Copycat Recipe: Chipotle Mexican Grill’s Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette
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This chipotle honey vinaigrette tastes just like the original.
I love Chipotle’s chipotle honey vinaigrette so I came up with this copycat version by fiddling around with the ingredients listed on the Chipotle website. It tastes almost identical to the original. Toss it with romaine lettuce, beans, corn, avocado, grilled meats — or all of the above! By the way, if you’re a big Chipotle fan, you’ll love this Chipotle-inspired cilantro-lime rice.
“DELISH!!! Exactly the same as the restaurant. I’ve made it at least 6 times…always have it in my fridge. It’s good on everything!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette
- Red Wine Vinegar: Provides acidity and tanginess, balancing the sweetness of the honey and the richness of the oil.
- Honey: Adds sweetness and depth of flavor, enhancing the overall taste of the vinaigrette.
- Vegetable Oil: Helps create a smooth and emulsified texture, ensuring the vinaigrette coats ingredients evenly.
- Dried Oregano: Infuses herbal notes to the dressing’s flavor profile.
- Salt and Pepper: Enhance flavor and season the vinaigrette.
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce: Bring smoky heat and complexity, replicating the signature flavor of Chipotle’s vinaigrette. You can find them in the Latin section of most supermarkets.
- Garlic: Provides aromatic depth and savory undertones.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette
Simply combine all of the ingredients in a blender or mini food processor.
And process until smooth. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! It will keep nicely for up to 5 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Just give it a good shake before using to recombine any separated ingredients.
Yes, you can definitely freeze leftover chipotle peppers in adobo. Portion them into small amounts, freeze in ice cube trays, transfer to a freezer-safe container once solid, and thaw as needed for future use. If you don’t have an ice cube tray, simply spread the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce in tablespoon-sized portions on a baking sheet lined with parchment, freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe container for storage.
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Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette
This chipotle honey vinaigrette tastes just like the original.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 2 small garlic cloves, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a blender or mini food processor and process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 173
- Fat: 17 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Sugar: 6 g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
- Sodium: 172 mg
- Cholesterol: 4 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This was SO. YUMMY! We made ‘at-home Chipotle’ bowls and burritos, so this was the perfect topping. How long do you think it would last in the fridge? Thanks for sharing!
So glad you liked it! It will last in the fridge for 4 – 5 days.
We are OBSESSED with this recipe! Have made it twice in the past week already. Better than chipotle! Thank you!
My new favorite salad dressing!
Love this recipe so much! Even better than Chipotle’s! I make it every few weeks and use it on my own homemade burrito bowls for lunches. Sooo good!!!
I have never had chipotle’s version, but I loved this one! And I love that I didn’t have to use expensive EVOO!
Omg! Delicious.
I love chipotle’s dressing so much that I will get it on the side no matter what I order! It’s been disappointing though, that a few times they have ran out of it 🙁
Not anymore! I made this recipe and stored it in my fridge for the week. Yum yum yum!
Tastes amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Fantastic!! My new go to chipotle dressing, only changes I made due to what I had on hand, was I subbed the honey for some organic bourbon maple syrup and used MCT oil instead of the vegetable oil. Drizzled on our Mexican quinoa and steak bowls…delish!
I never use a whole can of chipotle peppers, so I keep the extra in freezer to use as needed
Was going to ask this….how to sub the veg oil. Great idea. I wonder if avocado oil would work too…
Hi Zachary, I like vegetable oil here because it’s got such a neutral flavor, but I think avocado oil would work as well. Hope you enjoy!
Used avocado oil today in place of vegetable…worked wonderfully!
Wow! This is so good. Lots of flavor but not very spicy. It’s so easy to make that I’ll be making this a lot!
How long will this keep in the fridge?
Hi Carol, It keeps well in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. Enjoy!
Tastes even better than the chipotle version! I’m in love!
This is my new go-to dressing! I love it. Sometimes, if I want a little extra spice, I will add an additional pepper or two. Thank you, Jenn.
