The 3 Best Mayonnaises of 2025

When narrowing down what types of mayonnaise to try, we focused on the following criteria:

We avoided regional white-label brands. We wanted to try mayonnaise that would be relatively easy for most people in the US to find at major grocery chains or online. For that reason, we ruled out regional white-label brands, such as those sold exclusively by Safeway or Winn-Dixie, since they’re difficult to find outside the area in which they’re sold.

We mainly tasted brands that meet the FDA’s standard of identity for mayonnaise. These guidelines legally stipulate the required ingredients for the product. For that reason, we mostly avoided low-fat mayonnaise, which contains less than the FDA’s required 65% by weight of vegetable oil.

One exception: We decided to throw Miracle Whip into our lineup because it’s such a common and popular mayonnaise alternative (it’s technically categorized as a dressing by the FDA). We also avoided vegan mayonnaise because it doesn’t contain eggs (though we do hope to test it in the future).

We excluded flavored mayonnaise. To even the playing field, we focused our testing on classic mayonnaise and avoided those with flavorings, such as chipotle or dill pickle.

We tested mayonnaise made with a range of oils. Most mayonnaise brands use soybean or canola oil. However, we tasted a few outliers that use sunflower, grapeseed, or avocado oils. We didn’t test any mayos made with olive oil, because these versions have less than the FDA’s required amount of oil.

A couple of other notes about mayo:

Most supermarket mayonnaise lists water as an ingredient. But that isn’t necessarily an indicator of poor quality. Water is included because mayo needs a certain ratio of water-based liquid to oil in order to remain emulsified. Eggs provide emulsifying power, but when mayo is made in huge batches, water is commonly added to the eggs to increase the amount of liquid.

Some brands use preservatives and/or stabilizers. What you’ll most commonly see on a mayonnaise ingredient list is calcium disodium EDTA, which prevents mayonnaise from separating and makes it more stable when exposed to extreme temperatures. It also helps retain color and prolong freshness.

Both Hellmann’s and Duke’s mayos have calcium disodium EDTA, but it’s a flavorless stabilizer, so you won’t be able to taste it in either brand. Kewpie uses MSG as a stabilizer as well as a flavor enhancer.

After scouring the internet and local grocery stores, we came up with 25 different jars of mayonnaise for testing.

I was joined by a panel of editors and writers from the kitchen team, including Gabriella Gershenson, Marilyn Ong, Ciara Murray Jordan, Gemmarosa Ryan, and Abigail Bailey. Photo editor Michael Murtaugh also joined us.

Initially, our testers (even those who were big fans of mayo) were intimidated by the thought of eating such a fatty condiment by the spoonful — an unthinkable, horrifying endeavor for mayo haters (thankfully none among us identified as such). Surprisingly, it wasn’t as daunting a task as we had expected.

How we tested mayonnaise:

• We performed a brand-concealed taste test to avoid biases.
• We sampled it plain and with warm crinkle-cut french fries.
• We had farmers market tomatoes and bread for testers who wanted to try the mayonnaise on sandwiches.

Our testers evaluated the mayonnaise based on several factors:

• Consistency: We noted if the mayonnaise appeared flabby and greasy, or if it was emulsified and lofty with no separation — weepy mayonnaise was very unappetizing.

• Texture: Ideally, we were looking for something smooth and creamy.

• Flavor: We took note of how salty, sweet, and acidic each mayo was and if those elements were well balanced. We identified if the oil tasted fresh or old and rancid.

• Color: The mayos we tasted had a wide range of colors — some were an unappetizing grayish color, while others were yellowish, cream-colored, or bright white.

• Spreadability: We evaluated if mayo spread evenly on bread and held its integrity or if it was too liquidy and melted into the bread.

After eliminating our least favorite brands, we stirred the remaining contenders into bowls of drained canned tuna to see how well they blended with other ingredients. We also tasted the tuna on crackers and compared the flavors.