Add smoky flavor to tacos, burrito bowls, and salads with creamy chipotle lime sauce. It also doubles as a tasty dipping sauce for air fryer sweet potato wedges, crispy cauliflower bites, and chicken tenders.
What is Chipotle Lime Sauce?
Chipotle sauce is a bold and flavorful condiment made from blended chipotle peppers, fresh lime juice, and a few simple ingredients to create a smoky, tangy, and slightly spicy flavor.
What is Chipotle Sauce Made of?
- Chipotle Peppers: For the chipotle peppers, use one can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, adjusting the spice by reducing the number of peppers or the amount of adobo sauce as needed.
- Cilantro: Include fresh cilantro leaves to balance the heat of the creamy sauce.
- Garlic: I use three fresh garlic cloves for the best flavor.
- Mayonnaise: Thicken the sauce with full-fat mayonnaise; my go-to brands are Duke’s or Hellman’s—but you can swap in plain Greek yogurt for a lighter option.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream adds tanginess and gives the sauce a smooth texture.
- Lime Juice: Flavor the chipotle lime sauce with lime juice and lime zest from one to two fresh limes.
- Spices: Season the homemade sauce with salt and black pepper.
- Olive Oil: Olive oil works with sour cream and mayonnaise to create the perfect consistency.
Additions and Substitutions
- Increase the smokiness. Add a tap or two of liquid smoke for more of a smoky flavor.
- Sweeten the sauce. Incorporate a little bit of honey, agave nectar, brown sugar, or maple syrup to sweeten the sauce.
- Process the chiles from scratch. Use 5-8 dried chipotle chili peppers for authentic flavor; dry toast the peppers in a non-stick pan over medium or high heat, depending on your oven. Transfer the peppers to a bowl of warm water to rehydrate them before using them in the sauce. Or add one tablespoon of chipotle powder instead of chipotle in adobo sauce.
Tools You’ll Need
Use an immersion blender, food processor, or high-speed blender to make the chipotle cream sauce. However, I recommend using an immersion blender when making salad dressing or sauces that require emulsification.
Use the blender cup provided with the immersion blender, a wide-mouth jar, or one of these meal prep containers to ensure the blender works correctly and to avoid a big mess.
How to Make Chipotle Lime Sauce
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Combine the chipotle peppers, cilantro, garlic cloves, mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, and spices in an immersion blender, food processor, or high-speed blender. Process the ingredients until smooth.
Step 2: Pour the olive oil into the cup or blender in a slow, steady stream while processing the ingredients.
Serving Suggestions
Chipotle lime sauce is one of my go-to toppings for Mexican dishes like carne asada tacos, elotes Mexicano, taco salads, fish tacos, birria nachos, shrimp tacos, and sheet-pan tachos.
Use the sauce as a glaze for everything from grilled chicken breast and brisket to BBQ baked chicken legs. Spread it onto pulled pork or pulled pork sandwiches, air fryer chicken burgers, and chicken spinach wraps.
Transfer the sauce to a small bowl and enjoy it as a dipping sauce for chicken nuggets, fried shrimp, air fryer smashed Brussels sprouts, tater tots, onion rings, french fries, and air fried plantains.
What To Do With Leftovers
- Refrigerate: Store the leftover chipotle lime sauce in an airtight container or glass jar for one week.
More Sauce Recipes:
Chipotle Lime Sauce
- 1 can (7 ounces) chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- lime juice one lime, plus ½ teaspoon lime zest
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Combine the chipotle peppers, cilantro, garlic cloves, mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, and spices in an immersion blender, food processor, or high-speed blender. Process the ingredients until smooth.