Last Updated on May 6, 2025 by Sabrina Currie
Love a good sauce for burgers or hot dogs? You've gotta try the best easy spicy kimchi aioli (mayo) with garlic! This is addicting and so dang delicious on tacos, burgers, dogs, anything barbecued or as a dip for veggies and chips. With just 5 ingredients and 5 minutes, you'll be slathering this on everything!
Why I Love This Recipe
Spicy kimchi aioli is my favorite way to dress up basic hot dogs or hamburgers. It's also AMAZING on Korean skirt steak tacos, fish tacos, and Japanese fish katsu. It's fast to make, adds tangy, spicy flavor and makes a great dipping sauce, too.
(Love fermented foods? Try my easy pickled radishes or fermented red cabbage!)
With pickle pipes, airlock lids and a pickle packer, this works with any wide mouth mason jars. Easily make ferments, pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi and more.
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Recipe Ingredients
With the exception of kimchi, these are all pantry/fridge staples at my house making this super fast and easy to whip up.
- Kimchi - This probiotic condiment or side dish is made of cabbage and sometimes other vegetables like carrots with chili flake or gochujang paste that have been fermented. It is a traditional Korean pickle recipe that is savory and spicy. The cabbage has a nice tender crisp texture, especially if you find fresh kimchi in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. Canned kimchi tends to be less crisp, so if possible, buy the fresh kind with active probiotics. Use the kimchi brine to season your kimchi aioli recipe to taste.
- Mayonnaise - I love Japanese mayonnaise, aka kewpie mayonnaise for it's extra rich mouth feel but you can use regular mayo too.
- Sesame Oil - Just a little toasted sesame oil goes a long way to adding big depth of flavor and a hint of nuttiness.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions + Variations
- Homemade Mayo - I've used prepared mayonnaise for this spicy aioli but you can make your own if you prefer. You'll need egg yolks and a neutral vegetable oil like avocado oil or sunflower oil. Follow my aioli recipe here, omitting the flavorings and using all vegetable oil and no olive oil.
- Lightened Up - The nutritional information is calculated using regular mayo. If you use light mayo, it will cut the calories in half to about 53 calories per 2 tablespoon serving.
- Funky - Love the umami from fish sauce? It goes great in spicy kimchi aioli, in fact traditional kimchi includes Korean fish sauce. Add 1-2 teaspoons and stir it in well for more big flavor.
- Extra Crisp - Toast 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds over medium heat in a dry sauté pan until they are a lightly browned. Let them cool. Meanwhile, thinly slice green onions. Stir both into the kimchi mayo at the end.
- Gochujang Aioli - For another Korean flavored spread, swap the kimchi for 1 tablespoon of gochujang paste. (You can add as much as 2 tablespoons depending how spicy you want it.) Gochujang is sweeter and less vinegary than kimchi but has plenty of spicy heat.
- Smooth - I like the texture of rough chopped kimchi in this aioli recipe but if you want it very smooth, whiz it up in your food processor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Be sure to save the kimchi juice to season the finished aioli to taste.
Step 1. Add mayonnaise and garlic to a small bowl. Measure out the kimchi, lightly squeezing out the brine. (Reserve the brine to season the aioli to taste at the end.)
Step 2. Chop the kimchi to the size you like it. I like mine somewhat coarse.
Step 3. Add the chopped kimchi to the bowl along with the sugar and sesame oil.
Step 4. Stir until combined and season with extra kimchi brine, sugar or salt to taste. Serve it right away or store it for up to 1 week, covered in the fridge.
Serve up spicy kimchi aioli with anything you like spicy mayo with. Grilled and sliced flank steak, tacos, burgers, dogs, fries, fish and chips...got another idea? Share your favorite way to use kimchi aioli below in the comments!
Recipe FAQs
Kimchi is spicy fermented cabbage. It is the Korean version of sauerkraut and it is easy to make at home (but takes approximately 10 days to ferment) or purchase in the refrigerator section of your grocery store.
Kewpie mayonnaise is made with more egg yolks giving it a richer, creamier mouthfeel than regular mayonnaise. It tastes slightly more tangy as well so it's just a matter of personal preference. When using mayonnaise in Asian recipes, I prefer kewpie mayonnaise. Find it in the Asian section of your grocery store.
Yes...and no. Aioli is a type of mayonnaise but mayonnaise isn't aioli. Aioli is a French version of mayonnaise that includes garlic. For this recipe, there is garlic but also kimchi and sesame oil so it can be called an aioli or a mayonnaise, it's up to you.
Pin It For Later
More Of The Best Sauces And Pickles
- Easy Lemon Dill Aioli With Garlic + How To Make It
- Spicy Jalapeno Pickled Eggs
- Easy Homemade Bacon Aioli Sauce (Bacon Mayonnaise)
- Red Cabbage Sauerkraut/Fermented Red Cabbage
If you have any questions or comments, you can find me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. I try to answer any recipe related questions quickly as I know you might be in the middle of making it.
Also check out my FREE PRINTABLE meal planner to make menu planning and grocery shopping a breeze and my shopping guide. And if you like this recipe, I would love it if you give it a star rating in the recipe card.
Cheers and happy cooking, Friends! Sabrina
📖 Recipe
Best Easy Spicy Kimchi Aioli (Mayo) With Garlic
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise
- ⅔ cup kimchi drained, kimchi brine reserved
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Coarsely chop or dice the kimchi and stir it into the mayonnaise. Add the garlic, sugar and sesame oil and whisk it together.
- Season to taste with kimchi brine, sugar or a sprinkle of salt to taste.
Paula says
This spicy kimchi aioli is one of those sauces that once you make it, you find reasons to serve it over EVERYTHING!!! It so so delicious!
Sabrina Currie says
Wow Paula, thanks for that! And I agree 🙂
Lora says
Absolutely loved this spicy mayo and now will be adding it to so many dishes!!
Sabrina Currie says
Awesome Lora! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. Cheers!
Andrea says
I made this kimchi aioli for our outdoor cookout, and my husband loved it so much he asked if we could always keep some in the fridge.
Sabrina Currie says
That's so awesome, it makes my day to hear that. Cheers, Andrea!
Sonja says
I had never used Kimchi with mayo and found it to be a revelation. It soothes the heat (which usually isn't for me) and brings out all the flavors of the kimchi in the best way. Lovbe it!
swathiiyer says
Spicy Kimchi aioli mayo with garlic is delicious, perfect mayo I am going to keep it in my kitchen.