Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette

This Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette is a boldly flavored copycat recipe that’s deliciously tangy and smoky-sweet. It’s easy to make with just a few ingredients, perfect for salad bowls, burrito bowls, and so much more!

Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette Copycat Recipe

If you, like me, are a super fan of Chipotle Mexican Grill’s salad bowls, then I have something you’re gonna want – my copycat Honey Chipotle Vinaigrette recipe!

This homemade dressing is packed with bold flavors, where a little goes a long way. The vinaigrette is tangy, plus perfectly smoky and sweet. It’s SO GOOD with salad bowls and burrito bowls!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

I have several solid reasons why this recipe needs to be in your recipe box:

• Simple ingredients list. Just grab a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and the rest are common pantry ingredients.
• Easy to make. Just blitz everything together in a food processor or blender, or with an immersion blender. That’s it!
• Can be made in advance. The dressing can be up to 3 days in advance, which is super nice for entertaining and just-plain-busy schedules.
• Even better than Chipotle. Yes, it’s true. While I do like Chipotle’s vinaigrette, it is very salty. I like how my recipe is more tangy and vinegar-forward, with less salt.

Ingredients & Substitutions

This recipe has a simple ingredients list. Here’s what you’ll need:

Be sure to scroll down to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredient amounts.

• Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce – This provides the dominant flavor profile for the dressing, deliciously smoky and spicy.
• Red wine vinegar – This gives bright, tangy flavor.
• Honey – For a bit of sweetness.
• Water – To thin out the vinaigrette.
• Dried Mexican oregano – This tastes a bit more like marjoram than Italian or Greek oregano. It’s not super common, except in Latin markets and larger spice stores. So feel free to substitute with dried Italian or Greek oregano. You could also substitute with fresh minced oregano, just use a bit less.
• Salt & pepper
• Vegetable oil – This gets blitzed with the rest of the ingredients, to create a smooth, thickened, pourable dressing. Chipotle uses rice bran oil in all of their recipes, but as long as you use a neutral flavored oil, you’ll be fine.

How to Make Chipotle Vinaigrette

This Chipotle restaurant copycat recipe is easy to make at home, so you can enjoy salad bowls to your heart’s content! :)

• Puree the chipotles. Use a food processor or blender to blitz the contents of a 7-ounce can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce on high speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Then scrape the pureed chipotles into a small bowl.

• Blend pureed chipotles with other ingredients. Using the same food processor (no need to wash it first), combine 3½ tablespoons of the pureed chipotles (see Tip below for suggestions of how to use the rest), red wine vinegar, honey, water, oregano, salt, and pepper. Blend on high speed until smooth, about 10-20 seconds.

Tip: Store the remaining pureed chipotle mixture in an airtight container in the fridge and use it within 1 week in a bloody Mary, salsa, barbecue sauce, chicken tortilla soup, or chili. You can also use it in marinades, aiolis, and glazes – anything that can benefit from a deep, rich, smoky chili flavor. I also like to freeze individual portions (3½ tablespoons) so I can make this vinaigrette recipe even quicker in the future!

• Add the oil. With food processor on low speed, very slowly drizzle in the oil until the dressing comes together and emulsifies.

• Transfer vinaigrette to a jar. Pour the vinaigrette into an airtight container – I like to use a canning jar. Use immediately or chill for an hour or two to let the flavors blend. Give it a vigorous shaking before using.

How To Use Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette

You can use this vinaigrette in a variety of ways. Here are a few ideas:

• As a salad dressing. Drizzle it over your favorite fresh salads. It would also be great with Dorito taco salad or this southwest chicken salad.
• As a flavorful sauce. Offer this for a flavorful addition to taco stuffed sweet potatoes or cowboy chicken.
• With tacos and quesadillas. Use this in place of taco sauce – it’s wonderful with cheddar chicken tacos with apples and cheesy grilled crab quesadillas!
• With bowls. Pour it over burrito bowls – or any bowls using rice, quinoa, or other grains that have Mexican or Tex-Mex flavors. It’d be excellent with Tex-Mex scallop rice bowls.
• As a marinade. Marinate chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp in the chipotle vinaigrette – then grill or cook as desired. Just let your protein of choice sit in the marinade for at least 30 minutes.
• Dip! Offer it alongside homemade ranch dressing on your vegetable tray, for delicious veggie dipping. Or dunk your southwest egg rolls in it!
• As a sandwich condiment. Schmear this flavorful dressing onto a sandwich or a wrap for lunchtime perfection!

How To Store

Store your homemade chipotle honey vinaigrette in an airtight container in the refrigerator – I like to use a canning jar. It will keep well for up to 1 week.

To use, shake the (tightly sealed) dressing vigorously to combine. If the oil solidifies, just set the dressing out on the counter for 30 minutes before eating.

This post was originally published in 2013, then updated in 2023.