This creamy chipotle sauce recipe is quick and easy to make and focuses more on the chipotle and less on the other ingredients for real chipotle flavor, so good! Chipotle all the way, super creamy!
Homemade Chipotle Sauce Recipe
This is MY kind of chipotle sauce, my friends. It is nice and creamy yet still holds onto all that wonderful smoky-tangy chipotle flavor we all crave. That’s how we want it, right?
What is Chipotle Sauce?
Chipotle sauce is a popular creamy sauce made with spicy, smoky chipotle peppers mixed with mayonnaise and sour cream or crema. You'll find it served in numerous fast food restaurants, like Taco Bell or Subway.
It's a versatile sauce or condiment, the perfect way to add flavor and zing to sandwiches, French fries, grilled foods, and so much more.
There are different ways to make it, but they are all quite similar.
I’ve had other chipotle sauces and found many of them lacking. The recipes call for far too much cream or mayonnaise or other ingredients to achieve their desired flavor, but in the end, all you’re really left with is a mixture of mayo and sour cream or Greek yogurt that is colored with a dash of chipotle sauce or chipotle powder added in
NAH! That’s just not enough chipotle sauce for me. We need creamy chipotle sauce with real flavor.
With my chipotle sauce recipe, we’re focusing on the chipotle, and it’s super easy to make. You KNOW how much I love EASY.
Let's talk about how to make chipotle sauce, the right way.
Homemade Chipotle Sauce Ingredients
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce. Use the canned product you normally find in the grocery store. You can also use the product labeled "adobo sauce". If offers the smoky-spicy flavor, made with smoked and dried jalapeno peppers. The dried chipotles are drenched in delicious adobo sauce.
- Mexican Crema. You can use sour cream or Greek yogurt, but I prefer the flavor of Mexican crema.
- Mayonnaise. Use your favorite brand.
- Fresh Cilantro.
- Spices. Cayenne powder, garlic powder, cumin, and salt.
How to Make Chipotle Sauce - the Recipe Method
First, gather up your ingredients, which include a can of chipotles in adobe (but of course!), along with ½ cup Mexican crema (or sour cream), ¼ cup mayo, chopped cilantro, cayenne powder for flavor and heat, garlic powder, cumin, and a bit of salt and pepper.
If you'd like a citrus pop, squeeze in a bit of fresh lime juice.
Next, add it all to a food processor and puree until smooth.
BOOM! Done!
That’s it. Easy, right? I love the chipotle pepper flavor. So smooth and creamy, and delicious!
PLUS! You’ll be using the WHOLE can of chipotles in adobo sauce for this. No need to dirty up tiny little storage containers in the refrigerator trying to save the rest. Use ALL of it.
Much better.
Recipe Tips
- Sour cream is great, though I prefer the flavor of Mexican crema. You can usually find it near the sour cream in the grocery store. Also, consider making it with a bit of yogurt as well.
- Real mayonnaise will give you much more flavor. You can make it with non-fat versions, but real mayo it superior.
- Want even MORE chipotle flavor? Add in another can of chipotle peppers in adobo. You can't go wrong.
- Use only half of the chipotles in adobo sauce for a milder version.
- Toss in some fresh cilantro for a herbal flavor.
Storage Information
You can store homemade chipotle sauce in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 1 week.
What Goes Best with Chipotle Sauce?
I LOVE to have this on hand for grilled chicken or pork. It’s a great finisher. Toss some fried or grilled chicken wings or legs with this chipotle sauce and go straight to flavor heaven. Fried or grilled shrimp, too.
It's also great served as a chipotle dip with chips. Just pour it into a small bowl. It's one of the best dipping sauces ever.
Or use it as you would any other condiment and drizzle it over sandwiches, wraps or salads. I love it on fish tacos or drizzled over a burrito bowl. Consider it for fajitas or fried fish.
DELISH!
Try it out with this Quick and Easy Chipotle Chicken Recipe, Grilled Chicken Wings or Grilled Shrimp.
You pretty much have to make it homemade. I don't often see chipotle sauce in grocery stores. I'd rather make it at home anyway. More chipotle flavor for me!
Give it a go, my friends. Let me know how you like it, and how you best like to serve it. Curious to hear! Enjoy. – Mike H.
Try Some of My Other Popular Sauce Recipes
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations.
Chipotle Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 ounce can chipotles in adobo sauce or use chipotle sauce
- ½ cup Mexican crema sour cream is good, too
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a food processor. Process until smooth!
- Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 3/24/23 to include new information, photos and video. It was originally published on 4/4/18.
Chris says
Fantastic! Better than butter on corn, and is a delicious dipping sauce for fries too
6/5 stars, will make again. And again, and again
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome!! Thanks, Chris!
Rhondi says
Wow, so glad I stumbled across this recipe. I love chipotle stuff so I always buy the cans of chipotle in adobo, but I never know how to use it, and when I do, there is so much left. How long does this recipe stay good in the fridge for? Thanks so much for posting.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Rhondi. This will last a week or longer in the refrigerator. It's really a condiment sauce, so should last longer, sealed.
