Vegan Chipotle Sauce [Taco Salad Dressing]

This vegan chipotle sauce is smoky, spicy, savory, creamy, & ready in just 3 minutes! Perfect as a taco salad dressing & for vegan tacos, burritos, burgers, and more!

3-Minute, 6 Ingredient Vegan Chipotle Crema Sauce

Practically every week this summer, we’ve pulled together fully loaded taco salad bowls with a batch of this taco salad dressing. And, every week, we’ve saved the leftovers to dip, drizzle, and spread over multiple meals (like tacos, burritos, and fries) because we’re obsessed!

With a combination of silken tofu (which helps to create a super creamy base – but can be replaced with soy-free alternatives if needed), chipotle pepper, lime juice, and several other pantry spices, this vegan chipotle sauce (aka chipotle crema) combines to create a sauce that’s super creamy, slightly spicy, smoky, savory, and even optionally a little sweet.

The result is a condiment that works as the best taco salad dressing, a vegan taco sauce, creamy salad dressing, and as a dip, drizzle, or spread for all types of appetizers and mains. Best of all, you can throw together this rich, bold, creamy chipotle sauce in just minutes in a blender or food processor, easily tweak the flavor profile (and consistency) to your liking, and make it up to a week in advance.

The Ingredients and Substitutions

• Silken tofu: This creates a super creamy base loaded with plant-based protein. Refer to the FAQs for soy-free alternatives.
• Limes: (or lemons) This adds a bright, tangy, citrusy flavor to create this chipotle lime crema. We prefer fresh limes, but bottled juice works in a pinch.
• Garlic: If you have time, we love using fresh garlic cloves. However, garlic power will work in a pinch for this easy recipe for creamy chipotle sauce.
• Paprika: We use regular and smoked paprika, though the latter is optional.
• Chipotle peppers: Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce combines smoked dried peppers in a spicy, tangy sauce to add spice and tons of depth.
• Salt & black pepper: To season the vegan chipotle sauce to taste.
• Fresh cilantro: (optional) for a burst of freshness.

What Could I Add to this Creamy Chipotle Sauce Recipe?

• Sweetener: Balance the savory, spicy flavors with maple syrup, agave, or a sugar-free alternative. Add it to taste.
• Cumin: To add an earthy, savory note to the vegan creamy chipotle sauce.
• Onion powder: To enhance the savory, aromatic flavor in the creamy taco salad dressing.

How to Make Creamy Chipotle Sauce (Chipotle Crema)

Learn how to make taco salad bowls in a handful of simple steps.

• 1) First, juice the limes.
• 2) Then, transfer all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute), then taste and adjust any of the seasonings.

To adjust the flavor, first combine all the spices and stir, then add them to the dressing gradually, to your desired flavor. You can then tweak individual flavors if preferred.

• 3) Enjoy the chipotle crema immediately or, even better, leave it to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (a few hours is even better) before using it for the flavors to meld.

FAQs

Pro Recipe Tips

• Adjust the consistency: We love the thickness provided by the silken tofu. If you’d prefer it a little thinner, add your favorite plant-based milk (or water), a tablespoon at a time.
• Season to taste: Add the spices gradually and tweak any of them to your liking to find your preferred flavor profile of smoky, spicy, etc.
• Leave it to rest: Leaving it for even 30 minutes (a few hours or overnight is even better) will allow time for all the flavors to meld and produce an overall better-tasting vegan taco salad dressing recipe.

Storing Instructions

Store the vegan chipotle sauce in a clean, lidded jar in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. We don’t recommend freezing it, as the texture of the tofu changes when frozen.

How to Use Vegan Chipotle Sauce?

• As the BEST dressing for taco salad
• In burritos or a burrito bowls
• On stuffed bell peppers
• Spread into vegan Southwest burgers, sandwiches, and wraps
• Drizzled over avocado toast
• Over tacos – like these black bean tacos, cauliflower tacos, or fajita tacos
• For dipping fries like potato fries, zucchini fries, or sweet potato fries
• For dipping appetizers – like onion rings, quesadillas, smashed potatoes, etc.
• With roasted veggies – like broccoli, cauliflower, cauliflower wings, and more
• Over stuffed sweet potatoes or a sweet potato hash
• In a buddha bowl or rice bowl

More Easy Vegan Dressing and Sauce Recipes

• Simple lemon vinaigrette
• Basil salad dressing
• Mexican avocado crema
• Japanese carrot-ginger salad dressing
• Cilantro green chili dressing
• Oil-free salad dressing
• Vegan ranch dressing

Photos by Alfonso Revilla