.

Serving This Salmon Salad

The order matters here! Make the salad dressing first, then plate your salad, and then cook salmon. Just before your salmon is finished, drizzle the salad with dressing. This way, the dressing isn’t going onto the salmon and won’t lessen the crispiness of the skin.

Now, as to the salmon, it’s going to look best if you serve it with the skin on, skin-side down. But the skin stays crispiest if you serve it skin-side-up. That choice is up to you. Another option, that I really love, is to remove the crispy skin for the salmon and chop it up. Serve the salmon on top of the salad keeping the nicer side up. Then distribute the chopped skin on top of the salad around the salmon. It’s kind of like those bits of bacon that you find on a cobb salad or Caesar, you know? Yum!

More Salmon Recipes

I seriously love seafood. Check out my full collection of seafood recipes here. Or give one of my other salmon recipes a try. Here are some of my favorites:

• Salmon Rice Bowls
• Blackened Salmon Recipe
• Creamy Salmon Pasta
• One-Pan Orzo Salmon Bake

Crispy Salmon Salad Recipe

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• Author: Christine Pittman
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 12 minutes
• Total Time: 22 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Entree
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

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Make this impressive main dish salad full of wonderful veggies and a homemade dressing. The star is the salmon fillet with crispy skin on top!

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Ingredients

Units USM

• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1–2 tsp. dried dill*
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp. Worcestershire
• Salt
• 8 cups salad greens
• 2 cups sliced cucumber
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 4 radishes, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 4 (6 oz.) salmon fillets, with or without skin
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 and 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, very soft but not melted

Instructions

1. In a small bowl mix together the mayo, honey, lemon juice, dill, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and a good pinch of salt. Set aside.
2. Divide the salad greens among 4 plates. Top with the cucumber, tomato, radishes, and red onion.
3. Using paper towel, pat salmon until very dry. Arrange fillets skin-side-down and season tops with the black pepper and about 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Flip fillets skin-side-up and season the skin with another 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
4. Divide the butter among the pieces of salmon and use your fingers to spread it evenly over the skin of each fillet. Do not put butter on the flesh side.
5. Heat a large nonstick** skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s very hot, add the salmon skin-side-down so that the buttered side is in contact with the hot pan. Use a spatula to press down on the fillets all over, improving contact with the pan.
6. Cook undisturbed for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. Rotate the pan to promote more even heating. Continue to cook for 2 more minutes undisturbed.
7. Then, gently lift up the salmon fillets to peek underneath. If one end of any fillet is browning more than the other, spin them in the skillet.
8. Continue to cook, rotating the pan and spinning the fillets as needed, until skin is very crispy. When it’s crispy and even slightly blackened in a few spots but not all over, about 2-4 more minutes, flip the salmon fillets over.
9. Reduce heat to low. and continue to cook skin-side-up until the salmon reaches your desired internal temperature. The safe temperature according to the USDA is 145°F, which will take 4-6 more minutes. I tend to prefer mine more at 135°F, but eating undercooked seafood is at your own risk.
10. A minute or so before the salmon is finished cooking, drizzle the salad veggies with the dressing. Then place a salmon fillet on top of each bed of salad. If desired, remove crispy skin from salmon, chop it up and then distribute it over the salad veggies. Serve immediately.

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Notes

*You can use chopped fresh dill instead of dried, just increase the amount slightly. It does end up more herby flavored. Note that fresh dill is a great garnish on the salad whether or not you use it fresh in the dressing.

**If using a cast iron skillet, you may want to begin with slightly lower heat because it holds heat more and you risk burning the milk solids in the butter at such high temperatures.

The post Crispy Salmon Salad appeared first on Cook the Story.

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The Ultimate Tip For Garlic Mayo

Use a rasp grater to grate the garlic! This tool, also known as a microplane, zester, or fine-tooth grater, essentially finely shreds the garlic clove into a pulp that mixes really well into the mayonnaise. Unlike using minced garlic, this gives you a smoother texture with amazing garlic taste throughout. It’s similar to how I use the food processor to blend garlic butter so that there are no little bits of garlic and making it super smooth.

