You may think that mayonnaise is the devil’s condiment but if you find it to be a guilty temptation that you can’t resist, you’ll be happy to know that reduced-fat varieties do exist.

With soybean and/or canola oil, eggs and vinegar as the primary ingredients in most brands of regular mayo, it’s actually not high in saturated fat. Regular mayo has just 1 to 2 grams per tablespoon — about the same of what you get in a tablespoon of olive oil. And with just 5 to 10 milligrams of cholesterol per serving, it’s far below the recommended upper limit of 200 to 300 milligrams of cholesterol.

But remember not to lay on your love for mayonnaise too thick! It packs 100 calories into every tablespoon, so if you’re watching your waistline, just use a thin spread of the real thing, or try one of our “Love it” options suggested below in a recent "Love It, Like It, Hate It" article.

What's the difference in types of mayo?

• Most light mayo is made with oil, eggs and vinegar (like regular mayo) as well as corn starch or modified food starch 
• Most “olive oil” mayo has soybean/canola oil, which is often listed before olive oil on the label 
• Vegan mayo uses binders like xanthan gum and soy protein isolate in place of eggs

LOVE IT!

Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Mayo 

• 100 calories, 12 grams fat, 125 mg sodium, 0 carbohydrate 
• Avocado oil, eggs, egg yolks, vinegar 

Spectrum Canola Mayo 

• 100 calories – 11 grams fat – 95 mg sodium – 0 carbohydrate 
• Canola oil, eggs, vinegar 

Chosen Foods Vegan Mayo 

• 90 calories – 10 grams fat – 1 gram carbohydrate 
• Avocado oil, chickpea broth, vinegar, sugar, faba bean protein powder

LIKE IT!

• Most light mayonnaise: Light mayo has half the calories of regular mayo, but most contain modified food starch, sugar, gums and other additives not found in regular mayo.
• Options include Hellmann’s Light, Blue Plate Light, Kraft Reduced Fat Mayo with Olive Oil, Spectrum Light Canola Mayo, Kraft Flavored Mayo (e.g. Chipotle), and The Ojai Cook Lemonaise Light

HATE IT!

Walden Farm’s Amazin’ Mayo

• Zero calories, sugar or fat, but made with the artificial sweetener sucralose (Splenda) 

Kraft Fat Free Mayo

• Only 10 calories per tablespoon, but has more sugar and high fructose corn syrup than soybean oil. Furthermore, it contains the artificial colors Yellow 6 and Blue 1.