Honey Chipotle Sauce - The Recipe Critic (2024)

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This honey chipotle sauce is packed with so much flavor you will want to put it on everything! The blended spices will elevate any meal and have all of your guests asking for the recipe!

This sauce is so versatile! I use it on my meats and also as a dipping sauce. But to start with, you must try it out on this Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken, this Honey Chipotle Pork Roast, and these amazing and mouthwatering Chipotle Honey Meatballs!

Honey Chipotle Sauce - The Recipe Critic (1)

Homemade Honey Chipotle Sauce Recipe

Honey chipotle sauce is a FAVORITE at our house! We use it on just about everything, and it’s my secret sauce to getting my kids to try new things! Their favorite honey chipotle recipe is these meatballs. Whether they are for you or your kids, whoever eats this sauce is going to love it!

This sauce marries sweet and heat with all of the spices and ingredients! Garlic, pepper, and cumin are just a few of the ingredients that, once you put them together then they will make you want to lick your plate clean. When you combine them with a base of ketchup, honey, a dash of apple cider vinegar, and some brown sugar, this recipe will knock your socks off and become your favorite too!

Ingredients in Honey Chipotle Sauce

This sauce takes less than 5 minutes to make, and you will be enjoying it for weeks! It’s restaurant quality, and you will never want to buy this at the store again. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.

  • Ketchup: The ketchup is the base of the sauce.
  • Chipotle Peppers: These come in a can! Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce is the label you want to look for!
  • Cider Vinegar: This helps to combine all of the ingredients.
  • Brown Sugar: I used light brown sugar, but you can use dark if that’s what you have on hand.
  • Worcestershire Sauce: This adds a tangy and salty flavor to balance the honey.
  • Honey: This adds sweetness to the sauce. The honey will break down from the vinegar and mix in nicely.
  • Salt: The salt enhances the ingredients in the sauce.
  • Garlic Powder: I love the flavor of garlic in just about everything, and this sauce is no exception.
  • Ground Cumin: This brings an earthy, warm flavor to the honey-chipotle sauce.
  • Black Pepper: This adds just enough flavor without adding in any extra heat.

How to Make This Homemade Sauce

If you have 5 minutes to spare, then you have enough time to make this homemade honey chipotle sauce! There is no cooking required, and you can use it on so many things like wings, pork, or ribs!

  1. Blend: In a blender or food processor, combine the ketchup, chipotle peppers, cider vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, honey, salt, garlic powder, cumin, and black pepper. Blend until smooth.
  2. Add to Food: The sauce is ready to use for basting meat. You can also add the sauce to a saucepan over medium heat. Heat through until warm and serve as a dipping sauce for chicken, ribs, or pork!
Honey Chipotle Sauce - The Recipe Critic (2)

Is Honey Chipotle Sauce Spicy?

Chipotle peppers are similar to jalapeno peppers that are placed in an adobo sauce, which preserves their flavor! The peppers all by themselves can carry a bit of spice, but this sauce is tempered with honey, vinegar, and brown sugar. It’s a great sauce that has a lot of flavors and some heat but not too much!

Honey Chipotle Sauce - The Recipe Critic (3)

How to Store Homemade Sauce

Simple and easy, this homemade honey chipotle sauce can be made in a few minutes and then used immediately as a rub for meats or as a dip for chicken tenders and french fries! After you’ve made it then, it can be stored in an airtight container in your fridge. It will last about two weeks!

More Homemade Sauces

Making sauce from scratch is the way to go! You can control all of the ingredients, the amount of heat (or no heat!) and also the texture. Once I started making sauces at home, I never went back to buying them at the store! Join me with these delicious recipe, you won’t regret it!

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Honey Chipotle Sauce

4 from 3 votes

By: Alyssa Rivers

This honey chipotle sauce is packed with so much flavor you will want to put it on everything! The blended spices will elevate any meal and have all of your guests asking for the recipe!

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a blender or food processor combine the ketchup, chipotle peppers, cider vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, honey, salt, garlic powder, cumin, and black pepper. Blend until smooth.

  • The sauce is ready to use for basting meat. You can also add the sauce to a saucepan over medium heat. Heat through until warm and serve as a dipping sauce for chicken, ribs, or pork!