Jérémie says
Hey Mike!
Great vid here and great recipe too!
Awesome sauce! instead of Cayenne powder I used fresh habanero.
With Brined Grilled Chicken thighs, this wonderful sauce went extremely well!! Love it, thanks, Man!
Mike Hultquist says
Nice, Jérémie! Glad you like it! I love the use of fresh habanero in this. Great pairing with the chicken!
Steven says
made this last night put it over red beans and rice it was fantastic!
Mike Hultquist says
Great way to enjoy it! Glad you liked it, Steven. Thanks!
Vanessa says
Best again best did I say best lol chipotle sauce. Made fish tacos and everyone enjoyed the sauce.
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome! I agree, the best! So good. Glad you enjoyed it, Vanessa!
Lorraine Sanchez says
I just made this easy chipotle recipe. I had a little extra Chipotle. Great for tacos!
Miska Knezevic says
YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kathy D says
Holy Cow! This is spicy (I only used half a can of peppers and didn't add the cayenne) and then tasted. Ended up doubling the sour cream and mayo to cut some of the heat, and worked great. Suggest adding peppers a little at a time and taste as you go so you can get the heat that works for you.
We all love spicy, so delicious making the changes I did.
Thanks so much.
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it, Kathy. Yes, best to adjust the spice levels to your preference.
Lhanni says
Chipotle shortage. This was much better. Delish!
Mike Hultquist says
Outstanding! Chili Pepper Madness to the rescue! Haha.
Carrie says
Thank you! I needed a chipotle sauce for our Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches we're having tonight. Delicious!
Mike Hultquist says
Great use for it, Carrie! I wish I had one!
Kim H says
Made this today and it is superb! Great flavor - I used some ranch dressing instead of mayo and it is still super creamy and delish. Can’t wait to try it with wings !
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it, Kim!
Brandi says
Made it today, so good! Wondering how long it will last in the fridge?
Mike Hultquist says
Brandi, this should last a week easily (or longer) in the refrigerator, sealed.
Suzanns Bussiere says
Just made the Chipotle sauce its amaisingly delicious
Merci
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it! Very happy to hear it. =)
Chris says
Yum! Added a lime for extra acidity, really delicious.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Perfect right there! I love it!
Marcia says
I was making a chipotle sauce all summer long to have on fried green tomatoes. I like your sauce better, and recently discovered my son in my chipotle sauce, how dare he? Lol, anyway yours makes a bigger batch, more to share. Thanks Mike
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Haha, glad you enjoy it, Marcia! We love it. =)
Elizabeth says
Love the sauce, we eat it with everything! My son-in-law’s love it too, so brownie points for me! Lol
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome! Thanks, Elizabeth! Glad you enjoyed it. =)
Christina M says
Fantastic! Ran out of Taco Bell Chipotle sauce ahead of quesadilla night and found this recipe. Definitely more bite than the TB sauce, so be forewarned. We loved it, though, and I put it together in less than 5 minutes start to finish.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Very nice! Yes, super easy. And tasty!
Mary says
I was making carne asada fries. I didn’t have anything chipotle in the house so I substituted for equal parts of smoked paprika and cayenne pepper. I also didn’t have cilantro so I added a tiny pinch of oregano. I don’t have a food processor so I just mixed it with a spoon and it was so good! Perfect heat for me but too spicy for rest of family so I added more mayonnaise to tame the flavor and it was still soooo good! Thank you for this recipe!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Mary! I love it! Sounds super tasty to me.
Calista says
Add ranch and use for a dip for a chicken quesadillas, yummy ! Chipotle ranch sauce ...yes please !
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Yes! This! Love it.
Henry says
This sauce is GREAT. A big hit when I’ve made it for parties. Sometimes I’ll add raspberry jam for a different twist. I love your website with all the different types of sauces.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! I love the raspberry twist!
Melanie says
Just curious, do you think this would work well in a tiny crockpot kept on warm to use as a topping option for a taco bar? Or would the heat change the consistency?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Melanie, it could work if the heat was very low. It has crema/sour cream in it, so might change consistency if warmed, though the mayo could keep it smooth. It's meant to be served unheated, but again, possible on very low heat. Let me know how it goes for you.
Zac says
I made it exactly how it said, but mine came out thick and a lot darker than the one shown. Any thoughts as to why?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Zac, it could be the starting product, or amount of heat used. You can thin this out with a bit of water.
Jacquie says
My husband and I love this recipe!!! We toned it down just a touch with a little more sour cream and Mayo but it was still spicy enough. Just wondering how long this could last in the fridge or freezer???
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks Jacquie! Glad you enjoyed it. This should last a few weeks easily (or longer) in the refrigerator, sealed. Not sure how well it would freeze, as the ingredients would probably separate.
Lori says
Found that 1 teaspoon of cayenne was wayy too much, added Agave Nectar to tame it down. Can't go wrong with Sweet & Spicy 🙂
Thank you.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Glad you were able to adjust, Lori. I DO like it quite spicy.
