Mayo Is The Secret Ingredient To Better-Tasting Muffins

Some of the best recipes have unexpected secret ingredients that make them all the more delicious. Often, these additions are kept under wraps — like how no one knows the true formulation of Coca-Cola. Other times, we get special access to secret ingredients and can incorporate them into our own cooking or baking. 

When it comes to muffins, you might not expect that the key to making them taste even better is this secret ingredient: mayonnaise. Mayo can be used as an unexpected addition in a variety of recipes, but it's also the perfect thing to incorporate into your favorite muffins. According to Southern Living, adding just one tablespoon of mayonnaise to the wet ingredients of a muffin recipe can improve texture and add moisture. Mayo can also be used as a substitute for eggs and oil if you find yourself without them. Simply replace each egg needed with three tablespoons of mayo. 

You're probably wondering if you should use mayo in your muffin recipes and may be hesitant to just throw it into wet ingredients because of its admittedly controversial flavor. If you're not yet feeling brave enough to add mayo to your next batch of blueberry muffins, Duke's Mayo has an entire recipe for "Mayo Muffins," created by pastry chef Laney Jahkel-Parrish. 

The recipe for Mayo Muffins is fairly simple and only calls for flour, mayo (of course), sugar, salt, baking powder, milk, vanilla, and whatever you want to mix into the batter. While Southern Living says to simply add a few tablespoons of mayo, Jahkel-Parrish's recipe centers on the condiment and requires ¾ cup of it. The result is a delicious and moist muffin that's been highly rated. If you're looking for other mayo-muffin recipes, these simple banana muffins topped with pecans don't need eggs or oil, and these oatmeal blueberry muffins have a mouthwatering streusel topping.