We should all try to remember that “hot” and “sweet” are very subjective terms, especially when we add the word “too” in front of either. That said, speaking for myself, this is VERY close to the original, but a bit too sweet for me. I used avocado oil and 2.5 peppers in adobo and ended up adding at least two more tablespoons of vinegar to cut through the honey and oil. I am excited to have this recipe, so thanks for your hard work!!
This was great and so easy to make.
Why is mine so spicy?! Did I add too much of the chipotle peppers and sauce? Totally on fire.
Hi Jenny, Did you use 2 peppers?
I love this vinaigrette!!! Thank you so much for sharing!
AMAZING!! Bursting with flavor!!!
I’ve never had Chipotle’s honey vinaigrette, but I found this recipe to be a bit unbalanced. Made as written, it was incredibly sweet for my taste. I added a good bit more vinegar to help balance out the sweetness, as well as an extra pepper for a bit more kick. Using it for a shrimp marinade as well as to put on a salad.
Super easy to make and full of flavor. Added it to a quinoa kale salad with flank steak and the chipotle dressing was to die for. It complimented the salad beautifully. Thank you, Jenn.
Today I made it the for second time and loved it again. Now what do I do with the open can of chipotle in adobo sauce that’s left over? Any ideas?
Glad you like the dressing! I like to freeze the chipotles in adobo for future use. I’d suggest looking online for easy ways to go about it.
Hello, how long will it last in the fridge unopened and when opened?
Hi Ilona, either way, it will last in the fridge for 4 – 5 days. Enjoy!
This recipe is a keeper! It tastes exactly like Chipotle’s salad dressing! So delicious. I used Avocado oil instead of vegetable oil. I also wanted a little more heat so I used 31/2 adobo peppers and approximately 1 tsp of adobo sauce. WOW!!! The flavor was amazing. Thank you for sharing.
I put my chipotles in adobo sauce in a sealed “Tupperware-type” container. They last a very long time in the fridge. Much like pickles.
Love this recipe, but had trouble with oil/vinegar separation, so I added one teaspoon of Dijon mustard and used my immersion blender to emulsify the mixture. I am happy to say it worked perfectly and did not change the flavor profile.
This is an awesome dressing that I used with a chicken tostada salad but it’s so good you could use it with anything! It has the right amount of tanginess, spice and smokiness from the adobo peppers. Thank you Jenn for all the work you put into these recipes!
This is amazing, and tastes just like Chipotle’s dressing! Has anyone ever subbed out the honey for something to make it lower cal/carb? Splenda maybe?
Try using Monk Fruit. It looks just like sugar with no carbs
1/4 honey would equal 4 TBSP Monk Fruit
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CF2B04Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This dressing came out GREAT! Taste better than the restaurant dressing I added 2 more chipotle peppers and it was wondeful.
I love this salad dressing. I make it a lot. It is better than the chipotle dressing. Thank you, this is the best copy cat recipe I’ve ever made.
This stuff is so good! I made a batch to drizzle over veggie and protein bowls. I swear it pairs well with ANYTHING!!!
THANK YOU FOR THIS RECIPE!
OUAC recipe devotee here! While attempting to use up my can of chipotle peppers on this dressing I realized I was short about 4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. As a substitute I used my precious Vom Fass Star Forest Raspberry balsamic vinegar. Had to share tweak as it turned out to be an incredible flavor combination! Chipotle and raspberry complement each other so well. Just wanted to share my find❣️
It taste like the real thing. Yum yum….
Hi Jenn,
Can I substitute olive oil or canola oil for the vegetable oil?
Thanks,
Kim
Hi Kim, Sure – I’d go with canola over olive oil.
Thanks Jenn. I used canola oil and it was delicious!
Kim
Delicious and so easy to make! I think this would make a tasty marinade also.
The dressing is sooo good and is quite close to chipotle’s dressing. Substituted with olive oil and didn’t notice any difference. I now prefer this than chipotle’s.
I love the vinaigrette! Can this be frozen?
Glad you like it! I honestly don’t know how it would freeze, so I can’t say for sure. If you do freeze it, I’d love to hear how it is when you defrost it!
