Sriracha aioli is a spicy, creamy sauce made from homemade aioli or store-bought mayo, plus Sriracha, rice vinegar and garlic. A simple, super-flavorful sauce or dip!
Another name for Sriracha aioli could simply be Sriracha mayo. But honestly, who cares about the name! Either way, this creamy Sriracha sauce is exactly what you need to bring more flavor to raw veggies, fries, sweet potato fries, seafood, tofu, burgers and sandwiches.
Aioli and mayonnaise are basically the same thing. So whether you make this recipe with homemade aioli or store-bought mayo is up to you. To be honest, I always use store-bought mayonnaise. It's easy and tasty and you can whisk this dip together in 5 minutes.
If you like spicy mayo, you'll also love sweet and spicy Boom Boom Sauce or spicy Bang Bang Sauce. Also delicious (and probably my favorite!) is horseradish aioli.
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Ingredients & Substitutions
This easy sauce recipe has just 4 ingredients.
Homemade aioli or store bought mayo: You can use either one (I always use store bought mayo). This recipe does include instructions for making homemade aioli, if you'd like to do that. But for convenience, feel free to use store-bought mayonnaise instead.
If you'd like to make this dip vegan, use vegan mayonnaise.
Sriracha chili sauce: Sriracha sauce is chili sauce inspired by Thai sriracha, but it has its own unique flavor and ingredients. It's tangy, spicy and just slightly sweet. It's made from chilies ground into a smooth paste and blended with vinegar, sugar, salt and garlic.
Sriracha (pronounced SIR-rotch-ah) was created by Huy Fong Foods in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles. It can be found in many grocery stores and also online.
If you can't find the original Sriracha sauce, then you can use other brands. Or, the most similar substitute would sambal oelek, which is an Indonesian chili sauce that can sometimes be spicier and less sweet than Sriracha.
In a pinch, you can use a regular hot sauce, but if the sauce is spicier you might not want to add a full 3 tablespoons. Evergreenkitchen.com has a list of 10 hot sauces that can be used as sriracha substitutes.
Rice vinegar: Rice vinegar gives the creamy sauce a lighter, tangier flavor. As a substitute, you can use freshly squeeze lime juice.
Garlic: Just one clove of garlic is added to give the sauce a little garlicky kick. Buy you can add more if you really love garlic.
Optional: If you'd like to add a little bit of sweetness, add a teaspoon or two of sweet chili sauce.
Aioli vs Mayo
Aioli and mayonnaise are essentially the same thing. Both are creamy, chilled sauces made with egg yolk and oil.
One difference is that aioli is flavored with garlic. Another difference is that aioli is often made with olive oil and mayo is usually made with vegetable oil.
How to Make Sriracha Aioli
Spicy aioli is creamy, thick and a perfect spread for sandwiches and burgers. First, you make the aioli, then mix in the sriracha and other ingredients.
Step 1: Combine mashed garlic paste, lemon juice, water, egg yolk and salt. Whisk the ingredients together until smooth.
Step 2: Drizzle a thin stream of oil very, very slowly into the bowl, whisking constantly as you pour the oil.
Step 3: Slowly drizzle all of the oil into the bowl, whisking the whole time, until the aioli is thick and smooth.
Step 4: To make the sriracha aioli sauce, mix sriracha, rice vinegar and garlic into the aioli.
For detailed instructions & ingredients amounts, see the recipe card at end of the post.
How to Make Sriracha Mayo
Sriracha mayo is super simple. Just mix store-bought mayo with sriracha, rice vinegar and garlic. Done!
Serving Suggestions
This spicy mayo goes with so many foods, either as a sauce, spread or dip.
Fries: Regular French fries and sweet potato fries and other fried foods like onion rings and popcorn shrimp.
Fish: Salmon and shrimp pair well, so do crab cakes and fish sandwiches or fish sticks. Drizzle this creamy spicy sauce over fish tacos, too.
Tofu: Drizzle this spicy aioli over tofu and use it as a spicy dressing for rice bowls. It's also great drizzled over poke bowls, sushi bowls or a salmon sushi rice bowl.