Nutrition

Serving: 2tablespoonsCalories: 76kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 1gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.03gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.02gSodium: 380mgPotassium: 98mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 119IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 11mgIron: 0.4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: condiment, Sauce

Cuisine: American

Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Alyssa Rivers and the food blogger behind The Recipe Critic. The blog launched in 2012 as a place to share my passion for cooking. I love trying new things and testing them out with my family. Each recipe is tried and true, family-tested and approved.

Read More About Me

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Honey Chipotle Sauce - The Recipe Critic (2024)

FAQs

Is Honey Chipotle Sauce good? ›

Outstanding BBQ sauce! Loved the smokey/spicy/sweet flavor. I added a little more chipotle than called for. Used this to grill chicken breasts but I think it would be terrific on ribs as well.

How spicy is honey chipotle? ›

Yes! This homemade Honey Chipotle recipe calls for an entire can of chipotle en adobo peppers, so it definitely has some heat. I'd equate the heat to eating jalapeno poppers. If you want the result to be not quite so spicy, use half a can of chipotle en adobo peppers.

What is chipotle sauce made of? ›

Chipotle sauce is made from chipotles in adobo, spices, cilantro, lime juice, sour cream, and mayonnaise. All of these ingredients are blended together for a smooth, smoky, slightly spicy sauce your family will love!

What do you do with chipotle honey? ›

Recommended Uses

This smoky-spicy-sweet combo is the ideal complement to drizzle on pizza, roasted veggies, fried chicken, barbecue, dips, and more.

What does honey chipotle taste like? ›

they were sweet they were savory they had some zing at the end of them. little bit sweeter than honey barbecue but very similar. I think 11 would love those wings.

Why does chipotle sauce taste so good? ›

While the chipotle peppers and creamy base are the heart of the sauce, it's the addition of lime juice and flavorful spices like garlic that truly bring the sauce to life. The zest and acidity of lime juice cut through the richness of the dish, adding a burst of freshness while highlighting the chipotle's smoky notes.

Is honey chipotle Sweet? ›

This honey chipotle sauce is the perfect versatile sweet and spicy sauce for wings, salmon, chicken, & more!

Is honey chipotle sauce like honey bbq? ›

Take a sweet honey BBQ sauce and add in chipotles in adobo sauce and you have this amazing honey chipotle BBQ sauce. It's the ultimate well-rounded sauce that is perfect on chicken, pork, and so much more! This sauce is a natural pairing for grilled and smoked foods.

How strong is chipotle? ›

Chipotles have the same intense kick as jalapeños but with a deep and smoky flavor. On the Scoville scale, used to compare the hotness of chiles, chipotle chiles range from 17,000-37,000 heat units. While habanero peppers, for instance, can be up to 250,000 heat units.

Why is chipotle sauce so hot? ›

For the salsa in question, Chipotle uses chiles de árbol, which range from from 15,000 to 30,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). For context, jalapeños measure at around 2,500 to 8,000 SHU, while ghost peppers clock in at 800,000 to 1,000,000 — or even hotter.

Is Chipotle sauce really hot? ›

Chipotle's Signature Chipotle Sauce: This is a smoky and spicy sauce made from chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, blended with other spices and ingredients. It has a rich, smoky flavor with a moderate level of heat.

Is Honey Chipotle spicy at Chili's? ›

The sauce is a great mix of sweet and spicy. I recently found a DIY recipe for the sauce and have been playing with the recipe all night.

Is Honey Chipotle spicy Papa Johns? ›

A perfect blend of sweet and spicy, honey chipotle sauce adds a savory flavor to our bone-in, oven-baked wings. Includes your choice of dipping sauce.

How to use chipotle sauce? ›

Chipotle Sauce can be used in a variety of ways. Use it as a dip for veg (or fries!), a spread for sammies and burgers, or as a topping for tacos, burritos, and grilled meats.

Are honey chipotle wings good? ›

Honey Chipotle Wings

They're super crispy on the outside and the chicken is incredibly juicy on the inside, basically everything you could ask for in the perfect chicken wings. Let's learn how to make sweet, spicy, and smoky Honey Chipotle Wings!

Is Chili's Honey Chipotle Sauce spicy? ›

The sauce is a great mix of sweet and spicy.

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