This mildly spicy homemade easy adobo sauce recipe is earthy, bursting with flavor and a classic Mexican cooking staple. Made with simple pantry ingredients, it’ll add a savory bite to all your dishes.
Do we seriously LOVE sauce? You bet we do. Dipping sauce, marinating sauce, sauce for dipping and marinating, basting sauce, barbecue sauce, like our super fan favorite Korean Barbecue Sauce. This zesty little vixen is our new favorite for slathering on everything on the grill.
If you think adobo sauce is just what chipotle peppers are packed with, you are definitely missing out. Homemade easy adobo sauce is packed with flavor and just waiting for your chicken, steak and pork. Chili, soups and casseroles get a serious flavor hit when you add a spoon or two to the mix.
It’s hard to find adobo sauce as a stand alone sauce at the grocery, so making it at home is a simple alternative. You can easily to adjust the recipe and spices to your tastes by altering the amount of spices, salt and sweetness.
How to Make Homemade Easy Adobo Sauce
If you can throw ingredients into a blender, then simmer on the stove – you’ve got this sauce, hands down!
Ingredients needed for this recipe
- Chili Powder – we love using dark chili powder for this recipe. The smoky rich flavor is amazing!
- Diced Tomatoes – petite or regular diced canned tomatoes are delicious and talk about an easy ingredients. If you prefer fresh tomatoes, be sure to add the cutting juices to the mixture.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – adds flavor and acidity to the sauce.
- Brown Sugar – add sweetness and cuts any bitterness from the tomatoes. Regular white sugar can be substituted.
- Spices – garlic powder, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, cloves.
Sauce thick enough to stay where you put it…that’s how we like it. But no worries friends, if your sauce is too thick or thin for your liking, you can easily make adjustments. For a thicker sauce, let it simmer just a little longer. If too thick, add water back in a tablespoon or two at a time and stir until you like the consistency.
More Deliciously Easy Homemade Sauce Recipes
- Family Recipe Classic Barbecue Sauce
- Smooth Romesco Sauce
- Chipotle Enchilada Sauce
- Easy Lime Cream Sauce
- 7-minute Yum Yum Sauce
- Homemade Pizza Sauce
- Garlic Dill Aioli
- Salsa Verde – Tomatillo and Lime Sauce
Easy Adobo Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chili powder
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- pinch ground cloves
Instructions
- Add chili powder to the bowl of a blender or food processor. Bring water to a boil and pour over the chili powder. Stir and replace cover. Let steep while you gather the other ingredients.
- To the chili powder mixture, add tomatoes with juices, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, salt, cinnamon, black and cloves. Blend or pulse until smooth and the consistency of ketchup. Add water by the teaspoon and pulse if mixture is too thick.
- Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.. Carefully add adobo mixture. Bring to a low boil then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 – 20 minutes until thickened. Allow to cool then transfer to an airtight container. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Chef Tips
Equipment Used
Nutrition Facts
© Copyright Christine Mello for Must Love Home. We would love for you to share a link to this recipe but please do not copy/paste the recipe instructions to websites or social media. We are happy for you to share a photo with a link back to this website instead.
