Loving the Chipotle honey vinaigrette? Satisfy your craving at home with our copycat chipotle honey vinaigrette recipe you can make in minutes.
If you're looking for more copycat recipes from this Mexican restaurant, you'll definitely want to try our recipes for Chipotle barbacoa and Chipotle queso blanco.
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Ingredients
Chipotle Mexican Grill uses these ingredients in its famous spicy honey vinaigrette. For this vinaigrette recipe, we used the industry standard of 3:1 oil to vinegar so the vinegar isn't too strong.
- Acid: We used red wine vinegar.
- Sweet: We used honey.
- Seasonings: We used chipotles in adobo sauce and freshly minced garlic.
- Dried Spices: We used Mexican oregano, cumin, salt and pepper.
- Fat: Chipotle uses rice bran oil, but it's hard to find, so we used olive oil.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make
Gather the ingredients for the Chipotle honey vinaigrette.
- Add the red wine vinegar and the dried spices to a food processor or high powered blender.
- Next, add the garlic, adobo sauce, and chili peppers.
3. Add the honey next. Use a greased measuring cup to make cleanup easier.
4. Put the lid on and process until the dressing is smooth. Finish it off by drizzling in the olive oil while the motor is still running. This will help emulsify the vinaigrette.
5. The dressing should be smooth and emulsified. (This recipe makes 2 cups.) Use right away or store in the fridge in an airtight container.
6. Serve and enjoy with your favorite salad ingredients from Chipotle. Pictured here is a copycat version of their supergreens (baby kale, spinach, Romaine), fajita veggies, chicken, tomato salsa, guac, and shredded Monterey Jack cheese.
Recipe FAQs
No, it's not because the carb content is too high. Our copycat recipe has much lower carbs, 2.4 g for a 2 tablespoon serving. This recipe is gluten-free but isn't compliant with paleo or Whole30. You can swap out the honey for dates to make it suitable for Whole30.
Chipotle chili peppers are smoked jalapenos. Since they are jalapenos, they are spicy. But they also have a smoky flavor that balances the spiciness perfectly. Most often they are served in adobo sauce which is a rich, earthy tomato-based sauce.
The honey vinaigrette recipe contains chipotles, cumin, garlic, honey, black pepper, oregano, red wine vinegar, rice bran oil, and salt. We used the same ingredients to create our copycat recipe except we swapped the rice bran oil with olive oil. This combination of ingredients delivers a smoky, sweet and tangy dressing.
This recipe contains ⅓ cup of raw honey, and most vegans don't want to eat honey because it's an animal product. To make this recipe vegan for your salad, replace the honey with agave nectar or a vegan honey alternative.
Serve
Serve this Chipotle honey vinaigrette over a bed of greens, and add your favorite protein, like Chipotle steak, Chipotle pork carnitas, or Chipotle carne asada. Add some Chipotle fajita veggies or Chipotle corn salsa for extra color and flavor.
Looking for other Chipotle recipes that would taste good with this honey vinaigrette? Make sure to try our Chipotle cauliflower rice, Chipotle pinto beans, and Chipotle black beans. You can't go wrong with serving everything with a side of Chipotle tortilla chips!
Store
- Make ahead: Make the night before, but it's best to use it on your favorite salad within 24 hours.
- Leftovers: If you plan on making this the night before, store it in an airtight container and place it in the fridge. When ready to use, give the jar a good shake before drizzling on a salad.
Expert Tips
- Key ingredient? Use adobo sauce and the chipotle peppers; these ingredients provide the smokiness this dressing needs.
- What's the best oil? Use any neutral oil. The restaurant uses rice bran oil.
- Want less mess? Coat the measuring cup with oil before pouring in the honey.
- Want the vinaigrette more tangy? Add a splash of freshly squeezed lime juice.
- Want to increase the heat? Add 1 or 2 more chipotle peppers.
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Recipe
Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette (Copycat)
Ingredients
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup raw honey
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 3 canned chipotle peppers
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ cups olive oil
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients, except the olive oil, into a food processor and blend.
- With the motor still running, slowly pour in the olive oil until it emulsifies with the other ingredients.
- Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
- Use a and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. It's best to consume all the dressing within 48 hours for the best taste. Shake well if it has separated.
Notes
- Key ingredient? Use adobo sauce and the chipotle peppers; these ingredients provide the smokiness this dressing needs.
- What's the best oil? Use any neutral oil. The restaurant uses rice bran oil.
- Want less mess? Coat the measuring cup with oil before pouring in the honey.
- Want the vinaigrette more tangy? Add a splash of freshly squeezed lime juice.
- Want to increase the heat? Add 1 or 2 more chipotle peppers.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Tracy
I literally just jumped up to make this at 3am!!!! Sooooooo good!!!
Emma
Wow! We're glad that you enjoyed the dressing so much, Tracy!
Carlee
Where do you buy the adobo sauce I’ve been trying to find the right one for years. Can you please include the brand and name and where you bought it🙏🏼🙏🏼
Emma
We use La Costeña brand, which we purchased at our local Walmart. You can buy a jar of adobo sauce plain, or you can use the adobo sauce that's in the jars of chipotle peppers. Enjoy!
Alex
The sweet and sour flavors combine perfectly. The sauce is smoky, tangy, and tastes SO GOOD on Chipotle chicken!
Emma
I'm glad you like this so much, Alex!
Beth
The color of this dressing is quite appealing, and it tastes tangy, sweet, and smoky. The garlic adds the perfect touch. I absolutely love this dressing!
Emma
That's great to hear, Beth! Thanks for commenting.