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!
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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
Yes, there is! If you avoid eating raw egg yolks or just don’t want to make your own mayonnaise, you can also make black garlic aioli by whisking ¾-1 cup of mayonnaise with a tablespoon of black garlic paste.
You can also use this method to make a vegan black garlic aioli—just choose a vegannaise instead of a mayonnaise as your base. Or, start with this Eggless Mayonnaise recipe, then add your black garlic paste.
You can find black garlic at some well-stocked supermarkets. If you can’t find it in your area, there are many sources online to order from. You can even find jars of black garlic on Amazon!
Some Trader Joe’s stock ground black garlic, which could be used as a substitute for the cloves. You can also make black garlic yourself, though this takes several weeks in a slow cooker or rice cooker.
Black garlic can stay out at room temperature in an unopened package for a long time. Use by the date on the packaging. Once you have opened the jar or package, move the black garlic into the refrigerator. It will last for about one month.
In the past, aioli referred to a very traditional emulsion of garlic with olive oil. Today, the word aioli is used almost interchangeably with mayonnaise.
It usually refers to a mayonnaise (homemade or not) that is mixed with garlic, but is now also used to describe mayonnaise mixed with all sorts of spices or other ingredients. Smoked paprika aioli, sriracha aioli, garlic aioli, basil aioli—the possibilities are endless.
👩🍳 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. I've got even more ideas in this roundup of Black Garlic Recipes.
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, like Sriracha Aioli and Harissa Aioli. Here are a few other 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.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I'd love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
More Recipes to Try
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Black Garlic Aioli
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cloves black garlic
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup neutral oil such as vegetable oil or grapeseed oil
Instructions
- Use a fork to smash the black garlic into a paste—you should have about 1 tablespoon.
- In a separate, small-medium bowl, whisk together egg yolk, dijon mustard, lemon juice, and salt.
- Pour the 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.
Notes
Making aioli is a tricky business. You can easily end up with separated mayonnaise if you’ve added your oil too quickly. Should that 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.
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this Black Garlic Mayo recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
Jon says
Any advice for the black garlic paste?
It doesn't seem to paste very well and after smashing with a fork forever it was kinda pasty but it is so sticky it just stayed as a lump.
Molly Pisula says
Hmm, this wasn't an issue with mine--it was super soft and it stirred into the aioli pretty easily, though as you can see from the picture, there are a few larger spots here and there. next time, I would try taking out a tablespoon or two of the aioli and mixing that really well with the black garlic paste. Then gently stir that into the rest of the aioli.
Aiol HAS NO EGG says
The HEART of ANY Aioli is GARLIC. It IS thee emulsifier! Any Aioli does not ever have ANY Egg in it otherwise it is by definition a mayonnaise. In a mayonnaise the egg is the emulsifier. Mayo is a cheap lazy version of an Aioli. Example if you remove the chocolate from a Mole sauce it literally becomes a completely different type of sauce , the only difference is there isn't any emulsifier. Cooking is chemistry. Your chemistry is wrong !
Chef Molly says
Please note that in my FAQs section, I specifically call out that the traditional version of aioli is an emulsion of garlic and olive oil. However, as I go on to note, today most people use the words aioli and mayo interchangeably, particularly in the U.S. Feel free to disagree!
Chef Mimi says
I need to find black garlic! And I’ve never used ramps before either! I need to move.
Chef Molly says
LOL. I know, I've highlighted some specialty ingredients lately, but they're so fun! Black garlic definitely worth tracking down.