How Many Syns in Mayonnaise?

Mayonnaise is one of those condiments where the syn gap between different varieties is enormous — and knowing which version to buy can make a real difference to how far your daily allowance stretches. Full-fat mayonnaise is among the highest-calorie condiments you'll find on a supermarket shelf, running at around 5 syns per single tablespoon. Swap to a fat-free version and that same tablespoon drops to zero syns entirely.

Hellmann's is the brand most people reach for and they offer a useful range that illustrates the gradient well. Hellmann's Real is the full-fat version at 5 syns per 15g tablespoon. Hellmann's Light halves that to around 2 syns. Hellmann's Lighter Than Light drops further to 1 syn. And fat-free mayonnaise — whether supermarket own-brand or specialist — brings you down to Free territory. That's a 5-syn swing from the same basic product.

For everyday use on sandwiches, wraps, and jacket potatoes, a fat-free mayo is the obvious choice. Brands like Sainsbury's and Tesco both do decent fat-free versions at a very reasonable price. The texture is thinner than full-fat mayo but perfectly fine when it's one component of a filling rather than the main event. Mixed with tuna, used as a dressing base, or stirred into a prawn cocktail, you genuinely can't tell the difference once everything is assembled.

Where it gets trickier is in coleslaw and creamy pasta salads, where the mayo is doing more structural and flavour work. For these, many SW members use fat-free fromage frais, fat-free quark, or a mix of fat-free mayo and fat-free yogurt to get a creamier consistency. These are all Free and a small amount of mustard or vinegar adds the tang that mayo normally provides.

Aioli and flavoured mayonnaises tend to be even higher in syns than plain full-fat mayo because of the added oil, so these are worth checking carefully. Vegan mayo sits at roughly the same syn value as regular full-fat mayo per tablespoon — it's not a lower-syn option just because it's plant-based.