Canned Chipotle Peppers
Canned chipotle peppers are smoke-dried jalapenos packed in a tangy, spiced tomato-based adobo sauce, adding smoky heat and depth to Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes.
How to buy
Look for "chipotles in adobo sauce" with a thick, rust-red sauce and plump, pliable peppers; La Morena and San Marcos are widely available, reliable brands. Avoid dented cans, and shake gently to confirm there's enough sauce coating the peppers, which carries much of the flavor.
How to store
Once opened, transfer peppers and their sauce to a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks, or freeze in small portions -- even ice cube trays -- for months, since a can is usually more than a single recipe needs.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Smoky, earthy heat with a tangy, slightly sweet adobo backdrop -- distinctly smokier and more savory than fresh jalapenos, which never go through the drying and smoking step.
- Texture
- Soft, pliable, and slightly wrinkled from the smoking and canning process, easily mashed or blended into sauces.
- Aroma
- Deeply smoky with a tangy, spiced sharpness from the vinegar and tomato in the adobo sauce.
How to prepare
- Minced into sauces — Chopped fine and stirred into mayo, crema, or marinades for smoky heat.
- Blended into salsas — Pureed with tomato and onion for a smoky table salsa.
- Simmered into braises — Added whole or chopped to stews and braised meats for background heat.
- Used as a stuffing base — Used straight, sometimes rehydrated further, for chile relleno-style dishes.
Classic dishes
American
- Smoky chili con carne — A beef chili deepened with chopped canned chipotle for smokiness.
- Tex-Mex chipotle BBQ sauce — A barbecue sauce variation built on canned chipotle for smoky heat.
- Chipotle aioli — A garlic mayonnaise blended with chipotle for sandwiches and fries.
Mexican
- Chipotle crema — Sour cream or crema blended with chipotle for a smoky, pourable sauce.
- Tinga de pollo — Shredded chicken braised in a smoky chipotle and tomato sauce.
- Chipotle mayo — Mayonnaise blended with minced chipotle for sandwiches and tacos.
- Smoky adobo marinade for carne asada — Grilled steak marinated with chipotle adobo sauce among its seasonings.
- Chipotle salsa — A blended salsa built on canned chipotle for smoky depth and heat.
- Chipotle black bean soup — A pureed bean soup spiced with chipotle for smoky heat.
- Chilaquiles with chipotle salsa — Fried tortilla chips simmered in a chipotle-spiked salsa.
- Chipotle shrimp tacos — Shrimp marinated in chipotle adobo sauce before grilling for tacos.
- Pozole — A hominy and pork soup sometimes finished with a splash of chipotle adobo.
- Chipotle-marinated grilled chicken — Chicken marinated in pureed chipotle, lime, and garlic before grilling.
- Enchiladas with chipotle sauce — Rolled tortillas bathed in a smoky chipotle-spiked red sauce.
- Chipotle refried beans — Refried beans spiked with minced chipotle for smoky depth.