So good! I used it as a salad dressing and as a dip for veggies. I liked it with 1 chipotle – just a touch spicy. Will make again.
Absolutely LOVE this recipe! No substitutions necessary. I love Chipotle’s and when I found the copycat version I thought no way will it taste close. Well, now when I go to Chipotle (way less often than before), I honestly think I like this homemade version better. I make my burrito bowls with it (rice, beans, corn, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese, lettuce) and cannot get enough of it. Thank you for an outstanding recipe!
Same here, I don’t go to Chipotle’s much anymore. They charge way too much for their food. I can make it 25% of their cost & price, then I have free leftovers at home. Also, they are getting CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP because they try VERY HARD not to put anything in your bowls now (especially Chicken). So, we quit going, and we used to be regular customers.
Absolutely delicious! It is exactly like Chipotle (maybe better)! Perfect balance of ingredients. Bravo and thanks for sharing!!
Fantastic Vinaigrette. I saute/grill boneless skinless Chicken Thighs. Shred or slice. Add to Tortillas with Romaine Lettuce, Sliced Radish, Roasted Red Peppers, Olives, and Habanero Jack Cheese. The dressing is so tasty with all the veggies. Tastes so good with Corn Tortillas. Excellent ,easy Lunch/Dinner. Thanks Jen. Another keeper saved to favorites.
Delicious! Just like chipotles maybe even better!
Absolutely delicious!! Thanks for sharing.
Update for vegans. I made this fantastic dressing again for my vegan daughter on Mothers Day. I was out of Agave and she suggested pure maple syrup. Home run! The whole family loved it, from the youngest to me. You could not taste the maple syrup, just pure goodness.
NeeNee
I cook for several Vegan folks. Can I sub sugar or Agave for the honey?
Hi NeeNee, I haven’t used anything but honey here, but I suspect that agave should work. I’d love to hear how it turns out with this tweak!
I can recommend Agave nectar for vegans. I cook for my food pantry volunteers, soup in the winter, salad in summer. I made a Mexican type pasta salad today (think corn, black beans, celery, onions, tomatoes, small pasta) and used this super duper dressing with Agave instead of honey. Big hit! Thank you Jenn, for adding another great dressing to my repertoire. This will be great on salad, chicken, salmon whatever. Yum, yum, yum!
This dressing is so unbelievably delicious!
I am obsessed with making homemade salad dressings and I stumbled upon this recipe when looking to dress my salad that I was serving with my taco soup. OMG this is soooooo good! One of the best recipes that I have found! This will be one of my new go-to recipes!
Jenn ~ I Love this recipe ~ my family can’t believe I really made it ~ this is my go too recipe!!
Hi Jenn,
This dressing looks amazing! What would you suggest for a simple salad to dress it with? I plan on making your chicken enchiladas this weekend and want a simple salad with romaine and just a few other ingredients to compliment the enchiladas. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Hi Katy, I’d keep it simple — some options that come to mind to toss with the romaine are diced bell peppers, a bit of corn (you can use frozen/defrosted), some diced onion or scallion and avocado. Hope that helps and that you enjoy the meal!
Would this be good to use for a chicken wings marinade?
I do think that’d work well, Beatrice. Please lmk how it turns out!
This dressing is liquid gold! The only thing I do differently is use avocado oil instead of vegetable oil. Thanks for sharing 🙂
My family loves this dressing. I add cilantro and at least double the recipe.
A very delicious and versatile dressing. Right amount of sweet, salt and heat.
This was the first recipe I ever made from once upon a chef. I wish I could give it more stars. I have made it countless times since, it’s my fave dressing now.
This is AMAZING!! Thank you so much!!
My coworkers and I are OBSESSED with this dressing. Went through an entire double batch in a day. Thank you!!!
This dressing is outstanding! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Jenn, you saved me from bland! I ordered a steak salad from Chipotle and AFTER I paid, they said they were out of dressing! Whaaaat???? I made your version and me and my family LOVED it! Thank you!
Ha! That’s happened to me before too — or sometimes they just forget to give to you. Good to have this as a backup!