My family, especially Joe and Josh splash a little Tabasco on everything. My pantry is full of Tabasco’s original sauce, green pepper sauce and chipotle sauce. It feels like I’m replacing bottles every other week so I decided to try my hand at making some sauce from scratch and see if it would pass the taste test of my most critical judges. I looked at the ingredients listed on the Chipotle Tabasco sauce bottle and started there. The amounts were up to me to decipher and as I kept measuring and tasting I finally came up with a pretty good match. It’s a little thicker and slightly less vinegary as the original but it’s hard to tell the difference when tasting them side by side.
You’ll need a can of Chipotles en Adobo sauce, some water, vinegar, salt, sugar, onion and garlic powder.
You can either use a hand emulsion blender or place the ingredients into a traditional blender.
If using an emulsion blender, place the chipotles en adobo sauce into a deep mixing bowl. Begin pulsing to break apart the chiles.
Keep blending until all the chiles are crushed and blended together.
I added 1/4 cup water to thin it. If you want a thinner sauce you could add a little more. I wasn’t so much worried about the thickness of the sauce as I was about taste.
Next add the vinegar. I started with 2 tablespoons and after tasting decided it needed a bit more. I added another 1/2 tablespoon which I liked. But if you like your sauce a bit more vinegary, add by 1/2 tablespoons until you have the desired taste.
Next I added 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder.
I added 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix well after each addition.
Once you have the desired taste and texture you will need to strain the sauce.
You don’t want all those seeds and peel in the sauce!
And you are left with a smoky spicy sauce!
A little side by side look. The taste is almost identical.
Chipotle Tabasco Sauce from Scratch
1 (7 ounce) can Chipotle en Adobo
1/4 – 1/3 cup Water
2 1/2 tablespoons Distilled Cider Vinegar (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
Use a blender or hand emulsion blender to combine the sauce ingredients. Test sauce for thickness and taste. If too thick, add a little water. If the sauce requires more vinegar, add in 1/2 tablespoon increments until you have the desired taste.
Strain sauce through a strainer. Refrigerate any unused sauce.
An Inspired Cook 
25 thoughts on “Chipotle Tabasco Sauce from Scratch”
Margaret
Wow. I’ve never thought of making my own tabasco sauce.
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NativeNM
Thanks, it wasn’t hard once I found the right blend of spices and vinegar.
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Marc
I love Tabasco Chipotle. How can we make it spicier without changing the flavour widly?
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NativeNM
My suggestion would be to add a little more Chipotle en Adobo. Try adding 1 tablespoon at a time tasting after each addition to see if it enhances the spice.
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Anne
This has my husband’s name written all over it as he adores Tabasco sauce. Not to mention this is homemade! Thanks for posting Jan.
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NativeNM
My husband too! Been wanting to see if I could copycat this sauce for a long time now.
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Anne
I think you did a fine job. I will have to give this a try now… 😉
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Ethan Nicolle
How long does this last?
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NativeNM
I couldn’t say for sure, we go through Tabasco sauce pretty quick but being a vinegar base it would probably last at least a couple weeks in the fridge covered.
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Hawlie Ohe
I always make this with my leftover chipotle peppers after I make my chipotle chicken stew. This is a great recipe. Thank you for posting!
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NativeNM
Thanks for the kind comment. Chipotle Chicken Stew sounds wonderful, glad you have a use for the leftover Chipotle peppers.
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kimberlyannglover
This looks really good! I’m going to try it the next time I have a can of chipotles. I got Tabasco pepper seeds for Christmas and may start even further up the food chain to make this completely from scratch. Thanks for sharing it.
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NativeNM
Thanks for the kind comments. I hope you have good luck growing your Tabasco pepper plants, you should be able to make a lot of sauce!
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Hala
I made this and everyone in my house loved it. I used leftover chipotle peppers after making chipotle barbacoa.
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NativeNM
I bet your Chipotle Barbacoa was tasty! Thanks for the kind comment and glad the Chipotle Tabasco recipe worked out for you!
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minik
How many ounces does it make?
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NativeNM
I would guess approximately 10 – 12 ounces. It was about 1 1/3 cups. Hope that helps.
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Yoli
Thank you so much for this!!!!
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NativeNM
You are welcome, enjoy!
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Carmen Hinkey
this is so funny, it’s exactly what my husband and I did many years ago, we reverse-engineered the tabasco chipotle. Now we grow our own jalapeno peppers, let them ripen, smoke them in a friend’s smoke-house, and have our recipe that is remarkably close to this! We give it away every year, and people love it. They send their empty bottles back for refills, such a fun thing to have something to gift.
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NativeNM
That’s awesome! You go to a whole lot more work than I do and I’m sure it is well worth it! It’s a good sign when folks keep coming back for refills Thanks for sharing your story!
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Perry R Poling
Made this recipe, today. Is my new goto. I love to personalize my flavors, may add more vinegar or try honey instead, just my thoughts. Untill I do my own thing your directions and recipe is spot on. You have inspired me to grow and think outside the box.
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NativeNM
Thank you for the kind words! I’m so glad you were able to create your own sauce by adding the flavors that you like. I think the addition of honey sounds great!
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John Dunn
Loved this recipe! I use a blender and turn it to a puree without filtering. Serve with a spoon.
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NativeNM
Thanks for the kind comment! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
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