• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Mexican Please

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Most Popular
    • Most Recent
    • Salsas
    • Appetizers/Sides
    • Beans
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
    • Enchiladas
    • Main Dish
    • Mexican Cooking 101
    • Tacos
    • Soup
    • Tortillas
    • Vegetarian
  • Articles
  • Cooking Course
  • About Me
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Tips
  • Course
  • Contact
  • About Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Tips
    • Course
    • Contact
    • About Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Most Recent

    Chipotle Hot Sauce

    June 19, 2019 By Patrick 49 Comments

    3521 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet

    If chipotles are the solution to life's problems then consider keeping some of this Chipotle Hot Sauce in the fridge.

    It's got that addictive smoky flavor bursting out of the bottle and you'll only need a few drops at a time to liven up your latest meal.

    There are seven chipotles in a single bottle of this hot sauce (yes, seven!) so please keep in mind that it is ultra fiery -- if you want a milder batch you can dial back on the chipotles.

    5 oz. bottle of hot sauce

    How To Make Chipotle Hot Sauce

    Sure, you could start with some dried Morita chiles, but canned chipotles in adobo are much more convenient (and common) so we'll be using those.

    If you're new to chipotles in adobo here's what they look like out of the can:

    Sure, this Cheesy Bean Dip works great for office parties and family get-togethers, but it tastes better when you make it for yourself :) Chipotles in adobo give the pinto bean puree incredible flavor. So good! mexicanplease.com

    These are smoked jalapenos resting in a tangy adobo sauce and you'll get 6-8 chipotles in each can.  Are chipotles spicy?

    Occasionally you'll come across larger sizes, but these smaller 7 oz. cans are the most common in  traditional supermarkets so I usually buy a few at a time.

    I'm in the habit of scraping out most of the seeds as they tend to harden over time.

    These Spicy Ground Beef Nachos have the potential to save your day. Chipotles in adobo give the beef real kick and when loaded on cheese covered tortilla chips they quickly become a go-to meal. Served with a homemade Avocado Salsa Verde and your choice of fixings. So good! mexicanplease.com

    So we'll do that with seven of these chipotles (seven!) and add them to a blender along with:

    1/4 small onion
    1 garlic clove
    1/3 cup white vinegar
    1/3 cup water
    juice of 1/2 orange
    3/4 teaspoon Mexican oregano
    1/4 teaspoon cumin
    pinch of salt

    I usually saute the onion and garlic in some oil before adding it to the blender.  And note that this was a larger onion so I only used about 2/3 of the onion in the photo below:

    Cooking onion and garlic

    Once everything is in the blender (or food processor) give it a good whirl.

    It'll need at least 30 seconds to liquefy everything so if it still seems chunky then give it a bit more time.

    Hot sauce after combining in the food processor

    Once it's combined you'll have the perfect opportunity to take a taste for sweetness.  And heat!

    You're already getting some sweetness from the orange and the cooked onion, but you can always add a bit more if you want -- 1/4 teaspoon of sugar would be a good starting point.  I don't have much of a sweet tooth so I did not add any additional sugar to this batch.

    You can also taste test for heat.  If you started with less chipotles for a milder batch then simply add 1-2 more chipotles if you want more heat.

    Here's a super easy recipe for some homemade Chipotle Hot Sauce. It's a smoky, fiery delight and you'll only need a few drops to spice up your life! mexicanplease.com

     

    If all went according to plan you should have a single cup of chipotle fireball hot sauce.  Nice!  It's got a big, bold flavor and it will fit perfectly into a standard sized 5 oz. hot sauce bottle.

    You can reuse older bottles or you can get new ones for about a buck each at Amazon.

     

    Two bottles of homemade hot sauce

     

    It also has a slighter thicker consistency than traditional hot sauces and this will help it cling to food more readily.

     

    5 oz. bottle of hot sauce

     

    You can use this Chipotle Hot Sauce anywhere you would use your favorite hot sauce:  tacos, eggs, and definitely potatoes!

    Store it in the fridge where it will keep for about a month.  (Note:  instructions below are not meant for long term canning or preserving.)

    Okay, start saving those old hot sauce bottles as it will remind you to make your own!  This Chipotle Hot Sauce is a real treat and it's my default option lately, but we also have recipes for Habanero Hot Sauce and Jalapeno Hot Sauce if you want to do some experimenting. 

    Buen Provecho.

    Want the latest recipe?  Click your favorite from these options and follow me:  Instagram,  Facebook,  Pinterest,  TikTok,  YouTube.

