Dairy-Free Chipotle Sauce

If you love bold, smoky flavors, you need to try this Dairy-Free Chipotle Sauce! While it's primiarly smoky, it's also mildly spicy and slightly sweet. Instead of relying on heavy dairy products or mayo, this sauce gets its rich, creamy texture from a base of blended cashews and oat milk. It also relies on pantry spices so there's no need for whole chipotle peppers.

We can't get enough of this sauce. It's especially addictive with my homemade air fryer tortilla chips and my air fryer turnip fries!

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The magic of cashews and pantry spices

Traditional chipotle sauce relies on canned chipotle peppers blended with mayo, sour cream or yogurt. We're swapping those out for creamy blended cashews and simple chipotle powder. This twist keeps the recipe dairy-free, mayo-free and easy to whip up using basic pantry spices!

If you're new to using blended cashews, it's one of my go-to dairy alternatives. I use it to make dips like my dairy-free queso recipe, and it also works perfectly as the creamy base for my dairy-free seafood chowder!

Ingredient notes and substitutions

• Cashews - They create the dairy-free creamy texture in this sauce. I normally use raw and unsalted cashews (whole or halved). I would avoid salted and roasted for this recipe. (Save them to go in this kale berry citrus salad)!
• Milk - Any type of non-dairy milk will work. You can even use dairy milk if you don't need this sauce to be dairy-free or vegan. I prefer to use unsweetened and unflavored oat, almond or cashew milk.
• Lime juice - A pop of citrus flavor balances out the heat. Freshly squeezed lime juice has the best flavor so avoid bottled juice if you can. You can also substitute with lemon juice.
• Maple syrup - A little sweetness also balances out the heat. For a non-vegan version, you can use honey or another type of liquid sweetener.
• Seasoning - You just need a simple mix of salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika and chipotle powder (ground chipotle chili peppers).

How to make dairy-free chipotle sauce

Step 1: Add the cashews and hot water to a glass dish or jar. Cover and let soak for 30 minutes.

Step 2: Drain the cashews and add them to your blender or food processor.

Step 3: Add in the other ingredients.

Step 4: Blend on high until smooth.

Ways to use this chipotle sauce

This sauce stores well in the fridge, so it's a perfect condiment to have on hand to drizzle over tacos and nachos or spread over sandwiches and burgers! Here are a few suggestions:

• Taco night. Drizzle it over air fryer fish tacos or my favorite ground beef fajitas.
• Game day nachos. In addition to salsa and guac, this smoky sauce is perfect served with air fryer nachos or loaded veggie nachos!
• Burger topping. A thick layer slathered on a jalapeno turkey burger is delicious.
• Dipping sauce. Great for chips like my air fryer pita chips or even these air fryer potato slices.
• Make it a salad dressing. Just blend in a little water to thin it out and it's perfect tossed with your favorite green salad. You can also substitute it for ranch dressing and use it in this air fryer potato salad!

Dairy-free chipotle sauce FAQs

More cashew dips and sauces