It’s easy to make your own Chipotles in Adobo Sauce using either store-bought or homemade Chipotle Peppers.
So now that I’ve pickled, smoked, dried and jellied this summer’s bounty of chili peppers, it’s time to make one of my absolute favorite condiments, Chipotles in Adobo sauce. I always have a store-bought can of Chipotles in Adobo sauce in the pantry since it’s one of my go-to ingredients for making tacos, chili, soups, dips, you name it.
Why Not Make My Own Chipotles in Adobo?
Since I just smoked and dried a bagful of jalapeno peppers to make my own Chipotle Peppers, I figured it would be fun to make my own Chipotles in Adobo. I found a few recipes on-line and and took the elements I liked from those recipes to create my own version of adobo sauce.
The recipe is actually super easy to make. Of course, you can certainly use store bought chipotle peppers instead of the homemade.

Pour boiling water over dried chipotle peppers and soak for 20 minutes to re-hydrate.

Puree a few peppers with soaking liquid and tomatoes to make the base for the Adobo sauce. Add the whole peppers to the sauce to finish.
I made a batch of Chipotles in Adobo about 3 weeks ago and have kept the jar in the refrigerator. The flavor of the peppers has just gotten better over the last few weeks and I’m really happy with the flavor of the sauce. To be honest, I kind of winged it with the sauce recipe, but it’s a keeper!
30 minPrep Time
15 minCook Time
45 minTotal Time
Ingredients
- 18-20 dried Chipotle Peppers (about 3 oz), stems removed.
- 1 cup tomato puree or chopped canned tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
Instructions
- Place chipotle peppers in a bowl
- Cover the peppers with boiling water, place a pot lid or plate on the surface to keep the peppers submerged
- Leave them soak for 20 minutes
- Drain the peppers, reserving 1 cup of the soaking liquid
- Combine 4-5 chipotles, 1 cup soaking liquid, tomato puree and honey in a blender or food processor.
- Process until smooth
- Heat olive oil in a saute pan
- Saute the onions, garlic, salt, pepper and spices until the onions are soft
- Add the tomato puree and the remaining whole chipotle peppers to the pan
- Add the vinegar and cook for another 5-10 minutes until the sauce has the consistency of a thick tomato sauce
- If the sauce is too thick add a little more water, if the sauce is too thin cook a little longer.
- Chipotles in Adobo will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator and the flavors will continue to develop
- Chipotles in Adobo can be frozen for long term storage.
The Finer Cookie/Kim
Eileen Gray
Karen Wiencek
Eileen Gray
Renette
Eileen Gray