Alexis deBoschnek’s Homemade Aioli Recipe

Getting Ready for Spring Vegetables

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Spring is upon us, and while early-season vegetables like radishes and lettuces are still weeks away, we turned to Catskills event host, television personality, and cookbook author Alexis deBoschnek for a simple aioli recipe to give store-bought produce a better life. She publishes her popular Substack Side Dish twice a week. It offers a wide range of content, including personal stories, homesteading tips, dinner-party inspiration, interviews, and (of course) timely recipes for every occasion from seasonal gatherings to traditional holiday meals.

This homemade aioli recipe comes from deBoschnek’s first cookbook, To the Last Bite, which shares tips gleaned from lifetime ensuring nothing goes to waste in the kitchen. Kiki Reginato profiled her latest book, Nights and Weekends: Recipes That Make the Most of Your Time, in our Holiday 2025 issue. It’s the perfect kitchen companion for time-optimized weekday meals alongside more time-intensive weekend masterpieces designed for busy families.

Alexis deBoschnek’s Homemade Aioli Recipe

Aioli might seem fancy, but it really couldn’t be easier to whip together. Served alongside a spread of in-season produce, this garlicky dip is a personal favorite. A few tips: Add the oil drop-by-drop to ensure the aioli emulsifies and properly thickens. This can take some practice, but I promise if you take it slow you’ll be able to soon make aioli in your sleep. And the oil you use makes a difference, too. I like the combination of olive oil and grapeseed oil. Using olive oil alone will result in a flavor that’s a little too bitter. Serve aioli with a few grinds of black pepper and a spread of raw, roasted, or blanched vegetables (a combination is great for some variety). This is a good time to use up vegetables that you have left over in too-small proportions to do much with, like a handful of snap peas, an endive or two, a few cherry tomatoes, or a lone watermelon radish.
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Servings: 1 scant cup
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 egg yolks
  • Medium garlic clove grated
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup grapeseed oil
  • Juice of 1 lemon

Method
 

  1. In a medium-size bowl, add the egg yolks, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper, and whisk to combine.
  2. Add a few drops of olive oil and whisk to combine. Drop by drop, add the olive oil, whisking until the mixture begins to emulsify and thicken. Slowly add the rest of the olive oil, whisking to combine. Slowly add the grapeseed oil, whisking to combine.
  3. Add the lemon juice and whisk to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste.
  4. Serve the aioli with assorted vegetables. Aioli can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Notes

This recipe was excerpted from To the Last Bite by Alexis deBoschnek. Copyright © 2022 by Alexis deBoschnek. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster.