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This Adobo Sauce recipe is that deep reddish brown, smoky sauce that's as perfect for marinating chipotle peppers in as it is used as a BBQ grill sauce. You’ve hit the dang jackpot on an adobo recipe that can be made quickly, uses common pantry staples, and will pull up to your barbecue with heavenly, authentic Mexican flavors.
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Like a lot of folks on the Northern side of the US-Mexico border, I got turned onto adobo sauce through those cans of "chipotle peppers in adobo sauce” you can buy at any of the many Mexican grocery stores in the predominantly Latin neighborhood I live in. And I got friggin’ addicted to the stuff. Really, what is adobo sauce, ffs. Is it some magic portion? ‘Cos I was using it in everything from one-pot Mexican rice, to vegan nacho cheese, and vegan chorizo crumbles. The flavor is downright off the hook.
This recipe shows you exactly how to make homemade adobo sauce, as well as chipotle peppers in adobo seamlessly! And it’s not only easy to make but also super-versatile. Whether you’re adding it to your mushroom fajitas, or using it to spice up grilled vegetables, your homemade stuff is about to make store-bought adobo look like the laughingstock of the galaxy.
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🥰Why you'll adore this adobo sauce recipe
✊Vegan AF and GF: Like all of my vegan Mexican recipes, this adobo sauce recipe is made without any cholesterol, or animal-based ingredients. Looking for gluten-free vegan recipes or some of the most flavorful vegan sauces on Earth? Your search ends here, m’deary!
🥄 Easy & Versatile: This chipotle in adobo sauce recipe comes together with simple steps and natural, simple ingredients. Plus, it's quick to whip up, so you can have this sauce ready to upgrade your home cooking in no time.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all the vegan recipes I share, after I tweaked and refined this easy adobo sauce, I shared it for review with a team of hundreds of recipe testers from all over the world. I didn’t publish it until I heard back from everyone with overwhelming positive reviews. The verdict is in. Yup! This chipotle peppers in adobo sauce hits the spot.
🌶️ Adobo Sauce Ingredients
Guajillo Chiles
Guajillo chiles are dried mirasol peppers with a sweet, smoky flavor, and mild heat. I use them for making salsa macha as well as in non-Mexican recipes like my red curry paste. Adobo sauce can also be made substituting additional ancho chiles, or smoked pasilla chiles in place of the guajillo peppers.
Ancho Chiles
While some folks use ground ancho chiles for their adobo sauce, I find soaking and pureeing the whole peppers gives the sauce a better consistency and carries the spicy flavor of the other peppers better. Ancho chiles are dried poblano peppers that are commonly used for making salsa roja and I am also allllll about them in the filling for my vegan tamales. They add depth and complexity to the adobo sauce without adding much heat. For a substitute, I recommend using dried mulato chiles, which have a comparable flavor and size. Anchos can be traded with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce as a substitute. It depends on the flavor you prefer. I’ll explain more later.
Arbol Chiles
Now this is where the heat in any good adobo sauce comes form. Arbol chiles are small, hot chili peppers that form the spicy backbone of almost all adobo sauce recipes. If you are not looking for a hyper-spicy spicy adobo, you can cut back on these, or leave them out completely, and the sauce will still be delicious. Or if you can’t find them, you can use dried Thai chilies as I use in my nam prik pao recipe, and my nam jim jaew recipe. They are quite comparable in flavor.
Cumin Seeds
While, sure you can get away with using ground cumin in adobo chipotle sauce this recipe instead, hear me out about this. Cumin seeds add a warm, earthy flavor with a hint of citrus when they are roasted for this sauce.
I am especially into the wild mountain cumin from Burlap and Barrel, which is exceptionally fragrant and more slender than ordinary cumin seeds. I use them religiously in spice blends like achar masala, Madras curry powder and also in my homemade baharat recipe.
Get my fave cumin seeds for free!
Using this link, add the wild mountain cumin to your cart, spend at least $15 on some of the other absurdly good spices from Burlap & Barrel (they all seriously slap) and the bottle of this bangin' wild mountain cumin becomes FREE, and you will love it so much.
