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Vegan Chipotle Sauce is a great way to take cashews and turn them into an amazing dip! Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend it up. It's great on vegan tacos or as a dip with tortilla chips.
Hey Internet, ready to give a spicy and easy chipotle sauce? This creamy sauce recipe will be your new favorite thing for tortilla chips, veggies, proteins, and more. The spicy and smoky flavor is just amazing!
We sure do love our creamy sauce recipes at Zardyplants. Our favorites lately include our Harissa Tofu Dip, Nut-Free Vegan Queso, Vegan Garlic Aioli, Sunflower Seed Cream, and our Spicy Almond Butter Sauce, yum. Check out all our vegan sauce recipes and vegan dip recipes if you know a good sauce is the key to an amazing yet easy meal.
But back to this incredible creamy Vegan Chipotle Sauce! That's right, it's vegan; no dairy-free options needed and honestly you won't miss the dairy.
With simple ingredients you can have a delicious sauce to dunk your sweet potato fries, chips, or whatever else your heart desires!
This recipe is SO simple to make too. All you have to do is soak your raw cashews (substitutions available below) and blend them with a few other ingredients for an incredible homemade chipotle sauce.
Are you ready for possibly TOO much flavor?! (Just kidding, no such thing.) Really, this sauce is so balanced and delicious, we're confident you'll love it. And guess what, you can adjust everything, such as adding more chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for a spicer sauce, or just using a little chipotle powder for a mild sauce!
Why You'll Love This Creamy Chipotle Sauce Recipe
- So Quick to Make: This rich sauce can be ready in just 15 minutes (or less if you go the silken tofu route!) and the leftover sauce lasts really well in the fridge (cashew-based sauces will hold up better than tofu-based sauces in our opinion, but both last 4-5 days!
- Addictive Sauce: Sorry not sorry, but you might be making this vegan chipotle sauce all the time because it's THAT good.
- Versatile: You can use this spicy vegan sauce as a pasta sauce, dipping sauce for potatoes/chips/etc., put it on your tacos (like our vegan fish tacos or vegan carne asada tacos, pour it on veggies, burrito bowls, grain bowls, veggie burgers, black beans, and more! You'll love the spicy flavor and creamy rich texture.\
Ingredients
Pick up these simple ingredients the next time you're at your local grocery store. See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredients, instructions, and accurate nutrition information (to the best of my ability; please consult your physician or healthcare professional if you have specific dietary needs or need to meet a certain daily value of any nutrient). I give substitutions for the ingredients in the section below this one, so most people can still make this recipe!
- 1 Cup Raw Cashews: Save money by buying raw cashew pieces instead of whole cashews. You're blending them anyway! For cheaper, lower fat, or more convenient options, check the substitutions section below.
- ½ Cup Water (or more) to Blend: You may need more to achieve your desired consistency, but we used about ½ cup. Use filtered water if possible for a better taste. And do not use the hot water you soaked the cashews in. Discard that and use new water. You can also use something like plain unsweetened almond milk, but I find that to be unnecessary when working with cashews.
- 3 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo: The magic ingredient in our spicy sauce! 3 peppers is about half of a 7.5 ounce can that they tend to come in (some cans are smaller but I can't guarantee how many are in there). Chipotle peppers are basically smoke dried ripe jalapeño peppers in a very flavorful sauce. It's quite spicy so be careful. You can find this product in the Mexican food aisle in most grocery stores.
- 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup: For a touch of sweetness to balance the flavors.
- 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt: Use sea salt or iodized salt to your preference.
Substitutions
- Raw Cashews: A cheaper option for our main ingredient is raw sunflower seeds, while a much lower fat option is silken tofu. If you use silken tofu, you'll need about 15 ounces (drain the package but you don't need to try and press it, not that that will work anyway!) and you won't need any water to blend. Other options we have NOT tested (so no idea on how much you'd need, sorry) include: vegan mayonnaise (or try our tofu mayo or tofu sour cream), vegan Greek yogurt, or vegan sour cream.
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo: You can use about a teaspoon of chipotle powder instead. Add a little more at a time to increase the heat for a spicier sauce.
- Maple Syrup: Agave is another great sweetener for this recipe.
- Lime Juice: You could try lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- Spices: Feel free to customize the spices how you like. For even more smokiness, add a little smoked paprika. If you like things with a really zesty kick, consider adding more heat for a truly spicy sauce.
