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This easy chipotle sauce is zesty, smoky and creamy: perfect for tacos and burritos! The magic ingredient: canned adobo sauce.
In my house, 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 my new favorite: this easy chipotle sauce! It’s creamy, savory, smoky and spicy: all at once! Drizzle it over tacos, burritos, or a burrito bowl: it adds so much flavor that it’s become a favorite essential sauce!
5 Star Reader Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “This was a great unique sauce. Thanks!” -Monica
Ingredients You’ll Need
The magic ingredient in this chipotle sauce is unexpected: it’s tahini, a paste made of sesame seeds that’s 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.
I use it in many of my vegan recipes as a creamy alternative to dairy, so this sauce is dairy-free too! All you need is:
- Tahini
- Lemon
- Mexican hot sauce (I like Cholula brand)
- Olive oil
- Cumin
- Adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (see more below!)
What To Know About 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.
Tips for Making Chipotle Sauce
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 tahini 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.
Tip: Save The Leftover Adobo Sauce
Most of my recipes call for a very small amount of adobo sauce, because it’s super potent! Many times I only use the adobo sauce, not the chipotle chilis.
In this sauce, I’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!
Ways To Use Chipotle Sauce
This chipotle sauce is fantastic on tacos like my favorite avocado tacos, mushroom tacos, or black bean tacos, bowl meals like this rice bowl or tofu bowl, or things like like my ultimate nachos or an easy quesadilla.
Dietary Notes
This chipotle sauce recipe is vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, plant-based, dairy-free, and refined sugar free.
Easy Chipotle Sauce
This easy chipotle sauce is zesty, smoky and creamy: perfect for tacos and burritos! The magic ingredient: canned adobo sauce.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: About ½ cup 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Mixed
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 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
- Juice the lemon or limes.
- 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.
More Chipotle-Based Recipes
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!
- Avocado Quesadilla: Drizzle over a quesadilla as a topping.
- Chipotle Aioli or Chipotle Crema: Spicy sauces for burgers, fries and tacos.
- Vegetarian Tortilla Soup: A cozy, easy soup.
- Refried Bean Tacos: Serve with refried bean tacos!
- Stuffed Delicata Squash: Stuff your delicata squash with black beans and chipotle.
- Quinoa Chili: Adobo sauce brings big flavor to chili.
This was a great unique sauce. Thanks!
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
How long does this last refrigerated?