Bay Leaves
Bay leaves add a subtle, herbal aroma that enhances the overall depth and complexity of the sauce. If you don’t have ordinary bay leaves, you can also make this sauce using Indonesian bay leaves, which is the same dried herb use in my nasi uduk, Indonesian turmeric rice, and sayur lodeh recipe.
Brown Sugar
Brown sugar adds an important element of sweetness that balances the acidity and heat of the chipotle adobo sauce and brings out some of the natural depth of the dried chilies. But, don't dismay! You aren't stuck with brown sugar as your only option. Other unrefined sweeteners, like coconut sugar, or palm sugar work great here too. And those can then be used to work into recipes like Thai iced tea, Malaysian kuih ketayap, and Filipino tupig.
Vinegar
I keep it simple in this recipe, and just rely on plain white vinegar to brighten the flavors and balance the richness. Apple cider vinegar, lime juice, or even rice vinegar can be used as an alternative for a less sharp flavor.
*See the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Creamy Chipotle Sauce Recipe:
Nope- I ain’t talking about chipotles IN adobo, I am talking about using dried chipotle chiles in the sauce itself for a richer, smokier flavor with extra heat. Just make the recipe as is, but swap out some of the ancho chilies for chipotles. Then use this as-is as a barbecue sauce, or blend together equal parts of this adobo and either vegan kewpie mayo, or unsweetened plant-based yogurt, and use this spicy goodness all over vegan elotes as a quick chipotle crema.
Adobo Rojo
Once the sauce is made, pull some roasted tomatoes or tomatillos into the sauce. This condiment is heaven on earth on top of chilaquiles, drizzled over french fries, or vegan tostadas.
📖 How to make adobo sauce
Nail this on your first shot by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Seed Between the Lines:
Remove the stems and seeds from the guajillo, ancho peppers, and arbol chiles.
Step Two
Space Ghost, Toast to Toast:
Toast these chiles along with cumin seeds, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, cloves, and bay leaves in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until the spices are fragrant, being careful not to scorch the chiles.
Step Three
Chile Tub Time:
Place the toasted chiles and spices into a blender, then cover with 3 cups of boiling hot water. Let them soak for 20 minutes, allowing the chilies to become soft and hydrated.
Step Four
Sauté-braham Lincoln:
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. After 90 seconds, add the diced onion and minced garlic, and cook for 4-5 minutes until the onion becomes fragrant and translucent.
Step Five
Caramelization:
Stir in oregano, cinnamon, tomato paste, and brown sugar to the skillet. Continue cooking for just 2 more minutes, stirring constantly to avoid burning the spices.
Step Six
Blend Me Your Ear and I’ll Sing You a Song:
Transfer the skillet mixture, along with the white vinegar and salt, into the blender with the soaked chiles and spices. Blend on medium speed for 90 seconds until the adobo chipotle sauce is completely smooth.
Step Seven (optional)
How to Make Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce:
Soak the dried chipotle peppers in a bowl with boiling water until they are soft, about 30 minutes.
Step Eight (optional)
Sim Simmer, Who's Got the Keys to My Bimmer?
Add the softened chipotles to the blended adobo sauce. Simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes to let the flavors combine.
Store the chipotles in adobo sauce in the refrigerator for up to a week, or can them in a sterilized glass jar to keep shelf-stable, smoky heat on tap for up to a year.
💡Serving Ideas
Use the adobo sauce in your Mexican favorites, like homemade refried beans, or even stir some into your vegan buffalo sauce to add more complexity and a smoky snap to your vegan buffalo wings or vegan fried chicken for the halftime show.
Some adobo sauce is actually an amazing addition to my New Mexico-style red chili sauce to make a taco sauce that is hella flavorful with just enough spicy kick not to piss off anyone at your dinner table.
This smoky chipotle chiles in adobo sauce recipe is one of my favorite condiments to add to the base of my Sopa de Lentejas, which makes the Mexican lentil soup a little more robust and intense-tasting.
