Cocktail sauce with the Thermomix® needs no ready-made mayo. We emulsify the oil directly in the mixing bowl: 1 egg, 1/2 tsp salt, 10 g lemon juice and 1 pinch of white pepper for 10 seconds at speed 3, then slowly pour in 250 g sunflower oil at speed 4 through the measuring cup, and finally stir in 120 g ketchup and 1/4 tsp sweet paprika. Twelve minutes, one bowl, four servings. Completely alcohol-free.
We have been making this sauce for years whenever we serve prawn cocktail. The difference from most recipes: we do not stir ready-made mayonnaise together with ketchup, but build the emulsion ourselves from an egg. The result tastes fresher, we control the oil and acidity ourselves, and there is no half-open jar of mayo left in the fridge. Anyone who needs the plain base will find it in our Mayonnaise with the Thermomix®.
Cocktail Sauce with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 7 ✓
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 10 g lemon juice or white wine vinegar
- 1 pinch white pepper
- 250 g sunflower oil
- 120 g ketchup
- 1/4 tsp sweet paprika
Instructions 0 / 3
-
1
Combine the ingredients.
Add egg, salt, lemon juice or vinegar and the pepper to the mixing bowl and combine for 10 seconds / speed 3.
-
2
Emulsify.
Set the Thermomix® to speed 4, then slowly drizzle the oil into the mixing bowl through the measuring cup opening in the mixing bowl lid.
-
3
Mix in the remaining ingredients.
Once all the oil has been added, add the ketchup and the paprika and run the mixing bowl for another 5 seconds. If needed, scrape everything down with the spatula and mix again for 5 seconds / speed 4.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why speed 4 when adding the oil makes or breaks the sauce
The critical step is speed 4 when pouring in the oil. If you add the 250 g of sunflower oil too quickly, the emulsion breaks: the sauce separates and turns oily instead of creamy. So the rule is: fit the measuring cup, let the oil trickle through the small opening, do not pour it straight into the mixing bowl. The Thermomix® keeps the speed constant while you control only the quantity. That is exactly what makes it stronger than a hand whisk when emulsifying: steady rotation plus a thin stream of oil through the lid, without needing to coordinate both hands at once.
After the last drop of oil, add 120 g ketchup and 1/4 tsp sweet paprika, running the machine for 5 seconds at speed 4 each time. We deliberately use sweet paprika rather than hot, because the paprika here is meant to add depth, not heat. Prawns and shrimp are delicate ingredients and hot paprika would overpower them. Anyone who still wants more heat can stir in a pinch of cayenne at the end.
What can go wrong when emulsifying in the mixing bowl
The oil runs in too fast and the sauce stays runny
The most common mistake. When speed takes over from patience, the oil does not break into tiny droplets but floats on top instead. The sauce looks thin and shiny rather than creamy.
Our solution: The full 250 g of oil takes us around 2 minutes to add. Slow is always better than fast. The measuring cup with its small opening acts as a natural throttle, which is exactly why it needs to be in place rather than left off.
The emulsion has broken anyway
Sometimes the sauce splits regardless, for example if the egg came straight from the fridge. There is no need to throw it away.
Our solution: Empty and wipe out the mixing bowl, beat 1 fresh egg (or just the yolk) for 10 seconds at speed 3, then slowly pour the broken sauce back in at speed 4 just as you did with the oil before. The emulsion rebuilds itself. That is the advantage over a hand bowl: the mixing bowl reliably pulls the separated mixture back together.
The egg was too cold
Cold ingredients combine less readily into a stable emulsion. This applies to the egg just as much as to the oil.
Our solution: Take the egg and oil out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you start. Room-temperature ingredients emulsify much more reliably.
Three variations we make regularly
With fresh garlic: Chop 1 small garlic clove for 5 seconds at speed 8 before adding the egg, then continue as normal. This gives the sauce an aioli note and goes well with grilled meat.
Fruity variation: Replace 1 tbsp of the ketchup with 1 tbsp of mango chutney or a little pineapple juice. This is the sweet, fruity direction that many people know from the classic party cocktail.
With mustard for extra stability: Add 1/2 tsp of medium mustard with the egg. Mustard acts as an additional emulsifier, making the sauce firmer and adding a gentle savouriness. Vorwerk recipes use the same trick (see below).
What else we serve this cocktail sauce with
The classic use is spooned over cooked prawns or shrimp. But it works equally well as a dip for fried prawns, as a creamy base for an egg cocktail, or as a dip with raw vegetables. For a quick prawn cocktail we mix the finished sauce with North Sea shrimps and a little leafy salad and serve everything in a glass. More ideas for a festive table can be found in our Thermomix® recipes for New Year’s Eve.
Just as quick and also made in a single bowl is our Burger Sauce with the Thermomix®. Anyone looking for a creamy emulsion in a different direction will find our Garlic Sauce with the Thermomix®, and for warm occasions our Sauce Hollandaise with the Thermomix®. The full overview is in our collection Sauces with the Thermomix®, sorted by cold egg emulsions, dressings, pestos, spreads and warm sauces.
How long the homemade sauce keeps in the fridge
Stored in a sealed jar, the cocktail sauce keeps for 5 days in the fridge. No longer, because it contains raw egg. Always use a fresh egg and put the jar in the fridge straight after making it. Give it a quick smell before each use. We do not recommend freezing: the emulsion separates during thawing and does not become properly creamy again when stirred. How other Thermomix® sauces keep is covered in our guide Shelf Life of Thermomix® Recipes.
Vorwerk original vs. our version
The Cookidoo recipe “Cocktail Sauce for Prawns and More” uses 250 g oil, 2 egg yolks, 10 g mustard, lemon juice, 10 g sugar, 50 g tomato puree and 20 g cognac for 8 servings. Zaubertopf and many food blogs use 100 to 200 g of ready-made mayo from a jar and simply stir briefly at speed 3. We start one step earlier: we emulsify the mayo ourselves from a whole egg, use ketchup instead of tomato puree plus sugar (that saves one ingredient, because ketchup already adds sweetness) and leave out the cognac. This keeps the sauce alcohol-free and child-friendly, which matches our search term “cocktail sauce without alcohol”. Instead of hot paprika we stick with sweet paprika, because prawns and shrimp do not need the heat.
