Our Top Recipes Made Better by Mayonnaise

Picnic Egg Salad
Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Cat Steele

Whether you are team Duke's, Hellmann's, or otherwise, you know the draw of a good mayo and the magic touch it brings to just about everything—and we mean everything. From desserts to appetizers, there's not one course on the menu that it can't touch. Fancy a sweet snack? Our Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake delivers generous slices of a soft, rich crumb. Need a perfectly golden-brown grilled cheese sandwich? Mayo answers the call—don't you dare reach for the butter. And, of course, beloved Southern classics like pimiento cheese, egg salad, and deviled eggs rely on a heaping dollop of mayonnaise to make them what they are. Whether you're looking for a homemade mayonnaise recipe or pasta salad recipes with mayo, we've run the gamut with these recipes using mayonnaise. Trust us, it really does add something special.

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Homemade Mayonnaise

Classic Homemade Mayonnaise
Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Homemade Mayonnaise

We call this "comfort you can whip up in five minutes." If it's that easy, there's no excuse not to have it on hand for all these other delicious recipes that need a swipe (or heaping cupful) of mayonnaise.

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Creole Mayonnaise

Creole Mayonnaise
Southern Living

Recipe: Creole Mayonnaise

Upgrade your beloved mayonnaise brand with a little Creole mustard, white wine vinegar, and Creole seasoning. Our secret? This makes a mean grilled cheese.

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Old Bay Mayo

Old Bay Mayo
Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke

Recipe: Old Bay Mayo

Salty, savory Old Bay seasoning combines with fresh herbs and lemon to create a zingy mayonnaise rendition.

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Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
Alison Miksch; Prop styling: Mary Clayton Carl; Food styling: Mary-Claire Britton

Recipe: Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

It's a mayonnaise recipe every Southerner knows and the secret to an ultra-soft, tender chocolate cake.

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Mini Tomato Sandwiches with Bacon Mayonnaise

Mini Tomato Sandwiches With Bacon Mayonnaise
Victor Protasio

Recipe: Mini Tomato Sandwiches with Bacon Mayonnaise

Turn the classic BLT into appetizer fare with these little sandwiches. Stir the bacon right into the mayo, along with chives, for a tasty and irresistible spread.

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Chicken Salad-Stuffed Tomatoes

Chicken Salad-Stuffed Tomatoes
Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Chicken Salad-Stuffed Tomatoes

Consider this your official dinner go-to on hot summer nights. Mayonnaise creates the creamy binding for a simple chicken salad with tricolor bell peppers and a squeeze of lemon.

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Old-Fashioned Chicken Salad Recipe

Old-Fashioned Chicken Salad
Southern Living

Recipe: Old-Fashioned Chicken Salad Recipe

It's the way Mama made it. Celery, onion, and a dash of red pepper and paprika meet tender chicken in a creamy blanket of mayonnaise. Boiled eggs and pickled relish optional.

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Southern Pimiento Cheese

Southern Pimento Cheese
Southern Living

Recipe: Southern Pimiento Cheese

The key to this legendary spread? You guessed it, mayonnaise. It's the base for a divine mixture of Cheddar cheeses, roasted red peppers, mustard, and garlic.

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Picnic Egg Salad

Picnic Egg Salad
Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Cat Steele

Recipe: Picnic Egg Salad

Summer in the South without egg salad? Forget about it. If you need a recipe for your tin, this is the one.

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Best Deviled Eggs

Best Deviled Eggs
Southern Living

Recipe: Best Deviled Eggs

The beauty of deviled eggs is that they accommodate pretty much any circumstance. Potluck, Sunday dinner, Easter lunch, picnic—the real question is where don't they belong?

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Classic Macaroni Salad with Ham

Classic Macaroni Salad with Ham
Jen Causey

Recipe: Classic Macaroni Salad with Ham

If we described this salad in just three words, they'd be: easy, fuss-free. Now what's not to love about that?

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Creamy Broccoli Slaw

Creamy Broccoli Slaw
Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Creamy Broccoli Slaw

Tired of the salad? Keep things interesting with a slaw. This one is filled with crunchy toasted pecans, fresh scallions, bright lemon, and broccoli. Binding it together, of course, is a creamy cup of mayonnaise.

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Grilled Shrimp Po'Boys with Quick Rémoulade Sauce

Grilled Shrimp Po'Boys with Quick Rémoulade Sauce Recipe
Max Kelly

Recipe: Grilled Shrimp Po'Boys with Quick Rémoulade Sauce

The classic New Orleans sandwich needs its obligatory drizzle of rémoulade, the base of which is a dollop of mayonnaise.

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Turkey Salad

Turkey Salad
Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Turkey Salad

We gave this Turkey Salad a little extra oomph by adding sour cream along with the mayonnaise, plus a little celery and shallot for crunch.

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Pear Salad

Pear Salad
Southern Living

Recipe: Pear Salad

It's the nostalgic snack of many, and wouldn't be complete without the dollop of mayonnaise holding onto a sprinkling of cheese and a cherry.

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Salmon Cakes

Salmon Cakes
Micah A. Leal

Recipe: Salmon Cakes

Break away from the burgers and hot dogs at the cookout in favor of these simple (but impressive) patties that can sit on a toasted bun or accompany a salad.

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Squash Casserole

Squash Casserole
Aaron Kirk; Prop Styling: Sarah-Elizabeth Cleveland; Food Styling: Julia Levy

Recipe: Squash Casserole

This hearty crowd pleaser is pure comfort.

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Southern-Style Potato Salad

_Southern-Style Potato Salad
Southern Living

Recipe: Southern-Style Potato Salad

In a roundup of mayonnaise recipes, we'd be remiss not to include the favorite, loved potato salad. Ours is quintessentially Southern, with celery, onion, sweet pickle relish, and boiled eggs.

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