Cheater’s Garlic Aioli With Homemade Mayonnaise For Full GAPS

This Cheater’s garlic aioli turns homemade Full GAPS mayonnaise into a creamy garlic-and-lemon sauce. Start with the mayonnaise already made, let the garlic sit in lemon juice for fifteen minutes, then whisk everything together. A little homemade alcohol-free Dijon mustard is optional.

The shortcut is the mixing method. You are seasoning a finished emulsion, so there is no slow stream of oil to work into egg yolk. The sauce still uses homemade mayonnaise, with its own ingredients and preparation, rather than making a new batch of mayo inside this recipe.

Jump To The Recipe

I’m a working, homeschooling mom of six, and our family has followed GAPS since July 2024. Most of my cooking happens before second shift. Knowing which part of a meal is already prepared helps me see what still needs doing before we can eat.

For this sauce, the mayonnaise is the part I would check first. If there is a finished jar ready, I can measure it while the garlic rests in lemon juice. If I still need to make the mayonnaise, that belongs on the list too. The short mixing time here does not include making that separate batch.

What You Need For Cheater’s Aioli

Homemade mayonnaise, three-quarter cup: Measure the completed mayonnaise into a clean cup. Use the linked Full GAPS recipe, keeping its own oil, yolk, and seasoning measurements when preparing the base. This aioli recipe starts after that mayonnaise has been made.

Garlic, five cloves: Peel and finely grate the cloves, or mince them very finely. Grating gives a stronger garlic flavor and a finer texture. With minced garlic, tiny pieces will be more noticeable in the finished sauce. Either method belongs in this preparation.

Fresh lemon juice, one tablespoon to start: This is the liquid that sits with the garlic before the mayonnaise goes in. Squeeze the lemon and catch the seeds. Keep up to one more tablespoon aside for the final taste adjustment.

Optional homemade Dijon, half a teaspoon: Stir it into the garlic and the first tablespoon of lemon juice. Use the linked alcohol-free homemade Dijon after its ingredients have been introduced. You can leave out this extra mustard if you prefer.

Natural salt, to taste: The mayonnaise is already seasoned. Mix the finished sauce before adding salt so you can judge the garlic, lemon, and mayo together. There is no fixed extra salt quantity to add automatically.

The measured shortcut adapts Rachel Perlmutter’s garlic aioli at The Kitchn, with homemade GAPS mayonnaise as the base and Dijon made optional. It keeps the fifteen-minute garlic-and-lemon rest rather than skipping straight to mixing.

Recommended Equipment

Use a small glass mixing bowl, a fine grater or a knife and cutting board, measuring spoons, and a three-quarter-cup measure. A whisk brings the mayonnaise into the garlic mixture. A spatula helps collect the sauce from the sides.

You also need a clean covered container if the sauce will wait in the refrigerator before the meal. Choose a bowl with enough space to stir comfortably. The ingredients need room to move together without going over the rim.

This is a hand-mixed sauce. Any equipment needed to make the mayonnaise belongs to that separate recipe. There is no blender step after you have measured the finished mayonnaise for this aioli.

How To Make Aioli With Homemade Mayonnaise

1. Prepare The Garlic

Peel five garlic cloves. Finely grate them into the bowl, or use a knife to mince them very finely. Collect the garlic from the grater or board so it all goes into the measured preparation.

Look for small, moist pieces that can mix through the lemon juice. Large chunks will stay noticeable when you spoon the sauce over food. If mincing, take the time to work through any pieces that are much larger than the others.

2. Add Lemon And Optional Dijon

Stir one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice into the garlic. Add the optional half-teaspoon of homemade Dijon now. Mix until the garlic is moistened and the mustard, if used, is distributed through the lemon juice.

Keep the second tablespoon of lemon juice separate. It is a possible finishing adjustment, rather than another tablespoon that must go into every batch. The mayonnaise will bring its own acidity when it is added.

3. Let The Garlic Rest

Leave the garlic mixture for fifteen minutes. This is part of the method, even though the actual mixing is brief. The lemon juice takes some of the sharp raw-garlic bite down before it meets the mayonnaise.

The mixture will still contain garlic pieces. This pause does not turn it into a purée or a cooked preparation. While it rests, measure the finished mayonnaise with a clean utensil and have the whisk ready for the next step.