Why does the rasp this work so well?

If you’ve ever made a dip with minced garlic and noticed that after a day in the fridge it tastes more garlicky, that’s because it takes a while for the flavor from the bits of garlic to extract out into the sauce surrounding them. When you turn the garlic into a juicy pulp like I do, the garlic really blends right in and gives you instant extra-garlicky flavor.

If you’ve seen other garlic mayo recipes say to let it sit in fridge for 30 minutes before serving, it’s likely because they call for minced garlic. The rest in the fridge isn’t necessary with the microplane/rasp method because the juices and sulfur compounds are released immediately and blended into the mayo. Having said that, if you let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes, the garlic flavors get a chance to dissolve better into the fat, which can slightly improve flavor. But it’s not going to be as dramatic as if you minced the garlic. If you mince the garlic, definitely let it rest a bit before serving.

Also, if you decide to chop the garlic, you need to mince it really well. You can also smash it around with your knife and some salt to make it more of a paste, but then you do end up leaving some of the garlic juice behind on the cutting board.

Are Garlic Mayo And Aioli The Same Thing?

Technically, no, they are different. Garlic mayonnaise is a combination of, well, garlic and mayonnaise. You can use store-bought mayonnaise or make homemade mayonnaise. Either way, its base ingredients are oil and egg.

Traditional aioli, on the other hand, doesn’t contain egg. It is instead an emulsion of olive oil and garlic. Note though that a lot of modern versions of aioli do use some egg or egg yolks to help stabilize the emulsion, making the difference between the two even smaller.

A lot of the time, aioli and garlic mayo are treated somewhat synonymously. And you may also see ‘garlic aioli’ listed on menus, even though aioli should always be garlicky.

These days I find it best to just think of garlic mayonnaise is more like a quick aioli, especially when made with store-bought mayo.

If you like the true garlic aioli made with oil and garlic, you use give Lebanese Toum a try. it’s very similar but with more garlic and a really luscious fluffy texture.

Ingredients

We’re starting with regular mayonnaise, just use your favorite kind from the store, so the ingredient list is very simple.

• Mayonnaise
• Fresh garlic
• Lemon juice
• Salt

If you want to make homemade mayonnaise, you can make this Serious Eats version with an immersion blender and a jar. Then, use the recipe below for the added flavors.

Note that I’m assuming a small to medium clove of garlic here. If yours is super big, then you might want to start with half a clove, then taste before adding more.

Using Garlic Mayo

I love using this as a dip for French fries. You can easily make some Air Fryer fries at home. It’s also delicious as a spread for burgers or sandwiches.

Or just use it anywhere you use regular mayonnaise and want a garlicky kick! 

Other Condiments And Dipping Sauces 

If you want to add some heat to your mayo instead, try my Sriracha Mayo recipe. Or check out more great sauce recipes below.

• Best Special Sauce for Burgers
• Honey Dill Sauce
• Creamy Horseradish Sauce
• Sweet and Smoky BBQ Sauce
• Homemade Honey Mustard

Garlic Mayonnaise Recipe

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• Author: Christine Pittman
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 2–4 servings 1x
• Category: Sauce
• Method: Mix
• Cuisine: American

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DESCRIPTION

I’ve purposely made this recipe easy to scale up so you can make the amount you need. Its basically 1 medium-sized clove of garlic to every 1/2 cup of mayonnaise. To that you add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and a pinch of salt.

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Ingredients

Units USM

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 clove of garlic*
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Measure mayo into a small bowl. Use a rasp** to grate the garlic over top.
2. Add the lemon juice and salt. Stir until well combined.

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Notes

*If you want to use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic, go in with 1/4 of a teaspoon per 1/2 cup of mayonnaise. Mix the ingredients and then cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving to allow the dried garlic to hydrate and give fuller flavor to the mayonnaise.

**A rasp is also known as a microplate, zester, or fine-toothed grater. If you don’t have one, instead mince the garlic very finely. Add a pinch of salt to it on your cutting board and then use the side of your knife to mash the garlic into a juicy pulp. Scrape all of the pulp and as much juice as you can from the cutting bord and into the mayonnaise. 

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