Creamy Chipotle Sauce

This easy chipotle sauce is one of my favorite condiments! It's a delicious dipping sauce or topping for tacos, veggie burgers, and bowls.

chipotle sauce

This chipotle sauce will punch up any meal! It’s smoky, creamy, tangy, and easy to make with simple ingredients. I started making the recipe to put on the cauliflower tacos in my first cookbook, and now I love it on everything from burrito bowls to breakfast tacos to hearty salads. If you try it, I think you’ll fall for it too!

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. This creamy chipotle sauce is one of the best—it adds SO much flavor to whatever you’re eating. Keep reading to learn how to make it (and yes, there’s a vegan version!).

Chipotle mayo recipe ingredients

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, black bean soup, or tofu sofritas!

In this recipe, I balance the heat of the chipotles with sweetness from honey, richness from Greek yogurt and mayonnaise, and brightness from lime to make an addictive sauce. Garlic adds savory bite, and a little olive oil loosens the sauce.

It’s easy to make—just pulse the ingredients in a food processor until smooth and creamy!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

 Variations

  • Make it vegan. Use vegan mayo in place of the yogurt and regular mayonnaise. Replace the honey with maple syrup.
  • No yogurt? No problem. Replace it with sour cream. You could also sub in additional mayo to make a chipotle aioli.

Dipping sweet potato fries in chipotle sauce

How to Use Chipotle Sauce

Ok, you’ve made your chipotle sauce. Now what do you do with it?

You have so many tasty options! Here are a few ideas to get you started:

How do you like to use homemade chipotle sauce? Let me know in the comments!

Leftover chipotle sauce keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Chipotle sauce recipe

More Homemade Sauces

If you loved this chipotle sauce recipe, try making these easy sauces next:

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Creamy Chipotle Sauce

rate this recipe:
5 from 34 votes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
This easy chipotle sauce is a great condiment to keep on hand! Use it to spice up dishes like tacos, sandwiches, and burrito bowls. It's a delicious dipping sauce too.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a food processor, place the yogurt, mayo, chipotle pepper, garlic, lime juice, olive oil, and honey. Add a generous pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper and blend until smooth. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.

Notes

*Vegan option: use ¾ cup vegan mayo instead of the yogurt and regular mayo. This recipe was tested with Sir Kensington's Fabanaise. Use maple syrup in place of the honey.

 

 

70 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Joanna
    02.22.2024

    Can I use that chipotle sauce to bake chicken breast in it ?

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      02.23.2024

      Hi Joanna, we haven’t tried this, but I think it would work.

  2. Bill
    01.24.2024

    Once upon a time, I would have agreed wholeheartedly with you about the Sir Kensington’s mayo. Now that they have been bought by Unilever and the recipe has been so drastically changed (no more mustard or pepper), it tastes closer to Hellman’s. I would recommend Trader Joe’s mayo as it is similarly-flavored to what Sir Kensington’s used to be. Regardless, this sauce sounds AWESOME! and I can’t wait to try it … maybe even on a burger instead of steak sauce!

  3. Love the sauce. I love chipotle and good Spanish smoked paprika.

  4. Lani
    08.07.2023

    Made this recipe for some chicken tacos. It’s delicious! Thank you for sharing it, it’s a keeper!

  5. Bob Pitts
    05.15.2023

    5 stars
    Fixed a double batch of this tonight. It is amazing!
    My plan was to use it on fish tacos tomorrow. Tried it on broiled chicken tonight and it was great. I could literally eat it by the spoonful. Thank you so much.
    We are low sodium so I cut the sodium down quite a bit. Only 50 calories and 50 mg of sodium per tablespoon. The sodium is less than a third in the national product we would normally buy.

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      05.19.2023

      Hi Bob, I’m so glad you loved the sauce!

  6. Rachel Ross
    01.16.2023

    5 stars
    Made it for taco bar night, it was the star of the show!! It made everything taste better! I added a bit more of chipotle peppers since spice is appreciated in my household! This is gonna be a regular from now on!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.16.2023

      I’m so glad you loved it!

  7. melanie
    11.11.2022

    5 stars
    My whole family absolutely LOVES this healthy sauce. It makes everything tastier. I’ve been making it every few weeks now when it runs out. We keep it in a jar in the fridge and it lasts for about a month (I double the recipe). When I make something the kids don’t really want to eat (beef and liver patties) they eat it if it’s got this sauce on it.

    • Phoebe Moore
      11.11.2022

      I’m so glad you all love the recipe!

  8. Caryn Wooster
    10.24.2022

    Can I sub chipotle powder for the canned, and how much should I use?

    • Phoebe Moore
      10.28.2022

      I’d start with 1 teaspoon chipotle powder and add more to taste. You may need to add a bit more lime juice or maple syrup to balance the sauce. Hope you enjoy it!

  9. Rebecca
    10.18.2022

    5 stars
    This chipotle sauce is perfect! I’ve made it every week for the last month for taco Tuesdays and it’s such a hit. Don’t debate trying it, you’ll love it!
    I’ve frozen remaining chipotle peppers (separately, in an ice cube tray) after opening the can and defrosted what I need on the day I make the sauce and it is still wonderful.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      10.21.2022

      Hi Rebecca, I’m so glad you loved it!

  10. Traci
    09.30.2022

    Can I just use greak.yogurt and no mayo

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      10.02.2022

      Yep, I would add a little more salt, to taste.

  11. Carol
    07.03.2022

    5 stars
    I just made this sauce, and I think it’s the flavor I’ve been searching for my entire life. I spilled some on the counter, while I poured it into a jar, and I wanted to lick it off the counter. But I used a spoon. I also dripped some on the floor (art is messy!), and I looked longingly at it. Enough said.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.04.2022

      Ha ha, I’m glad you enjoyed it!

  12. Leslie from itsfoodtastic.com
    06.13.2022

    Nice recipe! I tried it twice and the sauce was delicious!!!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      06.18.2022

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

  13. Maureen
    04.13.2022

    5 stars
    How long will this last in the fridge?
    Can you freeze leftovers? Thanks!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.15.2022

      Hi Maureen, I keep it for about 5 days. I haven’t tried freezing it so I’m not sure.

  14. Yvonne
    03.26.2022

    5 stars
    Delicious! I love pouring this sauce over fries (sweet potato or regular) with melted cheese, bacon and green onions. So so so good! Thank you!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      03.27.2022

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

  15. Stacey
    01.03.2022

    This is the only recipe for this that I use now. It’s my family’s favorite. Have subbed lemon for lime when I didn’t have a lime and it was fine. Also subbed sour cream when I ran out of mayo.
    But when I can, I make it exactly as is and it’s delicious!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.04.2022

      I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the sauce so much!

  16. Terri Hale
    10.26.2021

    How long would this last in the frig?

  17. Bree Kondrat
    10.19.2021

    5 stars
    This is by far the easiest and tastiest dressing/sauce I’ve ever made! Added a bit more olive oil to think it out for taco salads!! I’ll be putting this on everything!

    • Tahera
      10.03.2022

      Hi. Do I use the whole can of peppers in 1 recipe

      • Jeanine Donofrio
        10.08.2022

        Hi Tahera, no, you pull 1 pepper out of the can. The full recipe is at the bottom of the post in the recipe card. I hope you enjoy!

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.