This 3-minute Dijon mustard aioli is a garlicky mayo-based sauce, perfect as French fries dip, Caesar salad dressing, and for sandwiches! Only 3 ingredients, and step-by-step photos are included to make it even easier!

Stirring dijon aioli dressing in a white ramekin with a spoon, resulting into nice swirls.

Why You Will Love This Dijon Aioli

🌟 Elevate your dishes with the tangy and sophisticated Dijon flavor
🌱 A much healthier alternative to store-bought options, especially if you make your own 3-Minute No-Oil Vegan Mayonnaise!
🍔 Elevates burgers, sandwiches, wraps, and even as a salad dressing with that tangy and tasty combo of mustard and mayonnaise!
⏱️ Done in 3 minutes, it’s a quick and easy aioli recipe!

Ingredients / What is Dijon Mustard Aioli Made Of

Mayonnaise: Creamy base providing a rich texture. Use store-bought mayo or make your own Vegan Oil-free Mayonnaise in just 3 minutes!
Garlic: Adds a sharp and savory flavor that is characteristic of aioli!
Dijon Mustard: The star ingredient of the recipe! Dijon mustard has a sharper and more complex flavor than your regular yellow mustard, adding depth to this mustard aioli!

Finely minced garlic, mayonnaise, and Dijon mustard in small bowls with labels, on a white marble.

What Does Dijon Sauce Taste Like and Is Dijon Mustard Vegan?

Dijon mustard is made from black mustard seeds and is a more involved process such as being ground using a stone mill, which is also why it’s more expensive than regular mustard. This type of mustard is spicier and sharper than other types so any Dijon sauce that is made using Dijon mustard has a tangy and slightly spicy taste.

When it comes to whether or not Dijon mustar is vegan, it is usually vegan, though not always. This also depends on how you define “vegan” and what you are okay and not okay consuming as a vegan. TofuBud explains here in this article that Dijon mustard often uses white wine and the production process might involve filters that are not plant-based.

Step-by-step Instructions

(Vegan) mayo, Dijon mustard, and minced garlic in a white bowl on a white background.

After stirring the Dijon mustard initially, using a spoon.

Peel and finely chop the garlic. Mince them really finely to avoid accidentally biting into larger pieces which could be spicy!

Combine all ingredients in the serving bowl, stirring until evenly mixed.

Taste and add more Dijon mustard if you’d like more tang. The strength of the flavor varies greatly depending on the brand and on how long you have had the jar opened, so you definitely want to taste and adjust accordingly! Enjoy!

Top Tips

Garlic Prep: Take your time to finely chop or mince the garlic to ensure it’s evenly distributed throughout the aioli, avoiding any large chunks that might overpower the flavor.
Adjust the Mustard: Add more mustard (add 1 teaspoon at a time) if you prefer a stronger mustard flavor. Taste as you go until it’s right for you!
Consistency Check: If your aioli is too thick, thin it out with a bit of water. Conversely, if it’s too thin, add more mayo to thicken it.
Chill Time: Letting the aioli chill in the fridge for a while before serving allows the flavors to meld together. Just 5-10 minutes is enough!

Creamy garlic aioli mustard sauce dripping from a spoon to the white ramekin.

Jazzing It Up

🍯 Did you add too much mustard such that your Dijon mayo is too sharp now? Then add a bit of liquid sweetener (such as maple syrup, agave syrup, or honey) to balance things out and round off the flavor even more. Adding more mayonnaise will also help reduce the sharpness!

🪴 Want to add some freshness to your garlic mustard aioli? Try adding chopped chives or cilantro, either fresh or dried.

🫙 If you’d like to experiment with the mustard, feel free to sub the Dijon mustard with other types of mustard such as whole grain mustard, grey poupon mustard, French mustard, or German mustard.

Serving Suggestions / What To Eat Garlic Aioli With

🍟 French Fries: Aioli + French fries? Bingo! Even better, with Adobo French Fries! This Dijon aioli is also great with sweet potato fries for more nutrients!

🥗 Salad or Bowl Dressing: Thin it out with a bit of water to create a creamy aioli dressing for salads or bowls, such as in my Rainbow Poke Rice Bowl! Or use this aioli to make coleslaw! If you want more variety, add a bit of (vegan) Worcestershire sauce and (vegan) parmesan cheese to whip up a Caesar salad dressing with mayo!

