Copycat Recipe: Chipotle Mexican Grill’s Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
This copycat Chipotle honey vinaigrette is smoky, sweet, tangy, and just like the original—perfect for drizzling over salads, grilled meats, or whatever you’re craving.
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!
And if you’re a big Chipotle fan, you’ll also love my copycat Chipotle chicken, cilantro-lime rice and fresh corn salsa. Once you try it all together, you might not miss the takeout version at all.
“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: Adds the tangy kick that balances the sweetness of the honey and richness of the oil.
- Honey: A touch of sweetness goes a long way here—it rounds out the flavors and gives the vinaigrette some depth.
- Vegetable oil: The neutral base that ties it all together.
- Dried oregano & cumin: For that earthy, unmistakably Chipotle-style flavor.
- Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce: The key to that smoky heat—don’t skip them. You’ll find them in small cans in the Latin section of most grocery stores.
- Garlic: Adds a savory flavor without overpowering.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette
Step 1: Combine all of the ingredients in a blender or small food processor.
Step 2: Blend. Pulse or blend until evenly combined. The vinaigrette 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.
Pro tip: Leftover chipotle peppers in adobo freeze beautifully. Spoon them into an ice cube tray (or drop tablespoon-sized portions onto a parchment-lined baking sheet), freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe container. You’ll be glad to have them on hand for next time.
More Salad Dressings You May Like
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
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cumin
- 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
Powered by 
- 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
This is a great dressing! I typically use this on a southwest salad I make of roasted corn, black beans, tomatoes, green chiles, and chicken. I mix up the dressing and add it to my salad mix and store it all mixed together for when I want it. I then add scoops of the veggie/chicken/dressing on top of the salad. Always a crowd pleaser for gatherings you are traveling to, or a great easy prep lunch.
This is by far my favorite receipe on this website. No substitutions needed…it’s perfect as is. It’s an incredibly close copy-cat to the dressing at the Chipotle Restaurant. It’s very spicy but not too much. The can of chipotle peppers usually has 6 – 8 peppers so I usually freeze the leftovers in plastic baggies for future use…2 per baggie as that’s how many the recipe calls for. No worries about freezer burn. You’ll make this often enough for that not to happen! Such a simple but delicious recipe. Aside from the chipotle peppers, you should have all the other ingredients on hand. Highly recommended.
This is without a doubt the best salad dressing!!
I have used this for a variety of salads in addition to a mexican one and it has been delicious each time. I have also shared this recipe with family and friends.
thanks
It’s delicious. I used safflower oil and some of the Adobe sauce from the peppers for a little more kick. Awesome! Took some to work and it was a big hit
I used this to dress a kale quinoa corn sweet potato salad and also use it as a marinade for chicken thighs. My husband requests chicken in this marinade once a week. I like that it’s made with pantry ingredients.
I love this recipe and make it often for our Mexican night. It always makes more than we can use in a week. Can we freeze half of it to use at another time? Thanks!
Hi Liza, Glad you like the dressing! I honestly don’t know how this 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! (And, you’ve probably considered this, but feel free to halve the recipe if you’re finding you have too much left over.)
The dressing froze beautifully 🙂
I make this dressing often and use it to drizzle on my lunch bowls. The bowls usually consist of brown rice and several types of organic veggies. Although I grew up on Mexican food and love spicy dishes, using two Chipolte Peppers in the dressing boosted the heat a little too much for my taste .Use one pepper and you will still taste the Chipolte flavor without being overpowered by it.
Tastes exactly like the Chipotle salad dressing. I now make this for every taco night. Thank you Jenn!
One thing i have say the best Chipotle dressing i ever had.
Thanj you.
Sharon ,
Germany.🇩🇪
Can you use olive oil in place of the vegetable oil?
Hi Lori, Personally, I prefer vegetable oil for this dressing as it’s more neutral tasting than olive oil, but a number of readers have used olive oil and have been happy with the results.
Hi Jenn,
I love this and ALL your recipes!! …but was wondering if there was a way to come up with this other amazing steak topper from one of our local restaurants here,…. “Angus Beef top sirloin marinated in chipotle Tabasco and roasted garlic, with goat cheese butter” They say it is a marinade on their website but it actually comes as a dolup on top of the steak. To me it just seems like they cooked the steak and put a dolup of this chipolte goat cheese topper on top and that’s it.
Any chance you have any ideas on how this could be concocted?
Hi Jenn, That sounds delicious. Have you tried blending a canned chipotle chili pepper with goat cheese in a food processor? If you have a photo you could send me, I might be able to see better what it is.