How to Make Vegan Chipotle Sauce
- Prepare the Cashews: Soak your raw cashews in a covered bowl for about 10 minutes in about 2 cups just boiled water if you have a high speed blender, but any blender will work if you have a bit longer to soak them. In the case of a small food processor, immersion blender, or a regular countertop blender (not a high-powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec, I would soak them for about an hour, or you can do overnight in the fridge! No matter what, just drain that water when you're done (if soaking overnight, I'd give the soaked cashews a good rinse).
- Blend: Drain the cashews first (I would not use the soaking water in the sauce). Add all the ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
- Serve: Add to a small bowl or directly onto your food and enjoy!
Storage Instructions
Add remaining chipotle sauce to an airtight container (you can also cover the bowl it's in with plastic wrap, but I find an airtight container is the best way to store homemade sauce. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Serving Suggestions
If you're a sauce freak like I am, you know the key to a great vegan meal or snack is a creamy dressing or sauce.
Use this spicy vegan chipotle sauce as a dipping sauce for:
- Tortilla chips
- French fries
- Sweet potato fries
- Red bell pepper and cucumber (or raw veg of your choice)
- Or anything you like!
Or add your chipotle crema to a meal like:
- Burrito bowls
- Taco salads like our Vegan Taco Salad
- Grain bowls
- Tofu bowls like our Tofu Buddha Bowl
- Hash browns and a Vegan Omelette or even Vegan Quiche
- Your favorite tacos
- Black beans and rice
- and more!
More Great Vegan Sauces
- Harissa Tofu Dip
- Nut-Free Vegan Queso
- Vegan Garlic Aioli
- Sunflower Seed Cream
- Spicy Almond Butter Sauce
- Vegan Teriyaki Sauce
And check out our huge list of Vegan Dip Recipes and Vegan Sauce Recipes!
Vegan Chipotle Sauce
- Total Time: 15 Minutes
- Yield: 12 oz 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Vegan Chipotle Sauce is a great way to take cashews and turn them into an amazing dip! Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend it up.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Raw Cashews (see Note 1)
- ½ cup Water (or more) To Blend
- 3 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo (See Note 2)
- 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup (or Agave)
- 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Prepare the Cashews: Soak your raw cashews in a covered bowl for about 10 minutes in about 2 cups just boiled water if you have a high speed blender, but any blender will work if you have a bit longer to soak them. In the case of a small food processor, immersion blender, or a regular countertop blender (not a high-powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec, I would soak them for about an hour, or you can do overnight in the fridge! No matter what, just drain that water when you're done (if soaking overnight, I'd give the soaked cashews a good rinse).
- Blend: Drain the cashews first (I would not use the soaking water in the sauce). Add all the ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
- Serve: Add to a small bowl or to your food and enjoy!
Notes
- Note 1: A cheaper option is raw sunflower seeds, while a much lower fat option is silken tofu. If you use silken tofu, you'll need about 15 ounces (drain the package but you don't need to try and press it, not that that will work anyway!) and you won't need any water to blend. Other options we have NOT tested (so no idea on how much you'd need, sorry) include: vegan mayonnaise (or try our tofu mayo or tofu sour cream), vegan Greek yogurt, or vegan sour cream.
- Note 2: The magic ingredient in our spicy sauce! 3 peppers is about half of a 7.5 ounce can that they tend to come in (some cans are smaller but I can't guarantee how many are in there). Chipotle peppers are basically smoke dried ripe jalapeño peppers in a very flavorful sauce. It's quite spicy so be careful. You can find this product in the Mexican food aisle in most grocery stores.
- Soak Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 5 Minutes
- Category: Snack, Dip, Sauce
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: American, Party
Patty Crain
This is about the caramelized apple recipe.
You mentioned something about apples turning brown after peeling-one of the things I dislike about cooking with apples. Last summer I discovered a newly created apple called 'Cosmic Crisp'. I found them in a Canadian Walmart. They were so good! Firm, sweet and juicy-juice dripping off my chin juicy. The best part about them is that they don't turn brown after peeling-even if left overnight,
I looked them up and they were created and tested in Wenatchee, WA, just a couple of years ago. They have been okayed for sale in the US and Canada, if I remember right.
ps: Thanks! I like your recipes best of all the ones I look up.