This easy chipotle sauce is one of my favorite condiments to keep on hand! It's great for dipping and for spicing up your favorite tacos & bowls.
I say this all the time, but I truly believe that the key to a great veggie meal (or any meal, really) is a great sauce! With a great sauce on hand, you can use whatever veggies/grains/proteins you have to easily make salads, bowls, tacos, or sandwiches any night of the week. This smoky, creamy chipotle sauce is one of my absolute favorites to punch up any meal. It started as a sauce to the cauliflower tacos in my first cookbook and now I love it on everything from burrito bowls to breakfast tacos. It’s also great as a sweet potato fries dipping sauce, as it’s pictured here today. Keep reading for how to make it (and yes, there’s a vegan version!).
How to Make the Best Chipotle Sauce
What’s the secret to making a great chipotle mayo? Canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. They have an amazing smoky, spicy flavor that makes them one of my go-to ingredients in savory recipes. If you’ve never used chipotles in adobo, don’t worry – they’re not hard to find. Most grocery stores carry them in the Mexican aisle. After you make this recipe, use your leftover chipotles in BBQ jackfruit sliders or creamy vegan nacho cheese!
In this recipe, I balance the heat of the chipotles with sweetness from honey, richness from Greek yogurt & mayonnaise, and brightness from lime to make an addictive sauce that’s a bit lighter than a traditional chipotle aioli. And no need to worry if you’re vegan – maple syrup and vegan mayo work perfectly in place of the honey, yogurt, and traditional mayonnaise.
How to Use Chipotle Sauce
Ok, you’ve made your chipotle sauce. Now what do you do with it? I love to use it as a sweet potato fries dipping sauce, and it’s great to have on hand for quick no-recipe meals. Drizzle it over a burrito bowl or roasted veggies, or dollop it onto tacos like the cauliflower tacos in our first book! You could also slather it onto a sandwich or use it to top your favorite veggie burger.
In addition, it would be delicious in any of these recipes:
- Spicy Mango, Black Bean & Avocado Tacos (sub in chipotle mayo for the sriracha mayo)
- Crispy Butternut Squash & Poblano Tacos (use this sauce instead of the poblano sauce)
- The Best Darn Vegan Veggie Burger
- Vegan Black Bean Quinoa Burger
- Taco Bowl with Cucumber Jalapeño Ranch
- Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowl
If you loved this chipotle sauce, try these favorite sauces next!
For more dips and appetizer ideas, check out this post!
Creamy Chipotle Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup whole milk Greek yogurt, (*see vegan note)
- ¼ cup mayonnaise, (Sir Kensington’s is best here)
- 1 chipotle pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a food processor, place the yogurt, mayo, chipotle pepper, garlic, lime juice, olive oil, honey, and generous pinches of salt and freshly ground black pepper and blend until smooth. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if desired.
Notes
Mayo for some reason makes me sick. Think I could just use all greek yogurt instead?
And could I used my dried and ground chipolte peppers instead?
Hi Allie, yes, you can use all Greek yogurt. The dried chipotle will have a totally different taste, it’s less flavorful but sometimes more spicy. You can absolutely use it, but you’ll just have to adjust the amount to taste. I’d start with maybe 1 teaspoon and go from there.
Confused by the recipe ingredient “1 chipotle pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce” – how much is that? How much weight is equal to one pepper? There are three different sizes of cans available in my grocery store and this recipe is extremely unclear about how much I should buy and then use.
Hi Scott, it doesn’t matter the size of the can – you’ll use just 1 pepper inside the can (they are spicy). So you could get the smallest size can available unless you want extras for another use.
This is the best recipe! I use it for turkey taco burrito bowls and salads. Makes a great dip for fresh veggies, too. Thank you!
What can be used in place of the Greek yogurt? It is a little too tangy for me.
Hi Jennifer, plain yogurt (it’ll be a thinner sauce), or sour cream could work.
This is really, really. Good . So excited to take it to our taco feed tonight!
Vaccinated senior friends getting together for the first time in a YEAR
Hello. I made it and I came out awesome, Thank you. It came out a bit thick than expected what can I add to thin it out? Thank you again!
I’m glad you loved it! Stir in a little water or oil to thin it.
I just made this to drizzle on top of taco salads and OH. MY. WORD. It is AMAZING. Not too spicy and so flavorful and easy. This recipe has been bookmarked and will be making a regular appearance.
This was really yummy. However, I used it as a salad dressing instead of a dip. So I wanted to adjust the serving size(myfitnesspal). Is the serving roughly 1/4 cup?
I’m glad you loved it! Just about, maybe a tad less… it also depends what you’re eating it with and how much you like to use.
My friends and I were dancing with joy after tasting this amazing sauce! I intent ti out this on everything !
Ha ha, I’m glad you all loved it!
THIS. IS. SO. GOOD. I can use it on everything. PS try it on chicken & waffles with maple syrup. You’ll thank me later.
Made this last night to have with pork tacos and it was great. The heat was not overwhelming but added great flavor!
I’m so glad you loved it!
If I could give this recipe more than 5 stars I would. I love it and I make it every week. It’s wonderfully flavorful and is my new go-to sauce no matter what I’m serving.
Hi Blythe, apologies for my slow reply – I’m so glad you loved the sauce!!
This was excellent – used it as a sauce to drizzles on tacos, and it had a really great, balanced flavor. Will definitely make this again!
Hi Tori, I’m so glad you loved it!
Hello! I am just about to make this to go on some quinoa bowls I’ve been making for my lunches, but I had a question: if I upped the recipe so that I used the whole can of peppers, do you think the rest would freeze well any/or be ok in the fridge for a week or two?
Hi Jill, it’ll last about 1 week in the fridge! I’m not sure how the texture would be if it frozen and thawed.
Ok, thanks!
Jill, by now you’ve probably come up with a solution , but in case you haven’t, when I open the can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, I measure out what I need and then freeze the remaining peppers & sauce in either tiny containers or on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet. When frozen, remove and place in freezer bag
This looks creamy and amazing! Have you every used this sauce as a binder for anything? I’m just picturing it holding together “crab cakes” or veggie burgers…and tasting DELICIOUS!
Hi Ashley, oh, I think it would be delicious mixed in with veggie burgers!
This was very easy for me to follow and understand, nice work!
The sauce looks delicious. I haven’t made it before, but it does look like something I’d like to try.
Love anything with chipotle!
gorgeous photos (and sauce) friend! xoxo
thanks Dana!
YUM!! This sauce sounds wonderful! I already know where I would use it – on the magic sausage supper (sausages with veggies & sweet potatoes or butternut squash, baked). I’m making that dish tonight, but have already planned to use a different sauce. I am not a fan of chipotles in adobo, so I will sub a scant half teaspoon of chipotle powder. Definitely want to make this.
Hi Susan, I hope you enjoy it!
This looks delicious and so easy to make. How long does it keep in the fridge?
Hi Amber, up to a week!