How to Make My Favorite Smoky, Zesty Mexican-style Veggie and Chip Dip by Cleo Coyle

This deliciously smoky, zesty Mexican-style dipping sauce is insanely easy to make. As a dip, it goes with everything from celery sticks to potato and tortilla chips. I eat it with French fries, chicken tenders, raw veggies, and shrimp (fried, grilled, and boiled).

I also use it as a spread on hamburgers and to jazz up cold deli sandwiches. I even mix it with tuna fish for a tasty twist on tuna (and sometimes chicken) salad.

The essential flavor ingredient in this dip is chipotle (aka chilpotle), a smoke-dried jalapeno pepper, used in Mexican and Tex-Mex cooking. Chipotle provides a rich earthiness and tangy bite when added to mole, salsa, chili, soups and stews. The peppers are also used for marinades and braising sauces for meat.

Once upon a time only dried chipotle were available, and they had to be reconstituted prior to use. Today it’s more convenient to buy chipotles processed and canned with adobo (a mixture of spices and crushed dried chili), which you’ll find in the ethnic or specialty food section of supermarkets all over the US and Canada.

This quick dip recipe uses canned chipotle, which means it's a snap to make. So let's get started...

Cleo Coyle, author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries
has a partner in crime writing:
her husband.

Cleo Coyle's Easy

Chipotle Dipping Sauce
and Sandwich Spread

I like my chipotle (aka chilpotle) dip on the smoky side with only a slight bite of heat. Marc likes his dip much spicier. I'll show you how to "control the heat" with this dip so you can make it as mild or as hot as you and your family want it. First let's gather the ingredients...





To download this recipe in a free PDF that you can prints, save, or share, click here.

Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise 

1 teaspoon ground cumin 

1 or 2 tablespoons of the adobo sauce found in a can of
         "Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce"

1 or 2 tablespoons sour cream (to reduce the heat)

(OR) 1 or 2 chipotle peppers, chopped (to increase the heat)



Directions:

Into a small bowl, measure out your mayonnaise and ground cumin. Open the can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce. Dip your tablespoon in and drain off 1 tablespoon of the adobo sauce. If you see any seeds floating around in there, pick them out.

Mix the adobo sauce with your mayo until well blended. Now give it a small taste. If you'd like a more powerful chipotle flavor, measure out a 2nd tablespoon of the adobo. Mix it in and taste it again. 

How to Control
the Heat...

Mild Side (smoky with zero to slight heat):

If the dip tastes too spicy for you: Add sour cream, 1 tablespoon at a time until the smokiness and heat are balanced. 

Wild Side 

(spiced up with more heat):

If the dip tastes too mild for you: Add the chopped chipotle peppers to your dip. Here's how...

(1) Pull a whole chipotle pepper from the can. Place it on a plate and slice it open with a knife or kitchen shears. Start at one end and open the pepper to expose the seeds...

(2) Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and discard them. Chop the pepper finely and stir it into the dip. 

Serve immediately, or chill in an airtight container. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about a week. So whether you like it smoky or spicy, I hope you will...

Eat (and read) with joy! 

~ Cleo Coyle

New York Times bestselling author of

The Coffeehouse Mysteries

Yes, this is me, Cleo (aka Alice). 

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