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    Home » Food Type » Dips and Sauces

    Sep 8, 2021 · Modified: Sep 4, 2021 by Lily · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Lemon Garlic Aioli

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
    lemon garlic aioli pinterest pin

    Lemon garlic aioli is an easy dipping sauce that jazz's up any vegetable like blanched asparagus or roasted brussel sprouts. It's a simple dipping sauce made with freshly mashed garlic, squeezed lemon juice, mayonnaise, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

    Aioli is traditionally an emulsion sauce made from garlic and olive oil. In fact, it's just like Lebanese toum garlic sauce. For this lemon garlic aioli, I use mayonnaise to make things easier.

    garlic lemon aioli in a small bowl

    What I Love About This Recipe

    I love that his sauce comes together in 5 minutes, and it tastes fabulous. It's a great dipping sauce for any type of roasted or steamed vegetable: blanched asparagus, roasted zucchini, fried cauliflower, roasted brussel sprouts, homemade french fries, and roasted butter baby Yukon potatoes.

    Ingredient Notes

    ingredients needed to make lemon garlic aioli
    • Mayonnaise: The base of this sauce uses mayonnaise. Any type will work.
    • Fresh garlic: I recommend using fresh garlic cloves that will either be mashed using a mortar and pestle or pressed using a garlic press.
    • Lemon: Use fresh lemon juice from a whole lemon.
    • High quality olive oil: I recommend extra virgin olive oil.

    See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for quantities.

    How To Make Lemon Garlic Aioli

    Peel and cut off the ends of the garlic cloves. Using a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic cloves with some salt and pepper. Add the mashed garlic to a bowl.

    • mash the garlic with a mortar and pestle
    • add the mashed garlic to a bowl

    Measure out the mayonnaise into the bowl with the mashed garlic. Squeeze the lemon making sure not to get any seeds inside the lemon garlic aioli. Mix the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and mashed garlic together.

    • add the mayonnaise and squeeze the lemon on top
    • mix the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and mashed garlic

    Mix in the olive oil gradually until fully blended.

    • slowly add in the olive while continuing to mix
    • mix until the olive oil, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and mashed garlic are blended entirely

    Serve with blanched asparagus, roasted brussel sprouts, or as a hamburger spread.

    dipping blanched asparagus in lemon garlic aioli

    Tips and Tricks

    • The biggest tip in making this sauce is mashing the garlic. A garlic press creates a similar end result, but the best way to finely mash garlic is using a mortar and pestle. I don't recommend using minced garlic from a jar for this sauce.
    • Use freshly squeezed lemons. I don't recommend using lemon juice from a bottle.
    • Add freshly ground black pepper. Ground pepper is an appropriate substitute, however, if you have a black pepper grinder, use it.
    lemon garlic aioli on a spoon

    Variations and Substitutions

    • Reduce the garlic cloves. Maybe you aren't as much of a garlic lover like me, and 3 cloves of garlic feel like a big committment. Start with 1 clove and add more if you desire.
    • Add some spice. Add some chili oil or mash some fresh spicy pepper with the garlic using a mortar and pestle. Make sure to mash the fresh pepper really well so there aren't large chunks in the sauce.

    Equipment

    I highly recommend investing in a marble or wooden mortar and pestle. There are several recipes on the blog that use mashed garlic (creamy hummus, better than baba ganoush, steelhead trout with garlic lime butter to name a few).

    An alternative to crushing garlic is using a garlic press. Squeeze the lemon using a lemon squeezer.

    Storage

    Store the lemon garlic aioli sauce in the fridge for up to 5 days. I do not recommend freezing this sauce.

    FAQs

    What's the difference between aioli and mayonnaise?

    Both aioli and mayonnaise are emulsion sauces, however, they are made from different ingredients. Aioli is made from garlic and olive oil whereas mayonnaise is made from egg yolks and oil.

    Is aioli dairy-free?

    This aioli recipe is made with mayonnaise, garlic, lemon, and olive oil, and therefore is dairy-free.

    Does mayo contain dairy?

    Mayo does not contain dairy because it is made from oil, egg yolks, and some type of acid.

    More Garlic Sauces

    • Garlic Tahina Falafel Sauce
    • Toum Lebanese Garlic Sauce
    • Cucumber Yogurt Sauce (Khyar Bi Laban)
    • Easy Tarator Sauce (Tahini Dressing)

    Eat Garlic Aioli With

    • How to Make French Fries
    • Butter Roasted Baby Gold Potatoes
    • Cilantro Garlic Fried Potatoes (Batata Harra)
    • Crispy Deep Fried Cauliflower Florets

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    Print
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    lemon garlic aioli in a bowl

    Lemon Garlic Aioli


    ★★★★★

    5 from 1 reviews

    • Author: Lily
    • Total Time: 5 minutes
    • Yield: 12 1x
    • Diet: Vegetarian
    Pin Recipe
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    Description

    This 5 minute lemon garlic aioli sauce is made with freshly mashed garlic, squeezed lemon juice, mayonnaise, and olive oil. It's the perfect dip for roasted vegetables.


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 1 cup mayonnaise
    • 3 garlic cloves (mashed or pressed)
    • 1 lemon (¼ cup lemon juice)
    • ⅛ cup olive oil
    • salt and pepper to taste (about ⅛ teaspoon each)

    Instructions

    1. Peel and mash the garlic with salt and pepper using a mortar and pestle. Mash the garlic very finely, so it will disperse evenly in the dipping sauce. Alternatively, use a garlic press to press the garlic. If using the garlic press, there's no need to add the salt and pepper at this stage.
    2. Cut the lemon in half. Squeeze the lemon juice and remove the seeds.
    3. In a bowl, add the mayonnaise, mashed garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Mix well. Add the olive oil slowly while continuing to stir the sauce. Mix until the olive oil is fully blended.

    Equipment

    Image of Lemon Squeezer

    Lemon Squeezer

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    Image of mortar and pestle

    mortar and pestle

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    Notes

    1. Use freshly mashed garlic and freshly squeezed lemon juice for the best banging lemon garlic aioli sauce.
    • Prep Time: 5 minutes
    • Cook Time: 0 minutes
    • Category: Sauces
    • Method: Mixing
    • Cuisine: American

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 2 tbsp
    • Calories: 146 calories
    • Sugar: 0 g
    • Sodium: 117 mg
    • Fat: 16 g
    • Saturated Fat: 2 g
    • Unsaturated Fat: 14 g
    • Trans Fat: 0 g
    • Carbohydrates: 1 g
    • Fiber: 0 g
    • Protein: 0 g
    • Cholesterol: 8 mg

    Keywords: lemon aioli, lemon garlic aioli, garlic aioli, aioli, garlic mayonnaise sauce

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    About Lily

    Howdy! My name Lilian, but my friends call me Lily. I'm the founder and one of the recipe authors here at The Matbakh. I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, meaningful relationships, and anything related to food. I'm so happy you are here!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Travis says

      December 19, 2021 at 7:36 pm

      The fresh garlic adds a bite to the sauce and the lemon makes it tangy. Very flavorful and simple to make.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Lily says

        December 19, 2021 at 7:37 pm

        I agree, the fresh garlic and lemon add a lot of flavor to the aioli!

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Lily!

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    I've been cooking things up ever since I was a kid. I'm a Lebanese American from Texas. My kitchen, or "matbakh", is a hodgepodge of delicious cultural recipes from the US and Mediterranean regions.

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