The Best Easy Smoked Paprika Aioli

Smoked paprika aioli is a simple, creamy condiment with many uses! Made with a few simple ingredients in under 5 minutes, you can use it for fries, a burger topping,a sandwich spread, a dip for veggies, or a sauce for seafood, chicken, or steak. Naturally gluten free, this easy aioli recipe is as delicious as it is nourishing!

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Are you a smoked paprika fan?

I hadn’t even heard of smoked paprika until maybe 10 years ago. Other kinds of paprika, yes. Smoked, no. Boy, was I missing out!

Paprika is just red peppers ground into powder. It tastes good, comes in different varieties, and finds its way into lots of savory dishes and sauces for good reason.

So what is smoked paprika?

The smoked version is even better! The peppers are smoked slowly over a wood fire before grinding. The smoking step takes the flavor up a notch. Maybe several notches. If you haven’t tried it before… this is your signal to get some!

If I had to cook with just one spice other than salt, smoked paprika would be the one.

The flavor is similar to paprika you are familiar with, but with a smoky depth that is just wonderful in many meat, egg, and veggie recipes, as well as sauces and dressings. I use it most days for one dish or another.

Smoked paprika can be pricey compared to regular paprika, so watch for sales. I buy a bunch at once from Thrive Market for a reasonable price.

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What is Aioli?

It might sound a little weird. Well, OK, it does sound funny. After all, a word constructed almost exclusively of vowels mushes around a bit in your mouth.

Aioli is pretty much mayonnaise with garlic. While there seems to be a long history and some dispute as to how aioli came about, it is a Mediterranean condiment popular in France, Spain, and Italy. Garlic is an element, and so is olive oil.

Well, garlic and olive oil are associated with Mediterranean cooking, so no surprises there.

“Experts” differ after that. Some say aioli is garlic mashed with salt and then emulsified with olive oil. Most “experts” include egg yolk plus a little acid, like vinegar or lemon juice. Which is mayonnaise with garlic…

Don’t you love experts?

In any case, aioli is often made with the egg and acid included, especially in southern France. Most often, I see aioli associated with Provence, and the word seems like a mashup of the French words for garlic (ail) and oil (huile). Though maybe it goes all the way back to Roman times and doesn’t have to include egg yolk. Learn more here.

Why Make Mayonnaise?

You can buy it. Most people do. Some mayos from the store taste pretty good, too.

There are 3 reasons I like to make my own.

1. Better for us— Most purchased mayonnaise is made with industrial oils, sugar, or mysterious items with long, unpronounceable names. I don’t really want to eat that sort of thing too often for health reasons. If I make it, I can use only ingredients that benefit us health-wise.
2. More affordable— Store-bought mayo made with better ingredients often contains mostly those same old inflammatory oils with a little olive oil added in. Not really better. Those very few that are truly better for us are super expensive! I can make it more affordably.
3. Tastes better— The taste of fresh mayonnaise is not like anything you can buy. That might not be a big deal if you are using mayonnaise in a sandwich or dressing with lots of other flavors to make up for the so-so flavor of the mayo. Fresh is better!

The bonus reason: making mayonnaise is super simple and fast. If you have ever tried a mayonnaise recipe where you have to pour a thin stream of oil slowly, you know it isn’t quick. It is kind of painstaking.

This is not that! This method will take you 2 minutes!

How Do You Make Mayonnaise Fast?

For this method, you need an immersion blender and a wide-mouth jar. A basic immersion blender will work. Mine is something like this.

All you need to do is to put the ingredients into the jar– oil, egg, a little lemon juice or vinegar, and a dash of salt. Maybe a jot of mustard if you like, but I leave that out for smoked paprika aioli. Put the minced garlic and smoked paprika in at the same time.

The egg will sink to the bottom.

You can sort of see the yolk down at the bottom:

Stick the immersion blender all the way to the bottom of the jar. That way, when you turn it on, it will blend up the egg first.

Start the blender. You will see whitish creamy stuff form at the bottom of the jar.

