Best Chipotle Sauce Recipe

This creamy, smoky copycat Taco Bell Chipotle Sauce recipe is healthy, mayo-free, and vegan. You'll love this 5-minute homemade version. It has a delicious smoky taste and is an easy way to liven up your favorite dishes.

Baja sauce in a white bowl next to a Baja bowl with rice, black beans, corn, tomatoes, avocado, and lime.

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Turn a humble bowl of veggies into the most delicious side or main with this 5-minute creamy Chipotle Sauce, also known as Baja Sauce. This budget-friendly condiment lasts up to 5 days in the fridge and will elevate your tacos, fajitas, tofu steaks, veggie bowls, and beyond.

The Mexican adobo flavor with its fiery, and tangy essence, effortlessly enhances your favorite dishes with irresistible flavor.

This recipe was inspired by my 3 Healthy Salad Dressings, as well as this popular 5-minute Easy Miso Tahini Dressing.

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👩🏼‍🌾 Ingredients
🌶️ Substitutions
📖 How to Make Chipotle Sauce
✔️ Expert Tips
🙋🏽‍♀️ Recipe FAQs
🍽 Related Recipes
👩🏽‍🍳 Made This Recipe?
Chipotle Sauce
💬 Comments

👩🏼‍🌾 Ingredients

Maple syrup, tahini, oregano, coconut aminos, lime, cumin,garlic,red wine vinegar, and chipotles in adobo sauce.

Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce are jalapeño chiles that have been dried, smoked, and then packed in a flavorful sauce made of tangy tomatoes and spices.
Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. It has a rich, nutty flavor and a creamy texture, similar to other nut butter like peanut butter or almond butter. It can be thinned with water or lemon juice to create a pourable sauce. Tahini is a good source of healthy fats, protein, and various vitamins and minerals.
Coconut aminos is a popular condiment and alternative to soy sauce, typically used in paleo, gluten-free, and soy-free diets. They are made from the sap of coconut blossoms, fermented, and aged to develop a rich, savory flavor profile reminiscent of soy sauce. It's naturally sweet, slightly tangy, and less salty than traditional soy sauce. Or use tamari or soy sauce instead.

See the recipe card for quantities.

🌶️ Substitutions

Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - Canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce are widely available, inexpensive, and take this dish to the next level. However, you can use an equal amount of tomato passata, or puréed or canned tomatoes for the chipotle sauce and marinade, and add smoked paprika to taste.
Red wine vinegar - use white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar instead
Coconut aminos - substitute with tamari or soy sauce

For more healthy sauces and dressings, visit my Healthy Dressing Recipes page.

📖 How to Make Chipotle Sauce

Chipotle peppers, garlic, maple syrup, and oregano in the canister of a chopper for blending.

Step 1. Blend the vinegar, coconut aminos, chipotle peppers, garlic, oregano, cumin, and maple syrup until mostly smooth with some small chunks remaining.

Red sauce with minced garlic in a glass bowl with a gold spoon next to a halved lime.

Step 2. Add the water, and then lime juice to taste.

Red chipotle sauce with minced garlic next to a white bowl of tahini.

Step 3. Mix in the tahini until smooth.

Baja sauce in a white bowl with a gold spoon.

Step 4. Adjust the lime juice, maple syrup, and salt to taste.

✔️ Expert Tips

If you're sensitive to spicy foods, add the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce one at a time and taste the blended sauce, adjusting the amount in the recipe according to your heat tolerance.
To use this Baja Sauce as a marinade and dressing, blend the vinegar, coconut aminos, chipotle peppers, garlic, oregano, cumin, and maple syrup until mostly smooth. Remove one-half to use as a marinade. Add 2 tablespoons lime juice and ¼ cup tahini to the remaining blended sauce to use as the creamy dressing.
Storage: Refrigerate leftover Baja Sauce in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Or conveniently freeze in single-serve Souper Cubes 2 tablespoon Silicone Freezer Tray With a Lid for up to 3 months. Just pop out a cube for serving!

🙋🏽‍♀️ Recipe FAQs

What are Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce?

Chipotle in adobo is a type of Mexican chili pepper that has been dried and smoked. It's typically found canned in a spicy, tangy tomato sauce called adobo sauce, which adds depth of flavor to dishes. Chipotle in adobo is commonly used in Mexican cuisine to add heat and smokiness to sauces, marinades, and salsas.

Is Chipotle Sauce spicy?

Chipotle sauce can vary in spiciness depending on the recipe and individual preferences. Generally, chipotle peppers themselves are medium-hot on the Scoville scale, which measures the heat of chili peppers. However, the other ingredients like tahini, lime juice, and spices adjust the overall heat level.
It's always a good idea to taste a small amount first if you're sensitive to spicy foods. Then adjust the amount used in a recipe according to your heat tolerance.

What is a substitute for Chipotle Sauce?

Other hot sauces or smoked paprika-based sauces may offer similar flavor profiles to chipotle sauce. Sriracha mixed into cashew yogurt or vegan mayonnaise with a dash of smoked paprika, and fresh lime juice would be a good substitute.