Creamy Chipotle Sauce (Taco Bell Inspired!)

Name: Creamy Chipotle Sauce (Taco Bell Inspired)
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: ¼ cup raw almond butter ((or cashew butter)); ½ cup water ((see notes)); 2 tablespoons lime juice; 1 teaspoon maple syrup; 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce ((about 2 inches long)); ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

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It might surprise you to hear that sometimes I get my fun food inspiration from Taco Bell. My husband and I used to live on their bean & lettuce tacos when we were broke(!) right out of college, and I still have a soft spot for their menu– especially when they come up with brilliant sauces like this one.

I’ll admit, this version doesn’t taste exactly like the one they make. I think it’s better. (Probably because it’s made without mayo or added oil.) I’ve been spreading it on tacos and breakfast sandwiches all week!

In fact, if you plan on making a breakfast sandwich or taco anytime soon, please try this sauce with it.

It could also be used as a dressing for salads, so feel free to get creative! It has a runnier texture when you first make it, like a creamy salad dressing, and then when it thickens in the fridge overnight it might remind you more of a thicker aioli. Both ways it’s delicious!

healthy chipotle sauce in a glass jar with a lid.

Creamy Chipotle Sauce Ingredients

Almond Butter. Use a raw almond butter (like Artisana brand) for the most mild and neutral flavor. The final sauce doesn’t taste like almond butter at all! I think you could also use cashew butter with similar results, and perhaps even tahini if you have a brand you like.
Chipotle Pepper. Buy a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for this recipe. You’ll need just one pepper that’s about 2 inches long for this recipe. You can use the rest of the can to make my popular honey chipotle dressing, or just freeze the rest for future use.
Lime Juice. You’ll get approximately 2 tablepsoons of lime juice from 1 fresh lime. Make sure it’s not too firm when you buy it from the store, so you’ll actually get juice from it!
Maple Syrup. Did you know that you can balance out spicy flavor with a sweet one? That’s what the maple syrup is here for. You just need a little bit to help make the sauce perfectly balanced. (Honey could probably work, too, but it has a stronger overall flavor.)
Salt. This sauce is super-bland if you forget the salt, so please don’t! I always use Redmond’s Real Salt brand, so if you use white table salt (which tastes different) you might want to start wiht a little less.

jar of almond butter, chipotle peppers, salt, lime, and maple syrup on a white surface.

How to Make Creamy Chipotle Sauce

Step 1:

In a personal-sized blender, add 1/4 cup of raw almond butter, 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, 1 teaspoon of maple syrup, 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (about 2 inches long), and a 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt.

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Secure the lid and blend until the sauce looks smooth. My blender runs for 60 seconds, but if it’s not smooth or creamy enough, run it for a second cycle.

chipotle pepper and almond butter lifted on utensils to show texture before going into a blender.

Step 2:

When the sauce looks smooth, taste it and make any adjustments you see fit. You might want to add a little more lime juice for a tangy flavor, or you can add an extra splash of maple syrup to make it sweeter.

Keep in mind that the sauce will have a runny consistency at this point, almost like a salad dressing. It will thicken up when you store it overnight in the fridge! So, if you want a thicker sauce, make this ahead of time.

This sauce should keep well in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.

blended chipotle sauce before and after thickening in the fridge.

Chipotle Sauce Recipe FAQs

Can I use Greek yogurt instead of almond butter?

No, Greek yogurt will not be a 1:1 swap for almond butter or any other nut butter. You’d probably need to almost eliminate the water in that case, cut back on the lime juice, and see what happens. (Maybe add more sweetener?) It would be a full-blown experiment at that point, so I’d recommend looking for a different recipe in that case that already starts with the ingredients you want to use.

Can I use chipotle powder instead of a canned pepper?

Possibly, but the consistency of the sauce could change. The blended pepper helps emulsify the sauce (making it thicker and silkier) while a powder will not do that. If you must, I’d start with only 1/4 teaspoon of chipotle powder as it’s quite concentrated and spicy in flavor.

Can I use vinegar instead of lime juice?

Most likely you can, but only use half the amount in that case. Vinegar is much stronger than lime juice, so just 1 tablespoon should do.

Creamy Chipotle Sauce (Taco Bell Inspired)

I'm obsessed with this creamy chipotle sauce. It's inspired by the one from Taco Bell, but this version uses ridiculously healthy ingredients, like almond butter and fresh lime juice. There's no oil or mayo required, and once you taste this recipe, you may end up making it every single week. (Like I have!) It's delicious on breakfast sandwiches, tacos, wraps, salads, and more. I literally want to drench everything in this.

prep5 mins cook0 mins total5 mins

Servings:8

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Ingredients

¼ cup raw almond butter (or cashew butter)
½ cup water (see notes)
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (about 2 inches long)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

In a personal-sized blender, combine the almond butter, water, lime juice, maple syrup, chipotle pepper, and salt. Secure the lid and blend until smooth.

A personal-size blender works best for this recipe because the batch size is small. (You'll get about 1 cup of sauce.) If you only have a full-size blender, you may want to double this recipe and freeze the extra so it blends smoothly.

Once the sauce is totally smooth (with no visible chunks of pepper), taste it and make any adjustments you see fit. You can make it sweeter by adding another teaspoon of maple syrup, or make it tangier by adding an extra squeeze of lime. This sauce will have a runny consistency at this point, more like a salad dressing, but it's still perfect for drizzling over tacos and burrito bowls. When you put it in the fridge overnight, it will thicken. So if you want a thicker result, make this in advance.
Leftover sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I think this one will freeze well, too!

Notes

Nutrition information is for approximately 2 tablespoons of sauce, assuming you get 1 cup total from this batch. This is automatically calculated using an online ingredient database, so it’s just an estimate, not a guarantee.

Almond Butter Note: I tested this recipe with Artisana’s raw almond butter, which has a mild, neutral flavor. If you use a roasted almond butter, your sauce will have a roasted flavor, too. Feel free to experiment with using cashew butter or your favorite tahini as a swap, if needed.

Water Note: I also tested this recipe with only 1/3 cup of water to make the sauce thicker right away. I didn’t love the flavor quite as much, so I ended up adding 2 more tablespoons of water to make it like this version above. But that’s an option if you want to start with a thicker sauce.

Nutrition

Author: Megan Gilmore

Course: sauce

Cuisine: American

Keyword: creamy chipotle sauce

More Recipes to Try

Creamy Cilantro Lime Sauce (made with hemp hearts)
Healthy BBQ sauce with no added sugar
Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing
High-Protein Cottage Cheese Dip

If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below to let me know how you like it.

Creamy Chipotle Sauce

Creamy Chipotle Sauce Ingredients