This spicy mayo recipe adds a delicious kick to just about everything! It’s perfect in rice bowls, sushi, sandwiches, and more!
I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’ve been adding this spicy mayo to just about everything lately. It’s unbelievably simple to make and so delicious.
You need less than 5 minutes and a few simple ingredients you probably already have on hand. You can use either sriracha or gochujang (Korean chili paste) to get that perfect spicy flavor.
Key Ingredients
- Mayonnaise: I’ve made this with Hellman’s (also called Best Foods), Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise, and homemade mayonnaise, and I loved all of them. I’d give the edge to homemade and Kewpie, but they genuinely all taste great. If you’d like to make vegan spicy mayo, use vegan mayo and make sure the other ingredients used to make your sauce are listed as vegan on their packaging.
- Sriracha or Gochujang: Most spicy mayos served at restaurants (especially sushi restaurants) use Sriracha, but this recipe works just as well with Gochujang, a Korean fermented chili paste. I absolutely love it and think it has more flavor than Sriracha. I also use it to make our hoisin sauce and this sesame garlic shrimp marinade. I find Mother-in-Law’s Gochujang in my local grocery store, but many more options exist if you go into an Asian or Korean market.
- Lime: A little fresh lime juice brightens the mayo and makes it a little lighter on its feet. Rice wine vinegar is a great substitute!
- Sesame Oil: We add a little toasted sesame oil to most of the sauces on Inspired Taste (see this tahini dressing or the sauce for our broccoli slaw as examples). You don’t need much, but it genuinely makes the mayo taste incredible.
Ways to Use Your Spicy Mayo
I use this spicy many so many ways. My current obsession is drizzling it over our egg roll in a bowl. The spicy, creamy sauce works so nicely with it. It’s fantastic for other rice or noodle bowls, with sushi, spread onto sandwiches, and served with burgers. Try it with our juicy burgers, smash burgers, turkey burgers, or our popular veggie burgers!
You can dip things into it, too. I love it with french fries, sweet potato fries, roasted potatoes, baked tofu, chicken nuggets, and even roasted veggies like roasted broccoli. Whenever you’re looking down at your meal and think this needs something, come back to this spicy mayo recipe. I bet it will help! More sauce recipes to keep in your back pocket are this burger sauce or fry sauce!
Easy Spicy Mayo
- PREP
- TOTAL
This homemade spicy mayo recipe takes minutes to make and is a game-changer for weekday dinners. Anytime I find my dinner a little lacking in flavor, I drizzle some of this spicy mayonnaise over the top, and the problem is solved! The most common way to make this is using sriracha for a spicy sriracha mayo. It’s delicious, but I highly recommend swapping the sriracha for gochujang (Korean fermented chili paste). It makes the mayo more flavorful and a bit more interesting.
You Will Need
1/2 cup (113g) mayonnaise, try homemade mayo
1 to 2 tablespoons sriracha or gochujang
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Pinch salt
2 to 4 teaspoons water, to thin
Directions
1Add 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon sriracha or gochujang, 1 teaspoon lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, and a pinch of salt to a small bowl.
2Stir well, then taste for spiciness. Add the second tablespoon (or more) of sriracha or gochujang as needed. Depending on how you plan to serve it, consider thinning it with a little bit of water.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: When using store-bought mayo (like Hellman’s, Best Foods, or Kewpie), spicy mayo lasts 1 to 2 weeks in the fridge. When made with homemade mayonnaise, it should last about 1 week.
- Make it more spicy: With 2 tablespoons of sriracha or gochujang, this is medium spicy. For even more heat, add 1/8 teaspoon to 1/4 teaspoon ground chili flakes (like gochugaru) or use cayenne pepper.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