4. Whisk In The Mayonnaise

Add the three-quarter cup of homemade mayonnaise. Whisk through the bowl until the lemon-and-garlic mixture is evenly incorporated. Scrape the sides with the spatula so the sauce has the same consistency throughout.

The mayonnaise provides the creamy body. Finely grated garlic can blend through it closely, while minced garlic can leave small visible flecks. There should not be a separate puddle of lemon juice at the bottom of the bowl.

5. Taste And Finish

Taste a little of the combined sauce. Add natural salt if needed and up to the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice to suit the finished flavor. Mix again after any addition before deciding whether it needs more.

The source quantity makes a scant cup, divided into twelve small servings. Allow about eight minutes of preparation plus the fifteen-minute rest, or roughly twenty-three minutes with the mayonnaise already made. Preparing the mayonnaise adds its own time.

Where It Fits On Full GAPS

This is a Full GAPS sauce after the ingredients in both the aioli and its mayonnaise base have been introduced. Dr. Natasha’s Gut and Physiology Syndrome includes homemade mayonnaise, raw garlic, and cold-pressed oils. Keep the oil in the finished sauce uncooked.

The linked mayonnaise uses egg yolks, cold-pressed avocado oil, mustard, raw honey, natural salt, and its measured vinegar-or-lemon choice. Those ingredients remain part of this sauce even though you measure the mayonnaise as one completed ingredient.

With that mayonnaise, the aioli is dairy-free and nut-free. It contains eggs and plants, so it is not egg-free or No-Plant GAPS. It is not an early Intro sauce. The GAPS food list and stage guide can help you choose the meal around it.

The optional Dijon ingredient links to our alcohol-free homemade version. The separate Dijon mustard with dry white wine is also available for occasional Full GAPS use; its wine stays uncooked. Leaving out the extra Dijon removes that addition, but the mayonnaise still contains mustard.

Serving And Storage

Serve a small spoonful beside cooked meat, fish, chicken, or vegetables you have already introduced. Keep the sauce separate when bringing the food to the table so each person can choose how much garlic flavor to add.

It also works as a spread with suitable Full GAPS food. Add it when the food is ready to serve, rather than heating the batch in a pan. If you need a plainer sauce for another preparation, use the mayonnaise recipe on its own.

Keep the aioli covered in the refrigerator until serving. Use clean utensils for mixing and taking portions. Return the container to the refrigerator after serving instead of leaving the whole batch beside the meal.

Keep track of when the mayonnaise was made. Stirring garlic and lemon into an older jar does not give it a new storage period. Make this sauce for the meal and follow the mayonnaise’s existing storage instructions; do not extend them because the flavor has changed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Is This Different From Modern Aioli?

Both are garlic-mayonnaise-style sauces. The modern egg-yolk aioli makes the emulsion from scratch by gradually whisking oil into yolk. This shortcut starts with finished mayonnaise. Their measurements and directions are separate.

Can I Leave Out The Dijon?

Yes. Keep the garlic, lemon, and mayonnaise measurements. The mayonnaise base already contains mustard, so leaving out the optional Dijon does not make this a mustard-free sauce. Check the complete base recipe when planning around an ingredient.

Do I Add Both Tablespoons Of Lemon At Once?

No. Start with one tablespoon in the garlic mixture. After whisking in the mayonnaise, taste and add up to one more tablespoon if wanted. Keeping that finishing portion separate lets you judge the finished sauce first.

Can I Double It?

Use the card’s 2× control for every measured ingredient. The opening lemon portion becomes two tablespoons, with up to two more tablespoons reserved for finishing. Keep the same fifteen-minute garlic rest and use a bowl with room for the larger batch.

A double batch uses one and a half cups of completed mayonnaise. Measure that amount from the finished preparation; do not try to replace it with the same volume of oil and a few yolks. The mayonnaise has already combined those ingredients into a sauce. If you need to make more of it first, follow its own batch directions, then return here to measure the portion for the aioli. Keep the remaining mayonnaise separate until another meal needs it.

What If I Need An Egg-Free Aioli?

Follow the separate traditional Mediterranean garlic aioli without eggs. It works garlic directly with olive oil by hand. Removing mayonnaise from this shortcut would leave a different preparation without its creamy base.

More Homemade Sauces

My planned Sauces, Dressings & Condiments Cookbook brings smaller preparations like these together with ways to use them in family meals. Follow the WFLI cookbook catalog for its release.

Cheater’s Garlic Aioli Recipe