Skip the store-bought avocado dip and take your taste buds on an adventure with this velvety smooth Avocado Chipotle Sauce. Blended with smoky, spicy chipotle chiles, it’s a bold upgrade you’ll want on everything. If you’ve never cooked with canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, get ready to fall in love with their irresistible flavour.
During barbecue season I serve this sauce with grilled shrimp, grilled vegetables or other Mexican and Southwestern inspired dishes like this Achiote Chicken. End your dinner with homemade Aztec Chocolate Ice Cream and your friends will be asking to come back!
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Ingredients
Once you have chipotle chiles in adobo sauce in your pantry the universe will send you more recipes to use them in. I can also send you some.

- Avocado - Have this recipe top of mind for the moment your avocados ripen.
- Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce - If these smoked jalapeños are new to you, check out this post, chipotle chiles in adobo. You'll fall in love with them, guaranteed!
- Lime juice - Preferably from fresh limes but I make it with lime juice concentrate and cannot apologize for that. Lime trees grow every far away from here.
- White wine vinegar - Rounds out the acidity in this sauce.
- Plain yogurt & extra virgin olive oil - Contribute to the smoothness of this sauce.
- Ground cumin - This spice contributes a warm, earthy flavour to the sauce.
- Cilantro - For cilantro lovers this is a must. If someone in your circle still doesn't like cilantro, the secret is to keep trying it. Eventually the soap taste disappears and they'll love it!
See recipe card for exact amounts.
Instructions
Keep a can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce in your pantry and be ready when your avocados are ripe. You'll thank me for that!
Substitutions
Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce - Ground chipotle powder, found in the spice aisle at most grocery stores, is a lesser substitute. Your sauce won't have the unique taste from the tomato-vinegar adobo but you'll get the unmistakable smokiness and a nice heat. Way better than store bought dip!
Variations For Serving
I love taking an everyday recipe and serving it in different ways for my friends.
- Serve it with grilled shrimp as a main course for a casual summer barbecue.
- Generously drizzle it over a plate of nachos, tacos or quesadillas!
- Serve it as a dip with jicama sticks and tortilla chips.
- Spoon Avocado Chipotle Sauce into martini glasses. Hang a few grilled shrimp around the edge of each glass and finish the presentation with a large tortilla chip in the centre.
Storage
These chipotle chiles will last in the fridge for months, as long as no one uses a utensil that touched something else. House Rules prevent cross contamination in the kitchen, not just from wheat but from any other food. To make this easy I keep a cup of small espresso spoons near our work area. Everyone knows they must use a clean utensil in that jar, every time. I mean, every time!
Get The Tools
I get teased about my label maker but I don't care. The label on my chipotle chiles can go in and out of the dishwasher without every having to be replaced. I say a label maker is a good investment to keep your ingredients organized, and prevent science projects from growing in the back of your fridge.
Top Tip
Puree the whole can as soon as you open it! Every recipe I make with these chiles calls for them pureed. Eventually I learned to puree the whole can and transfer it into a 1-cup Mason jar. Label it. Use it as follows, tasting as you add it, until you find the right amount of heat you like.
1 Tablespoon chipotle puree = 1-2 chile peppers in adobo sauce
Recipe FAQs
This specialty item can be found in Mexican and Latin American specialty shops. I sometimes see them in a well stocked grocery store with an extensive international section. Of course you can order them on Amazon too.

Avocado Chipotle Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 avocado, coarsely mashed
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely minced (or 2-3 teaspoon chipotle puree)
- 5 teaspoon lime juice
- 2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 1½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup firmly packed fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Puree all ingredients with a hand blender or food processor.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with grilled shrimp, sticks of jicama, raw or grilled vegetables or as a dip for tortilla chips.
Notes
- Serve sauce alongside skewers of grilled shrimp as a main course for a casual summer barbecue.
- Spoon Avocado Chipotle Sauce into individual martini glasses and hang a few grilled shrimp around the edge of each glass for a nice appetizer. Stick a tortilla chip in the centre of the glass to scoop up the last of the sauce.
- For a small group fill shot glasses with sauce and lay a single grilled shrimp on top, held in place by a small skewer. Insert a tiny spoons in each glass and serve.
Nutrition
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Cinde Little
I love this sauce with quesadillas!