Best mayonnaise: did Hellmann’s or Heinz achieve top spot in our blind taste test?

A generous dollop of good mayonnaise adds a creamy tang to a sandwich or portion of fries. So which mainstream mayo has the best flavour and most satisfying creamy texture?

To find out, we gathered 62 people at our test lab to dip chips into nine different mayonnaises. Seven were supermarket own brands, including Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco, plus the two major brands, Heinz and Hellmann's.

Two mouth-watering mayos are Best Buys, and one of these is also a Great Value choice.

Read on to learn which mayos both look and taste the part, and how they measure up for fat and salt content.

Best mayonnaise

Co-op's creamy mayo topped our taste test rankings, followed by Sainsbury's in second place, so both of these are Best Buys. The Sainsbury's mayo is also Great Value, at just £1 for a 500ml bottle.

Hot on the heels of the top scorers was iconic mayo brand Hellmann's, which tied for third spot with Lidl's low-cost mayo.

Best Buy: Co-op On The Side Real Mayonnaise – 74% 

£1.35 for 500ml (27p per 100ml)

An appetising-looking, creamy mayo with a flavour that most of our tasters enjoyed.

Two thirds said the all-important thickness was just right, and most relished its tart tang. 

Co-op’s mayo is the joint priciest of the supermarket bottles, but still less than half the price of the big brands, so it isn't overly extravagant.

Available from Co-op.

Best Buy & Great Value: Sainsbury's Real Mayo – 73%

£1 for 500ml (20p per 100ml)

A great-tasting, creamy mayo that looks good, too.

More than two thirds of testers liked this mayo's thickness, and more than half enjoyed its strength of flavour and sharpness.

Overall, this is a decent crowd-pleaser that's both a Best Buy and Great Value.

Available from Sainsbury's.

Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise – 71% 

£2.45 for 430ml (57p per 100ml)

While not quite up there with the top scorers, Hellmann’s won out over Heinz in the battle of the brands.

Most found its appearance, creamy texture and thickness to their taste, while half were solid fans of the flavour.

More than a third thought the flavour was too weak, though, and more than four in 10 said the sharp tang was lacking.

If you’re a fan of the brand, look out for offers. Hellmann’s squeezy mayo is available in a range of sizes (250ml, 430ml,  580ml, 750ml), which get progressively cheaper per ml as you go up in size.

Available from Amazon, Asda, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.

Lidl Batts Real Mayonnaise – 71%

95p for 500ml (19p per 100ml)

A fraction cheaper than Sainsbury’s, Lidl’s mayo matched Hellmann’s in our taste testers’ estimation. 

Most were satisfied with the thickness and creaminess. Some tasters found it a little bland – a stronger flavour and extra tartness would have suited them.

Available from Lidl (in-store only).

For more food and drink recommendations, head to our picks of the best pork sausages,  best chocolate hazelnut spread and the best baked beans

How other mayonnaises compare

• Asda Classic Real Mayonnaise – 70%. Most testers appreciated the colour, creaminess and texture, but around a third found the flavour too weak. 96p for 500ml (19p per 100ml). Available from Asda.
• Tesco Mayonnaise – 70%. Our tasters thought it had a pleasing thickness, creaminess and colour. Nearly half enjoyed its flavour, but a similar proportion deemed it overly tangy. 86p for 450ml (19p per 100ml). Available from Tesco.
• Morrisons Mayo – 69%. Testers found it dark in colour and a bit bland, but most liked its creamy thickness. 95p for 500ml (19p per 100ml). Available from Morrisons.
• Heinz Seriously Good Mayo – 68%. A disappointing result for Heinz. Two thirds were happy with its creamy thickness, but close to half found the flavour and sharpness lacking. £2.84 for 540ml (53p per 100ml). Available from Amazon, Aldi, Asda, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.
• M&S Classic Mayo – 68%. Its thick texture and creaminess were well liked, but a third found the flavour too sharp. £1.40 for 500ml (28p per 100ml). Available from Ocado and M&S (in-store only).

Best cheap supermarket food and drink – find out which cheaper own labels have beaten the big brands in our blind taste tests

Best supermarket mayo

Two supermarket mayonnaises were top of our taste test this year. Of the two brands on test, Hellmann's was more popular than Heinz.

We didn't test Aldi's own-brand mayo as the supermarket told us its mayonnaise range was due to undergo some changes. Waitrose also missed the cut as its mayonnaise was unavailable at the time of testing.

Full results from our mayonnaise taste test

How we tested mayonnaise

All the mayonnaises were blind-tasted and rated by a panel of 62 people in May 2026 at our specialist test lab. We managed to get through a whopping 43 bottles, along with a hefty portion of plain chips used as the mayo carrier. 

We recruited a panel of people who buy and eat mayonnaise and who broadly represent the demographic profile of adults in the UK (age range, gender split and more). 

The taste test was blind, so our testers didn’t know which brand they were trying. They tasted the mayos in a fully rotated order to avoid any bias. Each tester had a private tasting booth so they couldn’t discuss what they were tasting or be influenced by others.

The tasters rated the flavour, aroma, appearance and texture of each mayo brand and told us what they liked and disliked.

The overall score was based on:

• 50% flavour
• 20% texture
• 15% appearance
• 15% aroma

These weightings are based on the attributes people ranked as most important when tasting mayonnaise. All our results are checked and analysed by our in-house statistical team.

Find out more about our editorial independence policy and see behind the scenes of our taste tests to understand more about how we work

Is mayonnaise healthy?

Mayo is around three quarters oil, making it a high-fat, calorie-rich food. A tablespoon of mayo adds about 100 calories to your sandwich.

Other key ingredients include egg yolk, vinegar or lemon juice, and small amounts of sugar and seasonings.

The fat in mayonnaise is mostly unsaturated, and unsaturated fats are generally considered more heart-healthy than saturated fats. Most mainstream brands use rapeseed oil, but some may use sunflower, soybean or other oils.

However, the mayos on test still contain 5-6g of saturated fat per 100ml, which just pushes them into the red or 'high' category. All get an amber 'moderate' rating for salt.

Is light mayo healthier than full-fat mayo?

Hellmann's and Heinz, as well as most supermarkets, also offer a 'light' or low-fat version of their mayonnaise. If you go for one of these, the fat content is much lower because water, rather than oil, is the main ingredient. This cuts calories and reduces the saturated fat intake. Salt levels tend to be similar.

The table below compares the average nutritional content (per 100ml) of the full-fat mayos we tested alongside the 'Light' versions of our two Best Buys. 

The lower oil content affects the texture, so other ingredients are used to make the mayo more palatable.

Which? nutrition expert Shefalee Loth said: ‘To emulate the creaminess of full-fat mayo and prevent the water and oil from separating, light mayo contains more additives such as cream powder, citrus fibres, modified starch and thickeners. None of these are harmful, but if you want to avoid them, go for the standard version.’

Vegan mayonnaise

Both the brands and most supermarkets also do a plant-based version of mayo.

As with standard mayo, the main ingredient is rapeseed oil. But instead of egg, you’ll find ingredients such as corn starch, potato starch, flaxseed and faba bean protein. Vegan mayo tends to have a little less fat, fewer calories, and about the same amount of salt as standard mayo.

Vegan mayo is pricier than standard or light versions. For example, Tesco's Plant Chef vegan mayo costs £1.25 for 270g (46p per 100g) compared with 86p for 450g (19p per 100g) for its standard mayo.

Price and availability correct as of 28 May 2026