Black Garlic Aioli

This Black Garlic Aioli is rich, earthy, and so delicious. Try it as a sandwich spread or a dip, and be ready to have your taste buds come alive! 

There are so many ways to enjoy this aioli, but it is particularly fantastic paired with artichokes or with seafood. Try it with this Roasted Artichokes recipe to start!

Jump to:

• Why Make This Recipe
• 🥗 Ingredients
• 🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
• 🧐 Recipe FAQs for Black Garlic Aioli
• 👩‍🍳 Expert Tips
• Other Aioli Recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• More About Molly

Why Make This Recipe

• Incredible Flavor: If you have never had black garlic before, its complex, garlicky, umami flavor will delight you. A little goes a long way, which is why mixing it into a homemade mayo is the perfect way to enjoy it.
• So Many Uses: Dips, spreads, sauces, and more. Once you make this, I guarantee you’ll want to slather it on everything!
• Impress Your Friends: This is truly one of those “what IS that??” ingredients—serve black garlic mayo to someone, and they will immediately ask what delight you have just served them. 

🥗 Ingredients

• Black Garlic: Black garlic is made by aging fresh garlic by heating it slowly, over several weeks. The cloves turn black at the end of the process. No substitutions here—this is the heart of the recipe! 
• Egg yolk: This recipe includes a raw egg yolk, so look for pasteurized eggs if this concerns you.
• Lemon juice: Juice squeezed from a lemon is always better than packaged lemon juice (but you can use packaged in a pinch). You can substitute lime juice as well.  
• Vegetable Oil: I like to use a neutral oil for my aioli, so I tend to use vegetable oil, grapeseed oil, or sunflower oil. You can also use olive oil, but because of its stronger flavor, I would combine it with another oil in a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio. 

🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions

Use a fork to smash 3 black garlic cloves into a paste—you should have about 1 tablespoon.

In a separate, small-medium bowl, whisk together 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon salt.

Pour ¾ cup of vegetable oil into a measuring cup with a spout. Very slowly, begin to drip the oil into the bowl with the egg mixture, whisking constantly and vigorously. You are making an emulsion, and emulsions are very tricky.

At the beginning, you must literally add the oil drop by drop, making sure it is incorporated before adding more.

The mixture will thicken little by little at first, and then faster and faster. Once you have added about ¼ cup of the oil, you can speed up the rate at which you are adding the oil.

Continue to whisk constantly, taking a break if your arm tires. After about ½ cup has been added, you can speed up a little more.

If the aioli is too thick after you have added all of the oil, add a teaspoon of water at a time to loosen it up to the consistency you desire.

Whisk in the black garlic paste and let sit for at least 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. 

Black Garlic Aioli will keep up to 3-4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

🧐 Recipe FAQs for Black Garlic Aioli

👩‍🍳 Expert Tips

Note that making aioli is a tricky business. You can easily end up with separated mayonnaise if you’ve added your oil too quickly. I find that the by-hand method reduces this possibility, unlike when you use an immersion blender or food processor.

But, should it happen to you, I have a fix. Just add a new egg yolk to a clean bowl, and slowly, very slowly, whisk in your broken mayonnaise. That usually helps bring the emulsion back together so you don’t have to throw out your first batch! 

Make sure your bowl is very stable while you are whisking, especially as you are whisking with one hand and pouring oil with the other. Try securing your bowl on a damp dish towel.

Or, sit down and hold the bowl securely between your legs as you whisk. I found sitting on the couch with my bowl secured by my legs and the edge of the coffee table worked really well! 

There are so many black garlic aioli uses: You can use it in most places you would usually use mayonnaise. Use black garlic aioli instead of regular mayo to make a next-level chicken salad or egg salad dish.

Try it with this Egg Salad with Bacon recipe? Or, use it as a spread on your burger, BLT, or sandwich du jour. Blend it into mashed potatoes or serve on top of a frittata.

But this aioli is so good you’ll want to eat it by itself too. It makes a fantastic dip for a crudité platter, or for a bowl of chilled shrimp. Steam artichokes or make my Roasted Artichokes and dip their leaves in aioli to eat.

Or serve with regular or sweet potato fries instead of ketchup. Particularly good tossed with steamed green beans or asparagus, or served with roasted cauliflower.

Looking for other uses for black garlic itself? You can really use it in place of regular garlic in most recipes. It’s particularly good puréed in salad dressing.

You can also mix into risotto or add to a stir-fry. And, definitely make it into Black Garlic Butter. Once you have that, you're just minutes away from this decadent Black Garlic Pasta. Or, whisk those black garlic cloves into a creamy sauce for this Chicken with Black Garlic Sauce.

Other Aioli Recipes

Making aioli is kind of my jam. They add such great flavor to almost everything, and I’m constantly trying out new flavors. Here are a few favorites:

If you try this Black Garlic Aioli recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below—I read them all, and your feedback is invaluable to me.

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