I always use some chipotles in adobo to make the black beans for my vegan burrito bowls which get topped with vegan cotija cheese and habanero salsa.
Want a quick creamy condiment to dip your vegan drumsticks into? Use the tines of a fork to whip some adobo sauce into vegan sour cream, and you will be one happy lil’ nugget.
👉Top tips
- Don’t Over-Toast the Chiles: Toasting chiles and spices adds depth to the flavor, but be careful not to overdo it. If the chiles get too dark, they can become bitter. Toast just until fragrant, which usually takes about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Hydrate Chiles All the Way: Soaking your dried chiles thoroughly is crucial. If they’re not fully hydrated, you’ll probably end up with large pieces of dried chile in the sauce. Make sure they’re soft and pliable before blending.
- Don’t Use Your Grampa’s Old Cobweb Ridden Food Processor: Using a legit high speed blender (my favorite blender is a Blendtec) makes the sauce come out so much more smoothly with less time and effort.
- Spice Control to Major Tom: If you like a bit more kick, don’t hesitate to add extra arbol chiles or even a splash of shatta sauce to taste. The chipotle chiles in adobo sauce recipe is adaptable, so adjust the arbol chilies up or down according to your spice tolerance.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week, or can them in a sterilized glass jar for up to a year.
To can this easy adobo sauce recipe, start by sterilizing your jars and lids in boiling water. Fill each jar with the freshly made sauce, leaving about half an inch of headspace. Wipe the rims clean, place the lids on top, and screw on the bands until fingertip tight.
Process the jars in a boiling water bath for fifteen minutes, adjusting for altitude if necessary. Carefully remove the jars with tongs, or a jar lifter and let them cool completely on a towel, then check the seals.
The sealed jars can be kept in a cool, dark place for up to one year. Your chipotle peppers with adobo sauce will stay fine.
Yes, you can freeze them in an airtight container for up to 3 months. What I like to do is portion the sauce in ice cube trays, and once solid transfer them into a bag. That way you can thaw out just what you need at any given time.
✌️Dishes to use adobo sauce on:
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Easy Adobo Sauce Recipe (Plus: Chipotle Peppers in Adobo)
Equipment
Ingredients
Spices and Chiles:
- 3 guajillo chiles
- 3 ancho chiles
- 2 arbol chiles optional for extra heat
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon black peppercorns
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 ¼ cups boiling water
Sauce Ingredients:
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 cup onion diced
- 4 teaspoons garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
To Make Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce:
- 8 dried chipotle chilies
Instructions
- Remove the stems and seeds from the guajillo, ancho, and arbol chiles.
- Toast the chiles, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, cloves, and bay leaves in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant, but without letting the chiles get dark or bitter.
- Transfer the toasted chiles and spices to a blender pitcher, and cover with the boiling water. Let soak for twenty minutes.
- Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. After 90 seconds, when the oil is hot, sauté the diced onion and minced garlic for 4-5 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
- Stir in the oregano, cinnamon, tomato paste, and brown sugar. Cook for an additional two minutes, stirring constantly to avoid burning the spices.
- Using a rubber spatula to get out all the good stuff, transfer the contents of the pan, along with the white vinegar, and salt into the blender that contains the soaked chiles and spices. Don’t you dare get rid of the soaking water! Blend for 90 seconds on medium speed until smooth.
To make chipotle peppers in adobo sauce:
- Place the dried chipotle chilies in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them soak until soft, approximately 30 minutes.
- Once softened, pinch off the stems and add the chipotle chilies to the blended adobo sauce. Simmer the sauce over low heat for 15-20 minutes, allowing the flavors of the adobo sauce to penetrate into the chiles.
- Store the chipotles in adobo in the refrigerator for up to a week, or can them in a sterilized glass jar to keep shelf stable for up to a year.
Notes
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Krys says
This was really good. Fortunately we have a Price Rite here that sells random peppers I wouldn’t normally find in my grocery store. I made this recipe and I’m so glad I did. It was tasty. Try it! You’ll like it!
Adam Sobel says
So glad you loved it!