I love making whole grain beer mustard to keep in the fridge as well as for gifting to people whether it’s the holidays or as a nice hostess gift. It’s incredibly easy to make and only requires a handful of ingredients. It can be used right away, but gets better after allowing the finished condiment sit for about a week. This recipe can also be easily tweaked depending on your flavor preferences. We made ours with beer because we like the flavor, but also provided a non-alcoholic alternative for you guys.
How to make Homemade Whole Grain Mustard
- Combine yellow and brown mustard seeds.
- Stir vinegar and beer (or water) into the mustard seeds.
- Cover the mixture and set in a cool, dry place for 12 hours or until all the liquid has been absorbed.
- Stir in brown sugar, honey and sea salt.
- Pour the mustard seed mixture into a food processor. Pulse 6 times, then run for about one minute.
- Pour mixture into a sterilized glass container and refrigerate.
FAQs
Whole grain mustard is a prepared condiment that is only partially blended, with some of the mustard seeds still visible, creating an overall coarse and slightly pasty texture.
Yellow mustard seeds are the most widely used mustard seeds. They are also the largest in size and mild in taste. They have European roots and are easily found in local grocery stores. Brown mustard seeds are smaller in size and more pungent (and spicy) in flavor. They’re derived from Indian cuisine and more commonly found in international grocery stores, but can also be found here.
Homemade mustard can be stored in an airtight jar or container, in the refrigerator for maximum freshness.
When properly stored, homemade mustard will keep for up to 1 year.
Not only does whole grain mustard make a great spread for sandwiches, but it’s a great condiment to serve with a charcuterie and cheese board. It’s also really lovely in a vinaigrette, combined with minced shallots, garlic, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Tips and Tricks
- The most important thing about homemade mustard is to allow it to sit for a day two before using it. This will allow for the bitter flavor to dissipate from the mustard.
- If you want a spicier mustard you can add some chiles or horseradish to the mixture before grinding it. If you want a more mild flavor, you can add more sugar and honey to cut through the heat of the seeds.
- Sometimes the mustard seeds will plump up and absorb the liquid faster and you won’t have to wait the full 12 hours. So it’s best to keep an eye on the mustard seeds. If they have absorbed everything sooner you can move onto the next step.
- Sometimes the mustard seeds won’t absorb the liquid within the 12 hours. Although unusual it may mean you got a bad batch of mustard seeds. Don’t worry! You can drain the excess liquid, and leave about 1/4 cup and move onto the next direction. You can also blend it for a bit longer in the food processor and it will help it come together better.
- If you are choosing to use beer with this recipe, we find that a beer with a nice flavor such as a Belgian Style Wheat Beer like Hogaarden or Hefeweizen or a pale ale that’s slightly lighter in flavor like Sierra Nevada works well for this recipe. Beers like bud light don’t have enough flavor, and IPAs tend to overwhelm the mustard. This isn’t to say you can’t use those options, but it’s just not our preference.
Things to use with Whole Grain Mustard?
It’s a great condiment to use in vinaigrettes and dressings, as a spread on charcuterie and cheese plates or sandwiches, and as a dip for sausages, just to name a few uses.
Our Homemade Whole Grain Mustard is also a really great dip for our Pretzel Dogs recipe! Enjoy!
Homemade Whole Grain Mustard recipe
INGREDIENTS
- ⅓ cup yellow mustard seeds
- ¼ cup brown mustard seeds
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup pale ale, Belgian style beer or water
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pour both types of mustard seeds into a small mixing bowl and whisk together until well blended.
- Stir vinegar and beer (or water) into the mustard seeds until just combined.
- Cover the mixture and set in a cool, dry place for 12 hours or until all the liquid has been absorbed.
- Stir the remaining ingredients into the mustard seed mixture and pour into a food processor.
- Pulse mixture 5 to 6 times before running the motor for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Pour mixture into a sterilized glass jar, seal and refrigerate. Allow mustard to sit for 1 to 2 days before trying it.
NOTES
- Makes 1 1/2 cups
- Homemade mustard can be stored in an airtight jar or container, in the refrigerator for maximum freshness.
- When properly stored, homemade mustard will keep for up to 1 year.
- The most important thing about homemade mustard is to allow it to sit for a day two before using it. This will allow for the bitter flavor to dissipate from the mustard.
- If you want a spicier mustard you can add some chiles or horseradish to the mixture before grinding it. If you want a more mild flavor, you can add more sugar and honey to cut through the heat of the seeds.
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
tag @SpoonForkBacon and #SpoonForkBacon on Instagram
My mustard turned out to be delicious! This is a big relief because previous attempts with different recipes turned out extremely bitter. The liquid wasn’t all absorbed even after 24 hours but after blending the consistency was fine. I think next time I blend only half and leave the other half whole to create something closer to the image on this recipe. And I left out the sugar, I found the mustard quite sweet enough without it.
Made this gluten free (special beer) and sugar free (used maple syrup instead of brown sugar) .. still resting but looks and smells great
hiya, I’ve followed the recipe and my seeds are now soaking. I used an IPA and worried it might be too bitter. can I add anything before blending to make it less bitter(sugar?) If so can you recommend how much I should add on top of what the recipe requires? many thanks, Grant
Hi! You can double up on the brown sugar if you’re worried about the bitter flavor (so an additional 2 tablespoons). Don’t worry if that sounds like a lot of sugar, it’ll balance the flavors of the IPA out nicely!
Great recipe. The only thing I will mention is that a larger food processor may not break down the seeds and leave it too wet. Switched it to my ninja blender and that mixed it properly!
Too watery and something isn’t right here. I had to pour off liquid and add seeds. I won’t make this one again.
Hi Bonnie – if you’re saying it was too watery it seems you may not have let the mustard seeds soak long enough, as they should absorb most of the liquid. Our recipe results in a pretty thick mustard.
Hi! Is this recipe safe for water bath canning?
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but if you blend it in a food processor, doesn’t that mean it’s no longer ‘whole grain’ mustard? Don’t the mustard seeds get blended into smoothness?
after blending my seeds, I find it still a bit watery. if i added a few more mustard seeds, would that soak up the liquid?
Why does my honey sink to the bottom when placed in jars?
Just getting ready to make your recipe…could I use malt vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar and no honey (vegan) so 3 tbsp of brown sugar? If I’m canning should I boil the mixture prior to water bath?
Hi Shirley, you can definitely use all brown sugar. You can also use malt vinegar, although it will definitely alter the overall flavor of the mustard. There’s no need to boil the mustard before canning!
Mine tastes quite bitter.. i used an Indian pale ale as that is all i had, could that be why?
Hi! Yes, using an IPA will tend to make the mustard bitter. The flavor tends to overwhelm the mustard. We usually prefer sticking to something like a pale ale or lager with a more mild but nice flavor.
There’s something wrong with the metric conversions. The brown mustard seed only shows as 6g while the yellow is 56.67 g (although I’d probably only measure to the nearest gram)..
Thanks Graham. I am looking into this!
amazing your recipe is exactly the same as Jamie Oliver’s he published 10 years ago..what a coincidence!
Oh that’s so interesting! We also originally published this recipe 10 years ago. I guess you’re implying that he copied us. (Although they’re not the same recipe, similar..as things like mustard have basic formulas) Have a great rest of your day, Jack!!