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This easy chipotle sauce is zesty, smoky and creamy: perfect for tacos and burritos! The magic ingredient: canned adobo sauce.

chipotle sauce in small bowl with spoon

In our household, Alex and I eat a lot of tacos. A lot of tacos. It’s probably our most frequent dinner: these 5 minute egg tacos save our nights often. So it’s pretty often that we’re searching for a tasty taco sauce. Meet our perfect match: this easy chipotle sauce! It’s creamy, savory, smoky and spicy: all at once! Drizzle it over tacos or burritos — even a burrito bowl — and it adds so much flavor, you might want to bathe in it.

A variation? Try this Chipotle Ranch Dressing!

Chipotle sauce ingredients

The magic ingredient in this chipotle sauce? Tahini. What is tahini? It’s a paste made of sesame seeds, typically used in Middle Eastern or Mediterranean dishes. Tahini is perfect for making creamy sauces for salads and tacos, but it’s also fantastic for desserts like cookies or as a replacement for peanut butter for peanut allergies. We use it in many of our vegan recipes as a creamy alternative to dairy. (Here are more tahini recipes you can make with it).

Here’s the full lineup of ingredients in this chipotle sauce:

spoon hovering above glass filled with chipotle sauce

What is adobo sauce?

Alex and I use adobo sauce all the time to bring a savory, smoky flavor to Mexican dishes. What is adobo sauce?

  • Chipotles in adobo sauce are sold in most mainstream grocery stores here in the US, available next to the Mexican products.
  • The small can includes chipotle chiles, which are smoked and dried jalapeños that then are rehydrated and canned in adobo sauce, a purée of tomato, vinegar, garlic, and some other spices.
spicy tahini sauce in glass dish with spoon

Make sure to save leftover adobo sauce

Most of our recipes call for a very small amount of adobo sauce, because it’s super potent! Many times we only use the adobo sauce, not the chipotle chilis. In this sauce, we’ve called for only 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce. You can freeze the remainder of the chipotle chile in adobo sauce for future use. See below for more recipes to use up the can!

How to make chipotle sauce (some tips!)

Got all those ingredients? Simply mix all of the chipotle sauce ingredients together in a bowl and you’re good to go! Here are a few things to note:

  • The consistency of tahini brands differ. So your sauce may need a little more tahini or a little more water or lemon juice to get to the right consistency.
  • Store refrigerated, then warm to room temp. You’ll need to store the homemade chipotle sauce in an airtight container in the fridge. If it seems a little thick when you take it out of the fridge, let it sit on your counter for a few minutes before serving. Tahini tends to solidify when chilled.

Related: How to Make Vegan Nacho Cheese

spoon in jar of chipotle sauce

More recipes with chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

If you bought chipotle chile in adobo sauce for this recipe and want ideas for using it up, here are a few of our recipes that use it!

This chipotle sauce recipe is…

Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, plant-based, dairy-free, and refined sugar free.

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chipotle sauce in small bowl with spoon

Easy Chipotle Sauce


  • Author: a Couple Cooks
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: About ½ cup 1x

Description

This easy chipotle sauce is zesty, smoky and creamy: perfect for tacos and burritos! The magic ingredient: canned adobo sauce.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 lemon or 2 limes, enough for 3 tablespoons juice
  • 2 tablespoons tahini
  • 2 tablespoons Mexican hot sauce (Cholula)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon adobo sauce (from 1 can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce)

Instructions

  1. Juice the lemon or limes.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients. Since the consistency of tahini brands can vary, add a little more tahini if the consistency of the sauce is too runny, or a little water or extra lemon juice if the consistency is too thick. Store refrigerated.
  • Category: Sauce
  • Method: Mixed
  • Cuisine: Mexican

Keywords: Chipotle sauce, How to make chipotle sauce, Chipotle chile in adobo sauce, Vegan chipotle sauce

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Whether it’s how to make salad dressing or homemade Yum Yum Sauce, our essential recipes are easy DIYs to make at home! Here are few more of our essential and DIY recipes:

Last updated: June 2020

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and wife. Expert home cooks. Authors of recipes you’ll want to make again and again.

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2 Comments

  1. Just made tonight. I thought it was awesome. I left out oil and reduced hot sauce a little, but other than that followed directions and it was perfect. Sorry no place to leave 5 stars