🔥 Chipotle Mayo
Chipotles in adobo are smoked jalapeños in a tangy tomato sauce, and blending a spoonful into mayo gives you a smoky, gently spicy sauce with real depth. It is one of the most useful condiments you can keep in the fridge.
🧾 Chipotle Mayo — Recipe Card
From I Love Hamburger — ilovehamburger.com
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise (115 g)
- 1½ tbsp minced chipotle peppers in adobo (plus 1 tsp of the sauce) (22 g)
- 2 tsp fresh lime juice (10 ml)
- ½ tsp honey or maple syrup (3 ml)
- ¼ tsp garlic powder (0.5 g)
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Mince the chipotle peppers finely, or purée the whole can and freeze the rest in a jar for next time.
- Whisk the mayonnaise, minced chipotle and adobo sauce, lime juice, honey, and garlic powder together.
- Taste and adjust — more adobo for smoke and heat, more lime for brightness. Season with salt.
- Chill 15 minutes before serving.
🫙 Storage
Airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week. Leftover canned chipotles freeze well for months in a small container.
🔁 Substitutions
- No adobo? Use 1 tsp chipotle powder plus a splash of ketchup and vinegar, though the smoke will be lighter.
- Swap honey for maple syrup to keep it vegan-friendly (with vegan mayo).
🍔 What to put it on
Pair it with pepper jack, avocado, and grilled onions. It especially shines on these burgers:
Burger HQ Picks Handy for sauce-making
Squeeze Bottles & Mixing Bowl Set
Mix a sauce in the bowl, decant into a squeeze bottle, and you get an even stripe on every bun instead of a spoon-blob. Also what keeps a topping bar tidy.
Check price →Small Silicone Whisk & Spatula Set
A small whisk emulsifies a mayo-based sauce properly in seconds; the spatula gets every last bit out of the bowl.
Check price →As an affiliate site, I Love Hamburger may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. This does not affect our recommendations.
Frequently asked questions
What are chipotles in adobo?
They are ripe jalapeños that have been smoked and canned in a tangy, spiced tomato sauce (the adobo). They are sold in small cans in the international aisle of most grocery stores and are the key to real chipotle flavor.
How hot is chipotle mayo?
Mild to medium as written — the mayo tempers the chipotle so you get more smoke than burn. Add more peppers or a little of the adobo sauce to turn up the heat.
How do I use up the rest of the can?
Purée the whole can and freeze it in a jar or ice-cube tray; a cube drops straight into your next batch of sauce, chili, or marinade.