🥪 Mustard Sandwich Spread: This mayo mustard sauce is perfect for sandwiches, burgers, or wraps filled with crisp lettuce, sliced tomatoes, avocado (check out my 5-minute Avocado Bagel Sandwich if you’re a fan of avos), and tofu or tempeh!

🥦 Roasted Veggie Bowls: Either drizzle this garlic aioli dressing over bowls filled with roasted vegetables such as brussels sprouts and broccoli, or use it as a marinade similar to my Tandoori Roasted Vegetables Platter.

🧆 Falafel or Vegan Crab Cake Dip

A spoonful of garlic mustard aioli from the right, with more mustard and a mustard yellow napkin in the background.

Storage and Meal Prep Instructions

Storage: Store any leftover garlic aioli mustard in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Meal prep: This mustard aioli is perfect for meal prep since the longer it sits in the fridge, the better the flavor will meld. It will stay good for up to a week so use this sauce in any way you’d like throughout the week. Look at the Serving Suggestions section right above for some inspiration!

Freezing: Do NOT freeze aioli. The texture will change and you will lose that creaminess.

FAQ

No, aioli is not made with milk (unless of course, the ingredients label contains milk). Traditional aioli recipes usually consist of just garlic and olive oil. Egg yolk is sometimes added in some recipes / by some brands, but not milk.

Although fresh/bottled lemon juice is a common ingredient in many aioli recipes (such as in my Smoked Paprika Aioli recipe), aioli doesn’t always include lemon juice. For instance, this Dijon mustard aioli recipe does not use lemon juice since you already get a lot of tang from the mustard.

Mustard mixed with mayonnaise is commonly referred to as “mustard mayo” or “mustard aioli”. It’s a creamy condiment with a tangy and savory taste, perfect for dips, sauces, and spreads!

Aioli is traditionally only made with olive oil and garlic while mayonnaise often also contains raw eggs and some type of acid. Mayonnaise also typically does not contain garlic, but mayonnaise contains eggs while real traditional aioli does not contain egg. Now confusion might arise because as time progresses, people often whip up aioli using mayo, which is why aioli often contains eggs these days.

And in case you’re wondering if aioli and garlic sauce are the same, they are not. Aiolis could be considered a type of garlic sauce, but not all garlic sauce is aioli. In other words, aioli is a specific type of garlic sauce. You can have other garlic sauces that are not made using aioli such as a yogurt-based garlic sauce.

Want More Sauces & Dips?

For more spicy sauces similar to this spicy mustard aioli, check out one of these:

Raspberry Chipotle Sauce, Raspberry Chipotle Cream Cheese Dip, or my Vegan Burger Sauce for an American twist
Gochujang Mayo or Kimchi Mayo for a Korean twist
Tandoori Mayonnaise for an Indian twist
Sambal Mayo/Aioli for an Indonesian twist
Calabrian Aioli or this Creamy Balsamic Dip for an Italian twist
Black Peppercorn Aioli for a…peppery twist!

Dijon Mustard Garlic Aioli (for Fries, Dressings, Sandwiches!)

Dijon mustard aioli sauce being stirred with a spoon resulting in nice mayo swirls.

This 3-minute, 3-ingredient Dijon mustard aioli is a garlicky mayo-based sauce, perfect as French fries dip, Caesar salad dressing, and for sandwiches!

Jem @ The Fruity Jem

Cook Time 3

Total Time 3

Serving Size 8 servings

Ingredients

½ cup (vegan) mayonnaise I used my oil-free vegan mayo but any mayo will do!
1 clove garlic very finely minced or grated using a microplane
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard more to taste

Instructions

Peel and finely chop the garlic. Mince until you get really small pieces to avoid biting into large pieces of garlic which can be bitter and spicy.
Combine all the ingredients together in a small bowl and stir until evenly mixed. Taste a little bit to see if you would like more dijon mustard, then serve once you have the flavor strength that suits you!

Notes

The strength of the Dijon mustard varies greatly per brand. Start by adding just 1 Tablespoon, then taste and add 1 more teaspoon until you get the desired flavor strength!
Check out my post above for the top tips to make sure you ace this recipe!

Dijon Mustard Garlic Aioli (for Fries, Dressing, Sandwiches!)