    5 oz. bottle of hot sauce

    Chipotle Hot Sauce

    Here's a super easy recipe for some homemade Chipotle Hot Sauce. It's a smoky, fiery delight and you'll only need a few drops to spice up your life!  (Note:  these instructions are not meant for long term canning or preserving.)
    4.41 from 22 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Servings: 24
    Calories: 4kcal
    Author: Patrick Calhoun | Mexican Please

    Ingredients

    • 7-8 chipotles in adobo
    • 1/4 small onion
    • 1 garlic clove
    • juice of 1/2 orange
    • 1/3 cup white vinegar
    • 1/3 cup water
    • pinch of salt
    • 3/4 teaspoon Mexican oregano
    • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
    • 1/4 teaspoon sugar (optional)
    • olive oil

    Instructions

    • Peel and roughly chop 1/4 small onion.  Saute the onion in some oil along with a peeled, roughly chopped garlic clove.  Giving it 5-7 minutes over medium heat will sweeten up the onion and bring out some additional flavors. 
    • De-stem and de-seed 7-8 chipotles in adobo.  I usually cut off the stems and then make a slit lengthwise on the chipotles, then peeling them open and discarding the inner veins and seeds.  It's not crucial to get rid of all the seeds but I usually discard most of them. 
    • Add the chipotles to a blender or food processor along with the onion-garlic mixture and 1/3 cup white vinegar, 1/3 cup water, the juice of 1/2 orange, a pinch of salt, 1/4 teaspoon cumin, and 3/4 teaspoon Mexican oregano.  Blend until completely liquefied. 
    • Take a taste for sweetness.  You can optionally add 1/4 teaspoon of sugar at this point (or more) but I did not add any additional sweetness to this batch.  If you started with less chipotles you can always add more at this point if you want additional heat. 
    • Pour hot sauce into a 5 oz. bottle (I find it easiest to use a small funnel).  Store in the fridge where it will keep for about a month.   

    Notes

    Don't have Mexican oregano?  You can just omit it and still get a good result, but here's the skinny on Mexican oregano and why you should get some. 
    This recipe will make 1 cup of hot sauce that will fill a 5 oz. bottle (standard sized).
    More info on working with chipotles in adobo. 
     
    Like this recipe?Click the stars above to rate it or leave a comment down below! @mexplease

    Got fresh tomatillos in the house?  Our latest post shows all the recipes you can make with tomatillos. 

    Leftover tinga? Make Tingadillas! Cheesy Chicken Tinga Quesadillas with Green Sauce | mexicanplease.com

    Still hungry?!

    Want to receive Mexican Please recipes via email when they are posted?  Sign up below to subscribe.  All recipes are spam free.

    And don't worry, we hate spam too!  You can unsubscribe at any time.

    Thank You For Subscribing!

    « Potato Chorizo Taquitos
    Avocado Hummus and Cucumber Pico de Gallo Tostadas »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kris b

      March 07, 2023 at 8:15 am

      5 stars
      This sounds delicious. I’m excited to make.
      Question…any luck with freezing this? I easily go thru 5 ounces in a month so would make frequently wondering about extending the life if I made double batches.

      Reply
      • Patrick

        March 10, 2023 at 1:48 am

        Hey Kris! Sorry I can't give a better answer, but I haven't tried freezing this one yet. Cheers.

        Reply
    2. Karla

      February 13, 2023 at 2:48 pm

      My family goes through a bottle of Cholula chipotle hot sauce a week right now. Our current favorites for accompaniments are scrambled eggs and rice (separately, mind you). I never eat hot sauce on its own so it was hard to tell if it was the right flavor... but when I tasted it after blending, it was too hot for my taste. I pretty much kept adding the other ingredients to dilute the spiciness... so I could probably make the base recipe with fewer chipotles! I didn't have orange on hand, instead using homemade citrus vinegar with white vinegar as a base. I strained the final mixture and reused the Cholula bottle. I'll see how we like it with our favorite meals and will probably play around with the recipe again. Thanks for the inspiration!

      Reply
      • Patrick

        February 16, 2023 at 1:58 pm

        Hey thanks much for mentioning your adjustments Karla, hope it's a keeper for you! Cheers.

        Reply
    3. Priya

      June 14, 2022 at 3:48 pm

      Hey! Was just wondering if you also toss the remained adobo sauce from the can into the blender as well? Or just the chipotles?

      Reply
      • Patrick

        June 14, 2022 at 3:52 pm

        Hi Priya, I usually just use the chipotles. Cheers.

        Reply
    4. Six Bang

      January 03, 2022 at 2:08 pm

      5 stars
      Throw away your traditional burger toppings. Load up your cheeseburger with this sauce (it's all that is needed) and dive in. Burger Nirvana.

      Reply
      • Patrick

        January 07, 2022 at 12:35 pm

        🙂

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hey, I'm Patrick! I spent 2 years living in Cozumel and got obsessed with Mexican food. I built this site to share all the recipes and techniques I've learned along the way. Read More…

    Footer

    Mexican Recipes

    Cooking Course

    Mexican Cooking 101

    Ingredients

    Salsas

    Starting a Food Blog

    Enchilada Recipes

    About Me

    Contact

    Disclaimer

    © 2023 Mexican Please
 - Privacy Policy