Pantry storage
Does mayonnaise need to be refrigerated?
Not while the jar is sealed: it keeps 3 to 6 months in the pantry. After opening, refrigerate it if the label says to. USDA FSIS's cold storage chart gives that jar 2 months in the fridge. USDA FoodKeeper adds that shelf-stable commercial mayonnaise is safe at room temperature after opening and that the label's advice is about quality, but it gives no time for an open jar kept out of the fridge.
These times are a guide, not a safety guarantee, and a label that says to refrigerate comes first.
How we checked this: the storage times here come from the sources named on the page, and each one is checked against its source before the page goes live. Editorial policy
Homemade aioli, a garlic mayonnaise, does not keep like a store-bought jar: FoodKeeper gives it only 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
Unopened and opened
Unopened and opened packages keep for different times. These are the times the source gives.
- Unopened
- 3 to 6 months in the pantry
- After opening
- About 2 months refrigerated
- Where to keep it once open
- In the fridge, if the label says to refrigerate after opening. FoodKeeper also counts a shelf-stable commercial bottle or jar as safe at room temperature once open, but it gives no time limit there; the after-opening time above is for the fridge.
Sources and limits
The after-opening time runs from the day you opened it, not from the date printed on the package, so write that day down. Well Stockd doesn’t know when your package was made, bought or opened: follow the package directions, keep it somewhere cool and dark, and check the official listing when food safety is in question.
The storage times above are quoted from the sources below. They’re a guide, not a safety guarantee: quality varies with packaging, temperature and how the package is handled between uses. Nothing here overrides a label that says to refrigerate. This page was last updated .
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