How to make Chipotle Mayo ( Mexican Secret Sauce) – a fast and easy 5 minute sauce that everyone should know about, to give meals a huge BURST of flavor! Vegan adaptable, GF!
A wise woman once said, “Fuck this shit.” And she lived happily ever after. ~Anonymous
This vegan-adaptable, Chipotle Mayo – or Mexican Secret Sauce- is probably not a huge secret anymore … but to some it may be the difference between a dish that is bland and unexciting to something fantastically delicious! Use it as taco sauce, over burrito bowls, or with most any Mexican- inspired recipes!
And the best thing is, it only takes FIVE minutes to make, and I’m pretty sure you already have the simple ingredients on hand. It keeps in the fridge for weeks and comes in handy quite frequently around here. The best tasting taco sauce, ever!
Watch the quick video to get an overview!
This chipotle sauce is one we use in our catering business. At home, I make a healthier vegan version (see notes in recipe) and keep it in a squirt bottle ready to drizzle lightly over tacos, fish, corn on the cob, nachos, enchiladas, and even over Brian’s fish sticks – adding a burst of flavor! The latest use though, is over these Quick Fish Tacos or the Mexican Style Oaxacan Bowls, Tlayludas or these super yummy Chipotle Portobello Tacos which you simply must try!
If you are vegan, make this with Veganaise or silken tofu. A flavor booster for sure!
On the home front: I’ve been meaning to tell you a story, but until now the words have not come. It’s why I picked this quote. I trust that those of you need to hear this story will find it, and those who don’t, will simply skip to the recipe.
When my mother, Lea, turned 80, she left my father.
He had gone on his annual month-long trip to Egypt, and with the help of her good friend, she packed up her all belongings and moved out of the house where she had lived for 35 years. Imagine how difficult this would be at any age, and then imagine it at 80.
When he returned she was gone. They were married 42 years.
My father, like all of us, had his good qualities and his flaws. He could treat her terribly, tearing her down emotionally, but could also be very loving in his own way. Which made leaving him very difficult. A complicated man, heavily influenced by his culture. She stayed with him out of duty, guilt, religion and out of “what would people think?”. Growing up, I found myself wishing desperately she would leave him, because I could see how the stress of being in that volatile relationship took such a toll on her, not just emotionally, but physically. It wasn’t until she was 80, did she have the strength and courage to do this for herself. No easy feat, and she didn’t tell me until after it was done.
And then she lived 3 more years…
Believe me when I tell you, even though the rest of her time here was short, they were the happiest, most incredible, three years of her life! She was free and light and bubbling with joy!
Effervescent. I had never witnessed this before! She completely transformed. Like a weight was lifted.
Looking back, I believe her lesson in this life was to experience love fully, and specifically, to experience self-love. She had always put everyone else first, serving others in her beautiful faithful way. I believe, although I didn’t understand it at the time, that in the last few hours of her life – spirit, god, or her own soul was showing her glimpses of her life, perhaps reminding her of her loving acts -as a nurse, midwife (in Nigeria), friend, mother, sister, and wife. She had this loving peace and acceptance about her, and it was incredibly beautiful to witness. Such an incredible gift to give her only daughter.
I just wanted to share this with you, because I know that marriage can be one of the hardest things. I’m in my second. 😉 Sometimes the lesson is not always “acceptance” and making our bed and lying in it, being miserable, for the rest of our days.
Sometimes the lesson is learning to love ourselves enough to take care of our soul, make healthy, unsettling choices, and take courageous action. This is not the easy road, change always feels so much scarier than living with unhappiness. But I just wanted to share that a different path is indeed possible. And that if my mother could do this, at the age of 80, so can we all.
And that it is never too late.
Back to the recipe -simply stir the ingredients together. You can make it spicy, or you can keep it mild. Your choice!
Use mayo or keep it vegan with vegan mayo or silken tofu!
Just whisk it up….and it’s done!
How easy is that?
Give this Chipotle Mayo a whirl! Also…. try this vegan Cilantro-Jalapeno Sauce– a green version of this!
And for more flavor boosting sauces to elevate your dishes…. go here!
I also love this Fermented Hot Sauce….so easy and tasty!
Related: 20 recipes that celebrate Cinco de Mayo!
PrintChipotle Mayo-Mexican Secret Sauce
Vegan -Adaptable Chipotle Mayo- a smoky spicy zesty Mexican Secret Sauce for tacos, tosadas, enchilada’s or most any mexican food. Can be made vegan with Veganaise or use Silken Tofu ( see notes). Gluten Free.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: ½ cup 1x
- Category: Condiment
- Method: whisk
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayo ( or use sour cream, vegan mayo “Veganaise” – or make with silken tofu, see notes below)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 –2 teaspoons lime juice ( to taste)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt, more to taste
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ⅛– ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder – you can also use one canned chipotle pepper (blending it with the mayo in a blender) or just stir in a teaspoon or two of the spicy smoky adobo sauce from the can. Start conservatively, adding more to taste.
Instructions
- If making with mayo or Veganaise, place all ingredients in a small bowl. Be conservative with the chipotle ( you can always add more). Whisk until smooth with a fork or tiny whisk. ( See notes below if making with silken tofu.)
- Taste, adjust heat, adding more if you like.
- Store in a small jar in the fridge, or in a squirt bottle for easy use. Keeps up to 3 weeks.
Notes
If making a vegan version with silken tofu– replace the mayo with ½ a package silken tofu ( about 6 ounces or 165 grams), leave out the water and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Increase salt to ½-¾ teaspoon, add ¼ teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (in addition to the lime) and place all in a food processor, blending until smooth and creamy. Use a canned chipotle pepper ( or half of one!) or just a teaspoon or two of the adobo sauce from the can, for the best flavor. Adjust salt, heat and lime.
