Fresh and tangy roasted garlic aioli combines whole-roasted garlic bulbs with zesty lemon, creamy Dijon mustard, and mayonnaise. It’s easy to make and you’ll want to eat it with EVERYTHING!
If you love homemade sauces as much as I do, you’ll also want to try this Macedonian taratur, easy honey mustard sauce, and my garlic butter dipping sauce.
My husband is a mega garlic fan—seriously, he jokes that if someone made a garlic cake, it’d probably be his favorite dessert. So naturally, when it comes to dips, anything with garlic is an automatic win in our house.
I don’t know about you, but I love homemade dips just as much as I love garlic. This roasted garlic aioli ticks both of those boxes and then some! Aioli is a dreamy, creamy condiment of all condiments. It might be known as a dip, but trust me, one bite of this refreshing, tangy garlic sauce, and you’ll want to eat it with everything!
Hold On, What the Heck Is Aioli?
If you’ve ever been served a ramekin of creamy, garlicky goodness with your side of fries in a restaurant, chances are good it’s aioli! Aioli is a creamy French condiment, similar to mayonnaise, often served as a dipping sauce. It’s traditionally made by emulsifying mashed garlic with olive oil to make a sauce (the word “aioli” means “garlic and oil”). More and more, I’m finding restaurants that use mayo as a shortcut to creamy aioli, and that’s what inspired this recipe!
Why I Love This Roasted Garlic Aioli
- Super easy. This version roasts a whole garlic bulb beforehand, deepening the flavor before it’s combined with store-bought mayo. Mayo aioli is an easy shortcut that makes this homemade recipe more accessible and just as delicious.
- Quick. I make this emulsion in the blender (the same way I make my blender Hollandaise). It’s my quick and easy, hands-free method for making aioli that’s thick and silky smooth.
- Restaurant-style. This homemade sauce tastes rich, creamy, and refreshingly tangy, just like the aioli I find in restaurants. Only better, because it’s so simple to make at home!
What You’ll Need
Here’s a quick rundown of the aioli ingredients along with some notes. Have a scroll down to the printable recipe card after the post for a complete list with recipe details.
- Garlic Bulbs – You’ll need the whole bulb, skin and all.
- Olive Oil – Or another mild, like avocado oil. You’ll need it for roasting and for making the sauce.
- Mayonnaise – The “shortcut” ingredient for easy homemade aioli. I recommend Hellmann’s or similar, and not a tangy spread, like Miracle Whip.
- Dijon Mustard – Or an equal amount of yellow mustard.
- Lemon Zest and Juice – Zest the lemon before you juice it!
Roasting the Garlic
Roasting softens and caramelizes the cloves as they bake inside their sleeves, mellowing out the flavor. It takes a little time, but it’s super easy and definitely worth it! Here’s how to roast garlic:
- Prep the garlic. To roast whole garlic bulbs, first, trim the top from each bulb. Drizzle the bulbs with olive oil and wrap them in foil. I usually do two bulbs per foil packet.
- Roast. Bake the foil packets at 400ºF for 45 minutes, until the garlic is tender.
How to Make Garlic Aioli
Just like mayonnaise, aioli is an emulsion. An emulsion is just a fancy word for bringing together ingredients that normally wouldn’t mix (i.e. oil and water). In this case, we’ll blend the roasted garlic with ingredients like mayo, olive oil, and lemon juice.
- Roast the garlic. Follow the steps above to roast the whole garlic bulbs until they’re caramelized and tender.
- Squeeze. Then, take your roasted garlic out of the foil packets. Use your hands to gently squeeze the garlic cloves from the skins (be careful, they may be hot!).
- Combine. Add the roasted garlic to a blender with the remaining aioli ingredients. Blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Scale the recipe. This recipe makes just under 2 cups of aioli, which is perfect if your family is as fanatical about aioli as mine is! If you’d rather have a smaller amount, though, feel free to halve the recipe as needed.
- Add fresh herbs. Stir or blend in herbs like chives, parsley, basil, or rosemary.
- Use fresh garlic. No time for roasting? You can use freshly minced garlic cloves instead. Your aioli will have a much more pungent flavor, so I’d recommend starting with 1-2 fresh cloves and adding more to taste.
What Goes With Aioli?
Creamy roasted garlic aioli is a classic pairing with fries and onion rings. Basically, all things crispy! I love it as a dip for sweet potato wedges or crispy potato croquettes, too, and it’s perfect for dolloping onto crab cakes.
The possibilities for it are endless. Slather aioli over seafood recipes like baked tilapia and salmon. Drizzle it over roasted veggies, or add it to a gourmet burger. You can even blend aioli into other dips, like hummus.
For something light and easy, I’ll drizzle garlic aioli over a Mediterranean bowl or thin it out with a little vinegar to make a tangy vinaigrette dressing for salads. If you have a favorite use for aioli, leave it in the comments!
How to Store
Store the roasted garlic aioli airtight in a lidded container or jar. It’ll last in the fridge for up to 1 week. Aioli is one of those recipes that’s great to make ahead and use in meals throughout the week, or you can prep it ahead for parties.
More Homemade Condiments
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Preheat. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
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Prep the garlic. Cut ~ ½-inch off the top of each garlic bulb and drizzle each with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Wrap 2 bulbs in a sheet of aluminum foil and then wrap the other two in a sheet of aluminum foil.
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Roast. Place the foil packets on a baking sheet (or directly on an oven rack) and bake for 45 minutes.
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Squeeze. Remove the foil from the garlic and use your hands to squeeze the cloves out into a food processor or small blender.
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Put it all together. Add the mayo, olive oil, mustard, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the food processor and blend until smooth.
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Season. Taste the aioli and season with salt and pepper as desired.
This aioli recipe makes about 1¾ cups. Keep it in an airtight container or jar with a lid. It should stay fresh in the fridge for up to a week.
Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 182mg | Potassium: 46mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin A: 19IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
