Looking to replicate that spicy and smoky chipotle-flavored Cholula or Tabasco sauce at home? This recipe for chipotle hot sauce comes together really quickly and doesn’t need any long pickling or fermentation stage. Use this sauce on any recipe when you want to add bold flavor and heat.
Table of Contents
Now, before we proceed this is a chipotle-flavored hot sauce. Not a Chipotle (the restaurant) copycat recipe. Trust me, when you start making your own hot sauce, you’ll be blown away by how easy and adaptable it is. Plus, many hot sauces on the market these days have added colorants, emulsifiers, and preservatives.
Making your own ensures you are using the best and freshest natural ingredients. Make sure to also try my Fermented Hot Sauce and Shatta (Middle Eastern Chili paste) recipes.
What is a Chipotle pepper?
Many people don’t know this, but a chipotle pepper is a smoke-dried jalapeño chili pepper. The process of making chipotle peppers involves drying and smoking ripe jalapeño peppers (after they turn red on the vine), typically using wood smoke. This process imparts a distinctive smoky flavor to the peppers, along with a mild to moderate heat.
Chipotle peppers are often used in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine to add a smoky and spicy kick to various dishes, such as sauces, marinades, salsas, and meat dishes. They can be purchased dried, canned in adobo sauce, or in powder form.
Chipotle peppers contribute a unique spicy flavor profile that enhances the overall taste of many dishes. This recipe uses Chipotle peppers in adobo. Try my Salsa Macha and Salsa Roja recipes if you have some dried chipotle peppers on hand.
To learn more about the wonderful and complex world of peppers, check out my comprehensive post on Pepper Varieties.
Ingredients
A few simple ingredients. The star of the show is the spicy and smoky chipotle chiles.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Chipotle peppers in adobo: Sold in small cans, this standard Mexican product can now be found at most if not all grocery stores. You can also get it online or at your local Mexican or Latin market. There’s no substitution for these peppers! After all this is a chipotle-pepper hot sauce! Also try my creamy chipotle sauce recipe.
- Orange Juice: I like hot sauces that are balanced, not just blow your socks off. Orange juice adds liquid to the mix which helps thin the sauce. It also adds sweetness to help balance the heat from the peppers.
- Vinegar: I like to use a combination of apple cider and white vinegar in this recipe. The apple cider vinegar adds sweetness, while the white vinegar adds pungent acidity and helps preserve the sauce. You can substitute with white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, or champagne vinegar. Do not use dark vinegar (balsamic or red wine).
- Cumin: Cumin powder is a classic Mexican ingredient. It’s a warm spice that adds another layer of flavor to the overall hot sauce. If you don’t have any, you can substitute with coriander powder or just omit it entirely.
- Mexican Oregano: Not everyone has access to Mexican Oregano. You can certainly substitute for regular dried oregano.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Smoky Chipotle Pepper Hot Sauce
This recipe comes together in a few simple steps and in very little time.
Step 1. Prepare the peppers. Using gloves, remove any stems and seeds from the chipotle peppers. You only need the flesh of the chiles, juices and the onions in the can. If you want a much spicier sauce, don’t discard the seeds.
Step 2. Blend. Add the peppers to a blender or food processor. Add the orange juice, vinegar, cumin, oregano, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Blend until smooth.
Step 3. Taste and adjust seasoning. Taste the sauce. It should be smoky, salty, sweet and spicy. Make any adjustments you like at this point. For a looser sauce, add a splash of water and blend again.
Step 4. Bottle. Using a funnel, transfer the finished hot sauce to clean and sanitized hot sauce bottles. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Expert Tips
- Wear gloves! When handling spicy chiles, take precautions. Chipotle peppers are about 3000-8000 Scoville Units. This is the scale that measures the heat level of peppers. 8000 isn’t as bad as a habanero which can reach 1,000,000 units but it can still cause irritation if you touch a sensitive area of your body or face. I like to use black nitrile gloves (affiliate link) in the kitchen.
- Woozy bottles! I’m a firm believer in doing this right and if you’re going to make hot sauce at home, you should have some woozy bottles (affiliate link). They are reusable, dishwasher safe and can make the perfect homemade gift once filled with homemade sauce. They typically hold about 5 fl oz.
- The perfect gift. Have friends or family that love spicy food? Well now you know what to make for them!
- Make it chunky! Skip the water and make more of a chunky chile paste than a sauce. Just process less to keep the consistency thicker.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, this homemade chipotle hot sauce doesn’t have any preservatives other than the acid in the vinegar and orange juice. For that reason, it should be refrigerated at all times.
It should last in the fridge for up to 4 weeks. It could last longer but I recommend using it up quickly. The natural flavors will degrade over time, so you can cut the recipe in half if you prefer to make this in smaller batches.
Absolutely. Homemade hot sauce tends to separate because we don’t add any artificial preservatives to it. So, all you need to do is give it a good shake before using and it’ll mix right back up. Xanthan gum can be added to help keep the sauce emulsified but honestly, you don’t need it.
Other Sauces and Condiments to Try
Preservation
Preservation
Preservation
Condiments
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Chipotle Hot Sauce Recipe (Smoky and Spicy)
Ingredients
- 1 can Chipotle peppers in adobo – 7 oz can
- ¼ cup Orange juice – From ½ an orange
- ¼ cup Apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup White vinegar
- ½ tsp Cumin powder
- ½ tsp Mexican oregano – Substitute standard Greek oregano
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup Water – Use what you need to get the right consistency.
- Sugar – Optional
Instructions
- Prepare the peppers. Using gloves, remove any stems and seeds from the chipotle peppers. You can do this on a cutting board or by hand. You only need the flesh and juice. [If you want a much spicier sauce, don't discard the seeds]
- Blend. Add the peppers and all the adobo sauce to a blender or food processor. Add the orange juice, both kinds of vinegar, cumin, oregano, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Blend until smooth. Scrape down the sides if needed and blend again.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. Taste the sauce. It should be smoky, salty, sweet and spicy. Make any adjustments you like at this point. You can add a little white sugar for more sweetness. For a looser sauce, add a splash of water and blend again.
- Bottle. Using a funnel, transfer the finished hot sauce to clean and sanitized hot sauce bottles. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Notes
- Chipotle peppers in adobo: Sold in small cans, this standard Mexican product can now be found at most if not all grocery stores. You can also get it online or at your local Mexican or Latin market.
- Orange Juice: Orange juice adds liquid to the mix which helps thin the sauce. It also adds sweetness to help balance the heat from the peppers.
- Vinegar: I like to use a combination of apple cider and white vinegar in this recipe. The apple cider vinegar adds sweetness, while the white vinegar adds pungent acidity and helps preserve the sauce.
- Cumin: Cumin powder is a classic Mexican ingredient. It’s a warm spice that adds another layer of great flavor to the overall hot sauce.
- Mexican Oregano: Not everyone has access to Mexican Oregano. You can certainly substitute for regular dried oregano.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Delicious & hot. Great recipe, Thank you
Thank you for sharing! Glad you liked it!