Paul Dallender says
Living in the UK I can only get the Chipotle in Adobo Sauce on line (at least where I live). Now I have the ingredients to make my own Adobo sauce (using your recipe) and I have the dried Chipotle chillies. How much of the sauce and how many dried Chipotles (rehydrated) do you recommend to make your Chipotle sauce? The cans have a content weight of 220g 25% of which according to the ingredients is Chipotle chilli, that's 55g (about 8 to 10 chillies) which seems a lot to me.
I know a lot of it is down to personal taste but I'm new to everything chilli and I don't want to make it and find after putting in eight chillies it is just too hot to enjoy.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Paul, you can easily just use 1-2 of the chipotles with some of the adobo sauce at first. Mix it in, give the chipotle sauce a taste, then adjust from there. You can save whatever you don't use. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Allie says
Do you think this would work as a salad dressing? It looks a lot like this one restaurant salad dressing I’m trying to replicate
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Allie, I do. I think this would be quite enjoyable as a salad dressing. You could thin it out a touch if you wanted. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Jake D says
Spicy and I don't really get along well anymore so I did myself a little favor; I halved each chipotle pepper and scraped out most of the seeds (saving as much adobo sauce as possible.) Skipped the cayenne too but put in some freshly cracked pepper. Still such great flavor. Blended it directly in the sour cream tub with my handheld blender.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Perfect, Jake! I love that you were able to adjust it to your own heat preferences. Glad you enjoyed it.
Kameelah says
Made the sauce not do you think it’s a good idea to sauté it with cut up chicken
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Kameelah, I would just toss it with the sauteed chicken to finish it. I think that would be great. Let me know how that turns out for you.
Todd Hewitt says
Very spicy. Actually too spicy and I LOVE spicy food. Hoping to figure out how to calm it down a bit. Very good sauce, though.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Todd. You can calm it down by incorporating more sour cream or crema. You can also incorporate tomato sauce to dilute it. It will change the flavor, but will still be delicious. I appreciate the comments!
Konstantin says
I made it with chipotle paste, came out super yum
but it says in yr recipe that I need chipotle sauce to make chipotle sauce?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Konstantin. Yeah, this recipe is for a creamy chipotle sauce, which does need the adobo sauce (or sauce from chipotles in adobo, which some people just call chipotle sauce). Glad you enjoyed it.
virginia Pierce says
5 stars My new favorite sauce! We made shrimp tacos and it was to die ...we had to cut it cause it was too spicy for us at first but we add mayo and perfect!for thanks Virginia
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Virginia! Glad you enjoyed it!!
Kerri says
I am making this today (Cinco de Mayo) to go with cauliflower tacos. Can't wait to try it!!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent! I hope you enjoy the sauce and the tacos!
Jodie says
I have chipotle sauce and powder, not sure how to sub for the 7 oz can? Could someone help me? Thanks
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Jodie, in what form is your chipotle sauce? What are you trying to sub for? If you are trying to use powder instead of sauce, just use about 3-4 tablespoons of the powder with a cup or so of water or stock instead of the sauce. This particular recipe is a creamy sauce. Sorry for my confusion.
Margie Fawcett says
Delicious. LOVED this. Made it to top nachos and can't wait to pour it on everything else! Thanks you.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! Perfect for nachos!
Haeun says
Loved, loved, loved the sauce!!! Smoky, spicy and tangy - would definitely make this again (and again) in the future!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent! Thanks, Haeun! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Constance Betz says
I wanted to make this as a dipping sauce for breaded clam strips.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! I think that would be quite tasty! Making me hungry, Constance.
Catherine says
Love the sauce! However, I’m living alone and I made way too much to consume within 7-10 days!! Can this recipe be frozen or something?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Catherine, this recipe doesn't freeze well because of the mayo. Instead, I would make a smaller batch by halving or quartering the ingredients, but then freeze the chipotles in adobo. I hope this helps.
Claude says
how long the chipotle sauce will last in the refrigerator?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Claude, it should last at least a week. I like to add a small layer of olive oil over the top to help preserve it. It could last a bit longer, but check it for mold, etc.
Meredith says
Yum! I love a good quick and easy to make homemade sauce and this chipotle sauce is just what I was looking for to go with some fish tacos this weekend. Thanks!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Perfect! Just the think for tacos for sure! Enjoy.
Courtney says
love this! I could eat it on EVERYTHING!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Me too!
Stephanie says
I can't wait to try your recipe. I'm a big fan of chili pepper sauces and this sounds perfect.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Stephanie! Such an easy and TASTY sauce. I love this one.
Lauren Vavala | Delicious Little Bites says
I love this sauce! Chipotle is such a great way to add some flavor and spice to so many different recipes!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
I know, right? Drizzle it over everything! Thanks, Lauren.
Cliona Keane says
This looks like the ultimate chipotle sauce! Perfectly balanced!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Cliona! Nice and tangy.