A sweet and smoky BBQ sauce with a hint of spice. Chipotle BBQ Sauce with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce is perfect for marinating chicken, ribs, and pork chops while also being a great sauce for burgers, chicken fingers, and fries!
Add our chipotle BBQ sauce to our Bacon Blue Cheeseburger or use it for our BBQ Grilled Chicken Salad.
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Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Tabasco. I like that tabasco sauce gives a hint of spice right on the tongue. But you can use any hot sauce that you like. Being from North Carolina, I prefer the vinegar-based hot sauce.
Chipotle Peppers in Adobo. I would use 1-2 max for this recipe, depending on your tolerance for spice. Since we're simmering the BBQ sauce, it can tend to get kind of spicy.
Water. If you choose not to cook the sauce, skip the water in the recipe.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step 1: In a bowl, combine ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, water, Worcestershire sauce, tabasco, yellow mustard, paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
Step 2: Whisk together these ingredients until completely mixed together.
Step 3: Bring a pan to medium heat and add olive oil. Add the garlic and chipotle pepper and saute for 2 minutes.
Step 4: Pour the sauce from the bowl into the pan. Simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool.
Transfer the sauce to a mason jar or storage container.
Pro-Tips
- When simmering the bbq sauce, make sure to stir often to avoid sugar crystallizing in the pan. Sugar can burn easily. Lower the heat if necessary and keep the simmer very low.
- Don't immediately pour hot sauce into a jar. It will break the glass.
Making BBQ Chicken
A lot of people think making BBQ chicken is as easy as tossing chicken in BBQ sauce and throwing it on the grill. The BBQ sauce is guaranteed to burn right off. Here are some tips for grilling up some great BBQ chicken!
- Start by marinating the chicken in a small amount of BBQ sauce, but don't forget to season with salt and pepper first.
- Get the grill to a high temperature, like 500-600 degrees, throw your chicken on, and immediately lower the heat to medium-low.
- Mix the BBQ sauce with melted butter on the side. After grilling for 2-3 minutes, paint the chicken with more BBQ sauce.
- When you flip the chicken make sure to brush the chicken with more BBQ sauce again. This will help the sugar crystalize on the chicken so it's nice and sticky.
- I always like to toss in a little more BBQ sauce once the chicken has cooled for about 2-3 minutes!
FAQs
It consists of ketchup, mustard, chipotle peppers in adobo, Worcestershire sauce, tabasco, apple cider vinegar, garlic, and seasonings!
It has a hint of spice but it is definitely nothing like a hot sauce. It is more sweet and smoky.
Let BBQ sauce cool in the pan. Once it is cooled, transfer it to a mason jar or storage container with an airtight lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Please leave a comment and star rating below in the recipe card! I love to hear what you think of our recipes. Feel free to tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice.
More Delicious Sauce and Dressing
📖 Recipe
Chipotle BBQ Sauce
Equipment
- 1 bowl
- 1 small pan
- 1 mason jar or storage container
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups ketchup
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 2.5 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon tabasco
- 2 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, water, worcestershire sauce, tabasco, yellow mustard, paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Bring a pan to medium heat and add olive oil. Add the garlic and chipotle pepper and saute for 2 minutes.
- Pour the sauce from the bowl into the pan. Simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool.
- Transfer the sauce to a mason jar or storage container.
Notes
- When simmering the bbq sauce, make sure to stir often to avoid sugar crystallizing in the pan.
- Don't immediately pour hot sauce into a jar. It will break the glass.
- Use 1-2 chipotle peppers depending on your tolerance for spice.
Vinny
I love to use this bbq sauce when I'm grilling chicken. It's a family favorite and it's great for cooking with and dipping.