This Creamy Chipotle Dressing (and sauce!!) and salad dressing comes together in minutes and it’s great to have in the fridge for SORTS of things like salads, meats, potatoes, tacos, burritos….the list goes on! Smokey chipotle peppers, lime and cilantro are all at the forefront of this super simple sauce!
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I am a BIG “dipper” and sauce person. I feel like pretty much ANY food can be made better with an amazing sauce. Take bland old tortilla chips, for example. ICK! But throw on some salsa or nacho cheese–boom! Immediate perfection! Grilled chicken? BORING! But throw on my Basil Arugula Pesto and it’s like a 5 star meal!!
There are some great bottled salad dressings and sauces these days but NONE of them can compare to a fresh, homemade dressing or sauce. With homemade, you always know exactly what’s going into them and you can tailor them to your tastes.
This dressing is perfect for my Simple Southwest Salad! However, there are also SO many more uses for this chipotle sauce:
- Dip for french fries and veggies (DIVINE with sweet potato fries!)
- Excellent to drizzle over fish tacos
- Dip for your favorite quesadilla
- Wraps and tacos
- Burritos and burrito bowls
This chipotle dressing is super simple to make–just a few ingredients:
RECIPE NOTES
Mayo: Mayo is the base of this creamy dressing and I highly recommended real mayo vs. reduced fat or other types of mayo (such as olive oil based, etc). Greek yogurt or sour cream are great options too!
Chipotles in Adobo: These are readily found in the hispanic/Latin section of any major grocery store. The recipe calls for one chopped chili and a tablespoon of adobo sauce, but you can easily adjust this to your taste. If you want less heat, leave the chili out and just use the adobo sauce, which is less spicy.
Cilantro: If you can’t stand cilantro, feel free to leave it out. However, I love it for the freshness to brings to this dressing.
HOW TO MAKE CREAMY CHIPOTLE DRESSING
I love this chipotle dressing because you don’t have to blend it and use any fancy equipment! Just whisk everything together and you’re done!
Step 1: Chop cilantro and chipotle pepper.
Step 2: In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Then, whisk until well-combined.
Step 3: Enjoy immediately or store in a jar or air tight container in the fridge for up to a week.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What are chipotles in adobo?
Chipotles in adobo are simply smoked jalapeños that are canned in a puree of tomato, vinegar and garlic. The result is a smokey, spicy pepper bursting with flavor! The adobo sauce is the “tomato” sauce that the peppers are canned with. The adobo sauce is super smokey and less spicy than the actual pepper.
How do you store chipotles in adobo?
Very rarely do recipes call for an ENTIRE can of chipotles in adobo! Holy heat!!! So chances are, you will always have some leftover. The best way I have found to store them is in a small, airtight container in the freezer. I usually store them in small quantities so I can just pull a little out when I need it.
What can I substitute for the chipotles?
If you can’t find chipotles in adobo, you can substitute with a combo of spices, Smoked paprika and cumin are great options–about a half of teaspoon each (or to taste).
How spicy is this dressing?
If you use the full chipotle in adobo WITH the seeds, I would say this sauce is medium-spiciness. The chipotle peppers alone are pretty spicy, however the mayo, lime juice and honey in this sauce tone down the spiciness A LOT.
If you prefer the sauce less spicy, just use a tablespoon or two of the adobo sauce and leave out the actual pepper. The pepper contains seeds which is where most of the spiciness comes from.
How do you store this dressing?
Store this chipotle sauce in an airtight container (I love using small 4 oz. jars like these!) in the fridge for up to a week.
This Chipotle Sauce is the perfect dressing on my Simple Southwest Salad:
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Creamy Chipotle Sauce and Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise Greek yogurt or sour cream works too!
- 1 Chipotle in adobo, chopped PLUS 1 tbsp adobo sauce
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients until well-combined.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight jar or container in the fridge for up to a week.
Stace says
I love this recipe! I personally don’t like mayonnaise a lot since I eat super clean, so I cut it by half with coconut yogurt. Otherwise I made this to a tee and loved it. This dressing is ACES for ANY taco salad (or tacos!!)
Casey Rooney says
Coconut yogurt is a great idea! Glad you love it! xo