This Creamy Chipotle Sauce is super easy to make, it's spicy, smoky, and extra creamy. It's delicious served as a dip with fries, spread on sandwiches and burgers, or drizzled over rice bowls, salad, and roasted veggies. It has only 7 ingredients and takes less than 10 minutes to make!
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Why You'll Love This Chipotle Sauce
Smoky and packed with flavor - Canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are the absolute star of this recipe! I highly recommend adding a little bit of the adobo sauce as well. It has chopped onion, tomato paste, and spices which all really add to the flavor of this sauce. It's smoky, savory, a little tangy, and absolutely delicious!
Light and creamy - The sauce is made with a combination of full-fat Greek yogurt and mayonnaise to make it extra creamy but light. The yogurt adds a nice tang that goes really well with the spicy and smoky chipotles.
Easy and simple - You only need 7 ingredients to make this chipotle crema (including salt) in about 10 minutes. Just add all your ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth! It's super straightforward, and all the ingredients are easy to find at most grocery stores. And if not, you can always buy chipotle in adobo online!
Lots of uses - You don't have to use this only as a dip! Drizzle it over rice bowls, salads, roasted veggies, or grilled chicken. You can also add it to burgers, sandwiches, or wraps for some added smoky flavor!
Ingredients
- Greek yogurt - I wanted this sauce to be a little lighter and extra creamy so I'm using full-fat Greek yogurt instead of just mayo. You can use a good thick dairy-free yogurt if you prefer.
- Mayonnaise - Adding a little bit of mayo makes this sauce thicker and adds flavor. You could substitute this for more yogurt but I highly recommend the mayo. I use 100% pure avocado oil mayonnaise.
- Chipotle peppers in adobo - I like using canned chipotles in adobo because you can add a little bit of the sauce as well for more flavor. These are my favorite go-to Chipotle in Adobo.
- Lime juice - Use freshly squeezed lime juice whenever possible for the best flavor, I promise you'll taste the difference!
- Honey - A little bit of sweetener helps to balance out the heat from the chipotles. Honey goes really well here but you can also use maple syrup if you prefer.
- Garlic - One clove is all you need for a little bit of garlic flavor. I like to grate it into the food processor to make sure it blends properly.
- Sea salt - I like using fine sea salt in most of my recipes. If I'm not measuring the salt, I also often use freshly ground Himalayan pink salt.
Variations and Substitutions
- Sour cream - If you don't have Greek yogurt, sour cream would be a great substitute.
- Vegan mayonnaise - You can use any vegan mayo you like instead of regular mayonnaise.
- Chipotle powder - You can substitute chipotle in adobo with plain chipotle powder. I would add ½ teaspoon of chipotle powder to start and add more to taste.
- Sweetener - If you don't have honey, you can use maple syrup or agave instead. Coconut nectar would also be great.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Add everything to a food processor and blend until smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides if your food processor is large.
- Alternatively, you can also do this in a blender or blend it in a jar using an immersion blender.
- Store the sauce in the fridge until ready to serve. It will thicken slightly once refrigerated.
Serving Suggestions
- Dip - Serve the sauce as a dip for fries or anything else. Try it with these Baked Asparagus Fries!
- Burgers and sandwiches - Spread the sauce on sandwiches, burgers, or wraps. It's also delicious drizzled on tacos! You can add it to this Breakfast Burrito with Potatoes for a little smoky flavor.
- Bowls and salad - Drizzle the sauce on rice or quinoa bowls or even salads! It's especially delicious with fall and winter roasted veggies and roasted chicken salads. Try it on this Roasted Cauliflower Salad or This Chipotle Mango Quinoa Salad!
- Roasted veggies - Drizzle the sauce over roasted or grilled veggies like bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, sweet potatoes, red onion, cauliflower, broccoli, or any other veggies!
- Roasted or grilled meat - This sauce is delicious drizzled over grilled or roasted chicken, fish, or meat. It's delicious with simple grilled chicken in a bowl with some Coconut Rice and a simple light salad like this Cucumber Radish Salad.
Storing and Make Ahead Options
You can easily make this ahead and it's perfect for meal prep! I actually recommend prepping it ahead because the sauce is thinner right after you blend it. It thickens in the refrigerator as it cools. That being said, it can of course be enjoyed right away if you need to make it last minute.
Store any leftover sauce in an airtight container or a jar in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. I like to store it in a squeeze bottle for easy drizzling. Always use a clean spoon to prevent it from going bad sooner.
FAQs
Chipotle peppers are jalapeno peppers that have been left to ripen until they're red (jalapenos are picked when they're green) and then smoked and dried.
I don't recommend it. The yogurt and mayonnaise won't have the same creamy smooth texture once defrosted.
Similar Dipping Sauces
If you want to try other similar mayo-based dipping sauces, try any of the four recipes linked below! Head over to Dips, Dressings, and Spreads for all the latest ones!
- Bang Bang Sauce (Delicious on salmon and rice bowls.)
- House Sauce (The best for burgers and fries!)
- Spicy Sriracha Mayo (a classic)
- Roasted Garlic Aioli (Made with roasted garlic, it's so good!)
📖 Recipe
Creamy Chipotle Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4-8 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Food processor
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This Creamy Chipotle Sauce is super easy to make, it's spicy, smoky, and extra creamy. It's delicious served as a dip with fries, spread on sandwiches and burgers, or drizzled over rice bowls, salad, and roasted veggies.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup mayonnaise (I like using 100% avocado oil mayonnaise)
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- 1 tbsp adobo sauce*
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- Add everything to a food processor and blend until smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides if your food processor is large.
- Alternatively, you can also do this in a blender or blend it in a jar using an immersion blender.
- Store the sauce in the fridge until ready to serve. It will thicken slightly as it sits in the fridge.
Notes
*The chipotle in adobo cans I use also have onions in the adobo sauce, which I also add to the sauce. If you don’t have chipotle in adobo, you can use ¼-½ teaspoon chipotle powder instead.
Storing: I recommend making this sauce ahead so it has time to thicken in the fridge. Store it in an airtight jar or a squeeze bottle in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
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