Food and Recipes Kitchen Assistant 8 Surprising Ways To Use Mayonnaise For Better Dishes Mayo—much more than a spread. By Molly Allen Molly Allen Instagram Molly Allen is a previous bakery owner and freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience focused on food and beverage, lifestyle, travel and parties. Her work has been published in Taste of Home, HuffPost, and Brides, among others. When she’s not writing or baking, she can be found hiking or paddleboarding near Hood River, Oregon, where she calls home. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on October 2, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Getty Images Mayonnaise is an incredibly versatile ingredient in the kitchen. Of course, it's the star of the show for many sandwiches, including BLTs and chicken salad. Mayonnaise also serves as the base for most of your favorite cold salads, such as macaroni salad, potato salad, and broccoli salad. Not to mention, it's the glue that holds deviled eggs together. But mayonnaise may be even more versatile than you thought. It can also add moisture to a variety of baked goods, as well as add great texture and flavor to many other dishes that might surprise you. 1. Use it on grilled cheese No more spraying the pan with cooking spray or buttering the bread for grilled cheese. The fat from the oil in mayonnaise will take your grilled cheese to the next level. Spread mayo on each piece of bread before cooking the sandwich. Mayo has a higher smoke point, so it'll help to make the bread that much more golden and delightfully crispy. 2. Mix it in chocolate cake There's nothing better than a slice of moist, chocolate cake, and mayo can help achieve that. Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake uses mayo as the base to produce a beautiful cake texture. You can also add great moisture to any other chocolate cake recipe by adding two tablespoons of mayonnaise into the wet ingredients mixture. 3. Mix mayo in quiche While you certainly wouldn't replace eggs in a quiche with mayo, adding it to the mixture does take this dish to a new level. Mix a few tablespoons of mayonnaise into your quiche to produce a much creamier, smoother quiche. 4. Use it to coat chicken Because mayonnaise is a mixture of eggs and oil, it offers great fat to any dish. That comes in handy when you're hoping to cook flavorful, moist chicken. Chicken can be coated in mayonnaise before baking to seal in moisture. Or better yet? Mix the mayo with seasonings before slathering it on to really amp up the flavor. 5. Add it to a cake mix While adding mayo to a cake baked from scratch produces a great texture, it's also a welcome addition to a cake mix. Use the ingredients and instructions on the box, but add in ½ cup of mayonnaise as well. This will make a cake mix taste that much more homemade. 6. Put it on corn Mayonnaise will instantly transform cooked corn on the cob. Not only does it add flavor and texture, but it also helps to bind other ingredients to the corn. Using mayonnaise with cotija cheese and lime is popular for Mexican street corn, but you could also use the same concept to sprinkle herbs, seasonings, and even bacon bits. 7. Mix it into mashed potatoes Dairy options, such as butter, milk, cream, and sour cream, all make mashed potatoes super creamy and flavorful. Well, so does mayo! Mix in a few tablespoons of mayonnaise, to taste, to amp up the flavor and texture. 8. Bake muffins with it Just as mayo improves the texture of cakes, it can do the same with banana bread. Add one tablespoon of mayonnaise to the wet ingredients of a banana bread recipe. Another option? Replace the eggs and oil the recipe calls for with mayonnaise. Eliminate the oil, and use three tablespoons of mayo for each egg. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit