14 Ways to Hack Store-Bought Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise can be divisive, but most of us at Food & Wine are firmly in the mayo-lovers camp. So is Scott Clark, chef and owner of Dad’s Luncheonette in Half Moon Bay, California, and author with food writer Betsy Andrews of a recently released cookbook, Coastal: 130 Recipes from a California Roadtrip, which includes a recipe for homemade mayonnaise and several ways to upgrade it. “After we have our mayonnaise [at Dad’s], we’ve got a shortcut to all kinds of dips, dressings, and drizzles,” he says. “We mix our mayonnaise with kimchi, wasabi, fish sauce — you name it.” 

Whether you’re making homemade mayonnaise or opting for a store-bought jar, you can easily make it even better with one of the ideas below. 

Kimchi

Mayo and kimchi is one of Clark’s favorite combinations. “This two-ingredient sauce [brings] the whole flavor wheel: umami, salinity, and acidity from the fermentation, spice from the chile flake, sweetness from the cabbage, and also crunch,” he says.

“Look for store-bought kimchi with the least ingredients and most life,” he continues. “Shake the jar; it should bubble. You want vibrant, tightly packed, probiotic goodness. Roughly chop ¼ cup hand-squeezed kimchi into one cup mayonnaise. Kimchi mayonnaise is a beautiful counterpoint to proteins like chicken cutlet sandwiches, deviled eggs, and grilled meats.” 

Sriracha

Combine equal parts mayo and sriracha for a spicy and slightly sweet aioli. “My husband worked at a fancy sandwich shop and this was their secret sauce on sammies,” says executive editor Karen Shimizu. 

Wasabi 

Clark calls this combination a “knockoff” of an early 2000s TGI Friday’s appetizer: fried green beans served with wasabi dip. He whisks ½ cup of mayo with 1 ½ teaspoons of wasabi. To add a little more dimension, he’ll add two tablespoons of hot sauce, plus salt, pepper, and lemon zest and juice to taste.

“Grated wasabi loses oomph when exposed to air, but the mayo preserves its bite,” he says. “Can’t find fresh wasabi? Buy powdered, but use it up fast, lest it oxidizes. This mayo adds zing to tuna salad, tinned fish, cold potatoes garnished with salmon roe, and roast beef sandwiches.”

Sun-dried tomatoes 

“At Dad’s, we oven-dry tomatoes, baking them low and slow for hours. Sun-dried tomatoes are a good substitute,” says Clark. “Glass-jarred are best because you can see them. Are they jammy, beautiful, and packed in extra-virgin olive oil with garlic and the spices you enjoy? Buy those.” 

“Julienne them into mayonnaise to amp up the T in your BLT, rough-chop them into the mayo for a crudité dip, thin your sun-dried tomato mayo with vinegar to make a salad dressing,” he continues. “For a kiss of flavor, add two tablespoons to one one cup mayo. Use equal parts if you want it to scream, ‘I’m sundried tomatoes!’” 

Ketchup

This combo is the easiest shortcut to Thousand Island dressing or fry sauce, says Shimizu. Dip your fries in the classic combo or add to your favorite burger. 

Fresh lemon

Shimizu suggests zesting and juicing a lemon, then adding to your mayo to taste. This bright and lemony condiment is a perfect dipping sauce for crab cakes.

Bottled yuzu juice

For a little more flavor, Shimizu adds yuzu, a highly aromatic and tangy citrus fruit with notes of honeysuckle. You can find bottled yuzu juice year-round at most Asian grocery stores or online at YUZUCO.

Bottarga

“Bottarga in mayo is my extremely lazy taramasalata,” says executive features editor Kat Kinsman. This salted and dried fish roe adds briny and unctuous flavor to plain mayo for an unforgettable dip or spread.

Jarred pesto

Special projects editor Lucy Simon mixes high-quality jarred pesto and mayonnaise to create a creamier take on pesto. “It’s a great upgrade to a tomato sandwich,” she says. 

Miso paste

Adding white miso paste to your mayo is a simple way to add a kick of mouthwatering umami, according to Shimizu. A little goes a long way — stick to about two tablespoons per one cup. 

MSG

Editor Amelia Schwartz adds MSG to her usual mayonnaise like Hellman’s for a “copycat Kewpie,” the cult Japanese mayo that is packed with umami. Add it to a salmon rice bowl.

Saffron + lemon juice 

Paella is often served with a lemony saffron allioli. To recreate it in a pinch, associate editorial director of food, Chandra Ram, adds crushed saffron and a little lemon juice to store-bought mayo.

Nam prik phao

Updates editor Molly McArdle combines this Thai roasted chile jam with mayo, then adds it to a rice bowl with tinned fish to create an easy, flavorful meal that requires almost zero cooking.

Curry powder

Senior drinks editor Prairie Rose adds a little curry powder to her mayo to top roasted potatoes. “One of my favorite neighborhood restaurants in Brooklyn — the Farm on Adderley, now closed — had a curry mayo with their French fries, and my friends and I were all obsessed. I now make it and think of them.”