This creamy chipotle sauce is made with adobo chipotles, plain yogurt or Mexican crema, garlic, and lime juice. Chipotles are actually smoked dried jalapeños. I used canned chipotles in adobo for this recipe, which means the peppers are soaked in tomato based sauce. You can find the canned chipotles in adobo at most regular grocery stores. Some options for replacement in case you can’t find them include ground chipotle powder as well as the actual dried chipotles – you’ll need to soak these in water. I used a very creamy European style yogurt (whole) for this recipe, but any kind of thick plain yogurt will work. If you want a richer variation of this creamy chipotle sauce you can also try it Mexican style crema (available in most Latin grocery stores) or with crème fraiche.
Creamy chipotle sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain yogurt recommend European style yogurt, or Mexican crema (or crème fraiche)
- 1-2 small chipotles in adobo seeds removed – adjust to taste based on desired level of spiciness
- 1 clove of garlic
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in the blender or mini-food processor. Mix until you have smooth creamy sauce. Taste and adjust the spice level based on your preference.
- Use immediately or refrigerate until ready to use. The sauce will be very liquid right after making it, this is normal, refrigerate the sauce for it to thicken (if you prefer a thicker sauce).
This chipotle sauce is a perfect blend of creamy, tangy and spicy. You can adjust the level of spiciness according to your own preference; if you want it super spicy add several chipotles. If you prefer a milder sauce, then just add one or even half. If you’re not sure, taste a bit of the adobo sauce to gauge the heat level. Also, if it turns out too spicy you can always add more yogurt or crema to reduce the heat. I use this creamy chipotle yogurt sauce as a topping for tacos, quesadillas or enchiladas. It’s also an amazing dipping sauce for empanadas, and goes great with soups. I also served it with grilled shrimp – seriously this sauce works for pretty much anything.
Step by step preparation photos for the chipotle sauce:
Jeanne Parinello says
March 22, 2019 at 3:44 amI made chicken salad and use it instead of mayonnaise. Yummy I will use this for everything. Plain Greek yogurt definitely cuts your calories.
Neil Cafferty says
March 16, 2019 at 7:30 amDid exactly as the recipe said. Used Cabot Greek plain yogurt and Aldi’s chipotle in adobo sauce. Excellent! Definitely for keeps!!!
Andy says
February 15, 2019 at 5:01 pmAmazing! We used this on fish tacos, so easy to make.
Taylor Wood says
May 22, 2018 at 5:56 pmUsed this as a marinade for grilled chicken tonight, absolutely delicious! Topped it off with onion,bell peppers,mushrooms and extra sauce then served it with cilantro and lime rice,corn and a batch of red lobster cheddar bay biscuits. This will be a staple dinner for me now!
Leona says
January 13, 2018 at 7:17 pmAmazing!! Just made it tonight for chicken taco. Picky hubby loves it and I do too. Creamy and spicy. A healthy and tasty dinner. Thank you!!!
Holly says
September 3, 2017 at 2:14 pmI’m obsessed with this sauce!!!! Thank you!!!!! I eat it with celery or on eggs, on meat, etc.
Kiran Partab says
June 7, 2017 at 4:36 amMade this sauce last night to use with chicken tacos and it was a hit! I am wondering how long I can store this sauce in the fridge? I’ve got quite a bit left and I would hate to see any of it go to waste
Layla Pujol says
June 7, 2017 at 5:56 amSo glad you liked it! It will last for several days in the fridge (as long as it doesn’t go past the expiration date of the yogurt or crema).
S Fong says
April 20, 2017 at 11:06 amMade to go with chicken fajitas. I accidentally bought just chipotle pepper adobo without any whole peppers, but used it anyway and it came out just as good. Bonus that the adobo won’t go to waste.
Krystal Wilkerson says
March 15, 2017 at 11:41 amI found this awhile back and put it with my chile rellenos. It was AWESOME. I lost this page and I am very happy I found it again!
Chelsea says
August 4, 2016 at 5:36 pmWas searching the store for a bottle of chipotle sauce. I couldn’t find any and just gave up and searched how to makr my own. I used Mexican table cream, not sure if that’s the cream that was needed, but it worked! Used a few extra peppers and a little sauce from the can. It was so tasty!
Amelia says
August 3, 2016 at 8:13 amI made this now twice and my husband LOVES it!! I cannot make it fast enough for him. We have used it as a sauce to Tacos, dipping sauce for eggs and pizza, and tonight with perogies. When I made it I used 2 chipotles deseeded and added some corn syrup to help with the tang of the yoghurt I used. Two thumbs up. A new sauce staple in our house!
Kathy says
August 16, 2015 at 1:24 pmThis was really good. I made stuffed poblano peppers (ground turkey,onion,currants, cilantro, almonds and pepper jack cheese) and after baking placed them on a bed of this sauce. It was delicious!
Mister Awesome says
March 26, 2015 at 5:50 amAwesome! I made two batches of this, one with yogurt and one with crema. The crema batch was exactly what I get in local restaurants in Austin, TX. I used 5 peppers, seeds in, and 2 garlic. Perfect.
Bruce Corvin Alger says
February 22, 2017 at 6:05 pmJust tried this one, perfect!!
Paula Williams says
January 4, 2015 at 5:25 pmI’ve tried this recipe with the Mexican créma. I actually prefer substituting sour cream instead of the cream. It gives it so much more flavor.
Natasha says
December 11, 2014 at 8:57 pmMade this tonight with chicken tacos; delicious!
Madmemaw says
October 30, 2014 at 1:33 pmThank you for sharing a “creamy” sauce that doesn’t use mayonnaise. I’m allergic to eggs and it’s very difficult to find certain sauces, spreads, dressings and salads that are just as tasty as their mayo based counterparts. Going to make this soon.
Emily says
July 31, 2014 at 1:18 pmFound this recipe while searching for creamy Chipotle sauces, and this looks great! I was wondering ,though– could I use this as a sauce with pasta? I had been searching for this type of chipotle sauce so I could copy-cat a dish I recently had at a local restaurant, which of course, described a zesty chipotle sauce but it was mixed with penne pasta and roasted red peppers and asparagus bits, topped with pinr nuts. It was amazing and I hope this sauce recipe will help me make it at home. Please let me know :)
Jeann says
July 26, 2014 at 5:19 pmI made this sauce tonight to go with fajitas and it was delicious!!
Jennifer M says
July 21, 2014 at 4:17 pmThis is yummy!
Carol says
May 27, 2014 at 10:02 amI just made it with shrimp and rice, yummy
Alessandra says
March 25, 2014 at 3:50 pmJust made this tonight to have over black bean soup. I will never have the soup without this sauce again! This is fantastic! Very flavorful, creamy, perfect!
Sydney says
September 16, 2013 at 4:01 amThis looks so good!! I will definitely be making this by the end of the week!
Marcia says
September 22, 2015 at 8:18 amThis was very easy to make. I used 1/4 cup sour cream and 3/4 cup yogurt because that is what I had on hand. Very good but next time I will drain the yogurt first because it was a little thin. Thank you for sharing this recipe!