Slowly lift the stick blender up through the oil. As it turns creamy, continue lifting until the whole jar is full of creamy mayonnaise. This will take under a minute.

At the end, you may have a bit of oil that isn’t incorporated.

Just stir that in.

We aren’t very big mayonnaise consumers, so I usually do this in a pint jar with a wide mouth. If I think we will go through a lot, I double the recipe and use a quart jar. Fresh mayonnaise won’t keep long, unlike store-bought mayo– plan on using it up in a week.

Makes you wonder about shelf-stable mayonnaise, doesn’t it?

If you ferment the mayo it will last longer. I haven’t tried it, but you could learn how to do it here. It’s simple.

Questions and Answers

What is the best oil to use?

While olive oil is a classic Mediterranean choice, I don’t love it for this recipe. It tastes a little bitter, even with good olive oil. Some people will prefer that. If that is you, then olive oil is ideal. Refrigerated mayo or smoked paprika aioli made with olive oil will thicken, so take it out 15 minutes or so before you intend to serve.

A more neutral-tasting oil, like avocado, works better for mayonnaise, in my opinion. I avoid the more inflammatory oils, like canola, but canola or grapeseed oil will work fine. These oils all have the advantage of not hardening in the refrigerator.

For an extra-delicious option, melted butter or ghee work fine and provide an extra layer of flavor. Be sure the butter isn’t hot from melting, though, or the process will fail and you will have butter with bits of cooked egg!

You will have a hardened smoked paprika aioli (or plain mayo) after refrigerating if you use butter or ghee, so let it sit at room temperature to soften for 15-20 minutes before serving, then give it a quick stir.

Can I use other spices?

You can, and you probably should! Fresh or dried herbs, chili powder, other ground spices, and whatever else you like will make a delicious, multi-purpose sauce.

Can I use just the egg yolk?

Yes, and most mayo recipes use only yolks. That will work fine if you have just yolks or don’t eat egg whites. I am lazy and stick the whole egg in. The recipe doesn’t rely on the white.

Is smoked paprika aioli healthy?

It depends on your ingredients! If you use an oil that is good for you, with a pastured egg, you have a superfood. Olive oil and grass fed butter seem like the best options, healthwise, and I have seen people use regeneratively raised beef tallow for mayonnaise. Avocado oil would be my next choice.

Does this recipe work for making regular mayonnaise?

Yes, just leave out the garlic and paprika. I like to add a teaspoon of mustard for plain mayo, but that is optional.

Can I use store bought mayo?

You can, but it will take just as long as making it from scratch.

Blend about a cup and a half of mayo with the minced garlic and smoked paprika using an immersion blender or other blender or food processor.

In a pinch, you could stir minced garlic and smoked paprika into some mayonnaise. It won’t be smooth, but it will still taste good. Some days you just need a super easy method!

Is this recipe GAPS compliant?

The sticking point would be the smoked paprika. Smoked foods aren’t encouraged on the GAPS diet. I used smoked paprika while we were on GAPS, but more sparingly than I do now. Decide what is best for you!

You could use regular paprika, or another herb or spice. As long as you are using good quality eggs and fat, the rest is GAPS friendly and a great way to increase needed fats while making a delicious sauce to perk up your meat, eggs, etc.

How can I use smoked paprika aioli?

The sky is the limit! You can use it for anything that wants a dip or a sauce, such as:

• burgers
• any plain meat– chicken breasts or thighs, fish, pork, etc.
• fries– sweet or white potato
• fresh veggies
• roasted veggies
• eggs and egg dishes
• salad– thin with milk or water and maybe a splash of extra vinegar of choice for a salad dressing
• pasta salad
• potato salad
• spread for a sandwich or wrap

What else would you do with smoked paprika aioli?

Here is my beef burger topped with smoked paprika aioli, caramelized onions, and fresh tomato slices. I used ghee this time, and it partially melted on the burger. Delicious!

Try with tasty simple chicken— make the sauce while the chicken cooks!