I use Mori-Nu Organic Silken Tofu– Firm or Extra Firm Tofu – ½ of a 12.5 ounce package.
Keywords: chipotle mayo, how to make chipotle mayo, vegan chipotle mayo
Use in Tlayludas, tacos, and burrito bowls- spicy smoky and delicious!
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How much is “half a packet” silken tofu?
6 ounces. Sorry about that, I fixed the recipe. 🙂
How long can it be stored in the fridge?
I am actually thankful to the owner of this website who has shared this wonderful paragraph at here.
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Made this recipe with sour cream tonight. Great flavor. We enjoyed this sauce over chicken tacos. Definitely recommend.
Thanks Chris!
This SAUCE IS THE BOMB Diggity!!!
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My sons middle name is Uriah! Passed down from his grandfather. I knew you was a brutha when I saw your comment… That and the “bomb diggity”lol….I will make this sauce this week to go with my chicken tacos. Can’t wait!
Thank you, nice to meet you.
Your article is very interesting, I am currently studying in America.
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Was looking for a simple recipe but stumbled on something greater… thank you for sharing your mother’s story…. it was definitely something I needed to read.
That was a very beautiful story. Thank you.
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Delicious sauce ! Was looking for sauce for fish tacos and this was perfect .
Thank you for sharing your story .
Thank you for sharing your story.
Your mother was a very strong lady and is beautiful inside and out
didnt need the story
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Did need the story!!!
Didn’t…
Really needed to hear your mothers story…oh my god I needed this
Im so glad it helped.
This is the first recipe that came up after a google search. I had all the ingredients! I love it! The adobo sauce gives it a little kick! I especially loved the story.
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This recipe was so simple but what a lot of full flavor it added to our turkey, avocado & roasted bell pepper sandwiches! I will definately make again ! I appreciated the story about your mother as well.
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This recipe was exactly what I was looking for, thank you! I initially didn’t read the blog, but read it after making the sauce. So glad I did! Amazing story and a lesson for all of us that it is never too late to reinvent yourself and live life to it’s fullest.
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I was looking for a quick chipotle mayo and stumbled in to your recipe. Little did I know that the real “recipe” for me was your story about your Mom. I am just coming out of the other side of leaving a 38 year “ok” marriage that from the outside I made look really wonderful. There was too much missing and my soul longed for more connection than I was going to get. It’s been really hard and it’s very lonely. Today I needed to hear your words, to refresh my purpose and move forward with my new life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Oh yah, mayo is great too 😉
Hi Michele, you are incredibly brave and I feel so proud of you. You will get through this difficult part, in time, I know it. Keep trusting your soul. It knows. Love and hugs.
Thanks for sharing the story and the recipe. It’s great your mom had three years of stress free happiness and self love. It takes a lot of courage to walk away. We are creatures of habit and whats familiar and they bring some form of comfort even when it causes unhappiness! we forget to love ourselves and that weakens us. we deserve to be happy at peace and not live in fear!
Thanks Teresa, YES we do!
Don’t understand the need for the vulgar profanity filled quote. Not edifying. Yay for your mom getting out of an abusive marriage and enjoying her last 3 years. (I have a feeling she continued to serve others, though.) But another side of the story: I’ve been married 35 years in a bad to not so great marriage. Just seemed to always be a struggle over EVERYTHING. However, in the last 3 years I’ve started recognizing that so many of his traits that irritated me were actually HUGE blessings. Now, since I’ve been thanking him for all he does for us (and me), our marriage is REALLY sweet. I was able to honestly give him some of those mushy Valentine’s cards these last two years. Sometimes, we need to love ourselves a little less to see the value of those around us.
Can’t wait to try the mayo.
Oh my hat!! Your story brought me to tears…at my desk at work!! Thank you for sharing.
I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Love your recipes…anxious to try this one too…
I love the story of your mom…hope springs eternal.
AND… I love your quote – for those of us that it speaks to, the language used conveys the power of the emotion… it sparks, it resonates, it hits home….thank you.
Thanks Jan, it’s probably not the language that my mom would have chosen, but I think it gets the point across as clearly as possible. 😉
delish!
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had it tonight w/sweet potaoe fries as a dip..it was delish!!! tfs recipe..a happy canuck
I NEVER comment on recipes or peoples personal blogs. I was looking for a chipotle mayo recipe and I honestly can’t stand when bloggers go into stories about the recipe or whatever, I just don’t have time for it and just want to recipe but I greatly appreciated your story about your mother. A lot of times bloggers stories come off as so contrived and just fake but yours didn’t. It was beautiful and I really appreciate it. Great recipe too. Thank you. I also left a man I was with for three years that was emotionally abusive and I love that word you used: effervescent. That’s it. I feel effervescent now. What a great blog. I’ll be back!
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Thanks Lacey, I appreciate it. And I’m so happy for you.
You are a reflection of your Mama’s strength and courage. Glad she took a chance and did the hard thing. That was monumental at 80! Keep sharing your stories girl, as you feel led; You are touching people.
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Awwwww thanks Laura. Appreciate you. xoxo
I think God works in mysterious ways, who would have thought my search for a recipe would lead me to your mom’ story, your story. But it is just what I needed to hear, so thank you for the beautiful reminder about self love.
You are so welcome, glad you found it. xoxo
I love this. I was craving a meaty salad full of black beans and corn, and this dressing made it perfect 😊
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I made this with silken tofu and it was great. Everyone loved it. I also enjoy the fact that you use silken tofu instead cashews.
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I’ve been making this for ages, but I just use Veganaise, Chipotles in Adobo (diced) and some lime. I put it on eveything!
I like it that way too!