Chicken: Slather this creamy, spicy mayo on fried chicken sandwiches and serve as a dip for chicken wings and chicken fingers.
FAQ
Sriracha is a chili sauce made by Huy Fong Foods. Sriracha ingredients are chilis, sugar, salt, garlic, distilled vinegar, potassium sorbate, sodium bisulfite as preservatives and xanthan gum.
Sriracha chili sauce has its own unique flavor, so using any other type of hot sauce will change the flavor and heat level of sriracha aioli.
The heat in Sriracha is definitely noticeable, but it's balanced by a sweet and tangy flavor. This recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of Sriracha, but if you don't like really spicy food start by adding 1 tablespoon at a time.
You can if you want to. The recipe for homemade mayo is the same as the recipe for homemade aioli that I have included in the recipe card below. To make mayo instead of aioli, just leave out the garlic and use a neutral oil like sunflower oil instead of olive oil.
Either ingredient adds pleasant acidity that boosts the flavor of the dip.
Rice vinegar has a more subtle flavor. Lime juice will add a distinct lime flavor to the sauce.
So many sauces with great names, right? Each is a spicy, creamy mayonnaise-based sauce. Beyond that, each has slightly different ingredients. Boom Boom sauce adds Sriracha but also adds ketchup and sweet chili sauce. Bang Bang sauce just mixes sweet chili sauce and mayo. Yum Yum sauce doesn't add sweet chili sauce but usually includes vinegar, sesame oil, paprika and garlic powder.
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📖 Recipe
Sriracha Aioli Recipe
Sriracha aioli is a spicy, creamy sauce or dip made from homemade aioli or store-bought mayo. I use store-bought mayo because it's fast and easy, but if you'd like to make homemade aioli the recipe is included below.
Use spicy sriracha mayo as a dip for veggies, fries and shrimp or spread it on sandwiches and burgers. It's also delicious drizzled over tofu!
- Prep Time: 5
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
- Category: side dishes
- Method: whisk
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 cup store-bought mayonnaise OR homemade aioli (see ingredients and recipe below in the notes section)
- 3 tablespoons sriracha
- 3 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped then mashed into a paste
Optional: To add a little sweetness to balance the spiciness, add a teaspoon of sweet chili sauce.
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together mayo OR aioli with sriracha, rice vinegar and garlic.
- If you'd like a spicier sauce, add more sriracha.
- If you like a little bit of sweetness, add a teaspoon of sweet chili sauce.
Notes
How to Mash Garlic: Mashed garlic blends in better than finely chopped garlic. To mash a clove of garlic, first chop it finely then mash it into a smooth paste on a cutting board with the flat side of a chef's knife. If you don't want to mash the garlic, you can finely grate the garlic using a zester.
Spice Level: Adding 3 tablespoons of Sriracha makes this sauce quite spicy. If you don't like really spicy food start by adding 1 tablespoon at a time.
Homemade Aioli Ingredients and Instructions
Aioli Ingredients
- 1 garlic clove, mashed into a smooth paste
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon warm water
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup neutral oil (such as sunflower or grape seed) OR ½ cup neutral oil and ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the mashed garlic paste, lemon juice, water, egg yolk and salt. Whisk the ingredients together until smooth.
- Pour the oil into a measuring cup with a pour spout. Drizzle a thin stream of oil very slowly into the bowl with the egg yolk, whisking constantly as you pour.
- Continue whisking and slowly drizzling in oil. The mixture will start to thicken and have the consistency of mayonnaise.
- The consistency of the aioli should always look smooth as you whisk, and the oil should immediately blend in. If the consistency looks lumpy or the oil isn’t blending in, stop drizzling the oil for a moment and whisk vigorously until the consistency is smooth and well-blended again.
- Take your time slowly pouring all of the oil into the bowl, whisking the whole time, until the aioli is thick and smooth.
- If the aioli seems too thick when it’s done, you can whisk in water a teaspoon at a time.
Keywords: sriracha aioli, sriracha mayo, Sriracha mayo recipe, Sriracha substitutes, spicy aioli
Jenny
You can pour this spicy and creamy sauce over anything!
★★★★★