The Best Light Mayo for Your Low(er) Fat Sandwiches

The best light mayonnaise is thick, rich, and virtually indistinguishable from full-fat mayonnaise (so long as you aren’t tasting it head to head with full-fat mayonnaise). I’m picky about mayonnaise, but I really think light mayo is one of those low(er) fat, low(er) calorie foods that tastes pretty much as good as its full-fat, full-calorie counterpart. 

Still, this taste test was surprising. When we did our full mayo ranking, we liked Kraft Light Mayo better than all the other light mayo brands we tasted. But when I sat down for this taste test and tried it again alongside Best Foods, Duke’s, and other brands, I was underwhelmed. Hey, things change! That’s why we taste, retaste, and periodically update our rankings. Anyway, let’s talk about the best light mayonnaise (and don’t worry, we’ll update our mayonnaise ranking with this fresh info if we haven’t already by the time you’re reading this).

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Best Best Foods Dupe

Great Value Light Mayo (35 cal, 3.5g fat)

Walmart

Hot tip: Great Value Light Mayo tastes almost exactly like Best Foods Light Mayo. It has the same rich, custardy consistency, and a very similar flavor—I took several bites of each back to back and could hardly tell the difference. It might be just a touch sweeter, which makes it the best light mayonnaise to use as a base for a homemade coleslaw dressing. Or, if you’re a Walmart shopper, you can buy this instead of Best Foods (or Hellmann’s, depending on where you live) and save a few bucks. Plus, it’s lower in fat and calories than other light mayos on this list.

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best for Tuna Salad

Sprouts Light Mayonnaise (50 cal, 5g fat)

Sprouts

I looked long and hard at this light mayo’s label to see if there was garlic powder or celery seed in it. There isn’t, but I swear it somehow tastes like the base for a really good tuna salad right out of the jar. It’s rich. It’s quite tangy—almost as tangy as Duke’s (more on that in a sec) but a little less eggy. It’s really delicious stuff. I’m taking this light mayo home for tuna salad sandwiches.

Credit: Merc / Sprouts

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Neutral

Best Foods Light Mayonnaise (35 cal, 3.5g fat)

Target

“Well, that’s nice,” is what I wrote in my notes after I tasted a spoonful of Best Foods Light Mayonnaise. Best Foods tastes great and it’s the lowest fat of all the mayos we tried in our light mayo taste test—you gotta love that (you’re buying light mayo for a reason, right?). It’s very neutral. It’s savory and creamy, but there aren’t really any flavors emerging besides egg and oil. It’s a TOUCH sweet, but, trust me, we aren’t getting into Miracle Whip territory. Our number one best light mayo has a lot of ‘tude. If you want something that’s content to be a tasty, salty food lube without being the star of the show, this is the best light mayo to buy.

Credit: Merc / Target

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Duke’s Light Mayonnaise (50 cal, 5g fat)

Walmart

Duke’s Light Mayonnaise has a lot of flavor! I absolutely love how tangy it is. It really tastes like something you could eat on its own—like pudding if you didn’t care if your heart exploded. It’s very fatty tasting for a light mayo, but it actually tastes like egg yolks rather than just tasting like a soybean oil emulsion. I was afraid to look at the info because I figured it was fattier than the others, but nope: 50 cals and 5g fat, like a lot of other light mayos. This light mayo has serious tang. It’s bright and lemony and addictive. I really could eat this off a spoon all day—it’s absolutely begging to be used in deviled eggs or a deviled egg salad. It’s the best light mayo for people who don’t mind big flavors.

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other light mayonnaise brands we tried: Kroger Light Mayo, Kraft Light Mayo