Panera’s chipotle sauce is one of the star ingredients in its signature sandwiches. If you are craving Panera’s chipotle sauce, you don’t have to go to Panera and buy a sandwich.
You can make Panera’s chipotle sauce in your home in less than 10 minutes! This is a smoky and spicy sauce made with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce that you will surely pair up with a lot of your dishes, so go ahead, gather the ingredients, and let’s start making this sauce!
In this article:
- Ingredients and Equipment Needed to Make Panera Chipotle Sauce
- Step-By-Step Instructions
- Customize Your Panera Chipotle Sauce
- Where to Use Panera Chipotle Sauce
- How to Store Panera Chipotle Sauce
Ingredients and Equipment Needed to Make Panera Chipotle Sauce
-
- 2 to 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 lime, juiced
- Salt to taste
- Blender
- Sauce bottle or glass jar
- Medium-sized bowl
- Wire whisk (optional)
- Chopping board (optional)
- Knife and fork (optional)
Step-By-Step Instructions
- In a blender, add all the ingredients.
- Blend all the ingredients together to your preferred consistency.
- Transfer the sauce to a bowl or sauce bottle and serve!
If you don’t have a blender:
- Chop the chipotle peppers into small pieces on a chopping board. It is going to be messy as it is covered in adobo sauce so you can use a fork to hold down the peppers.
- In a medium-sized bowl, add chopped chipotle peppers, mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Whisk everything together until you get a smooth consistency.
Do note that if you do not use a blender, you might still get bits and pieces of chipotle peppers in your sauce.
Customize Your Panera Chipotle Sauce
As with all copycat recipes, you can customize your Panera-style chipotle sauce to your liking. Here are some ways you can tweak the recipe and personalize it!
Add More Chipotle Peppers
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce have a smoky, spicy, and sweet flavor.
If you are a fan of spicy food, you can always add more chipotle peppers to your sauce. Make sure to also add the adobo sauce because that also contributes to the spice!
Alternatively, you can also always cut back on the peppers if you can’t handle too much spice.
Add Chili Powder
This is another way to crank up that heat in your Panera chipotle sauce. Adding a couple of tablespoons of chili powder will surely make your sauce extra spicy.
Add More Mayonnaise, Sour Cream, or Lime Juice
You can also make your sauce extra creamy and tangy by adding more mayonnaise, sour cream, and lime juice. Just make sure to also adjust the number of peppers you put in so you still get the smoky and spicy flavor of the chipotle peppers.
Adding more of these ingredients can make your sauce extra thick, though, and this can be good as a dipping sauce or for sandwiches.
Adjust the Measurements
Since there is no baking or cooking involved, only blending and mixing, it is very easy to adjust the measurements of this recipe to your liking.
It is also very easy to double this recipe without worrying about how it will end up tasting. You can taste the sauce as you build it and tweak the measurements based on your preferences.
Where to Use Panera Chipotle Sauce
Oh, the possibilities are endless! This copycat Panera chipotle sauce can be used in a lot of dishes.
Instead of just putting mayo on your chicken sandwich, why not make it more flavorful by adding Panera-style chipotle sauce instead? Panera even uses its chipotle sauce on its signature sandwiches so you can never go wrong in doing the same!
Aside from your usual sandwiches, you can also add this sauce to various wraps. Whether it is a veggie wrap or a steak wrap, this chipotle sauce will add wonderful flavors to your meal.
This sauce will also go well with an avocado toast! Aside from sandwiches and wraps, this can be a delicious dipping sauce as well.
Fry or bake some potatoes and veggies and dip them in your homemade Panera chipotle sauce. Aside from fries and veggies, you can also use this as a dipping sauce for nachos and chips!
You can use this sauce in baked potatoes, scrambled eggs, salads, burgers, and many more!
How to Store Panera Chipotle Sauce
As long as it is stored in an airtight container, your homemade Panera chipotle sauce can last up to a week in the refrigerator. But, make sure to also take note of the expiration date of the sour cream.
Sour cream tends to last up to three weeks in the fridge and your sauce will stay good if the sour cream has not expired yet.
You can always check for any odd smell or discoloration in your sauce if you’ve put it in the fridge for a while. Throw it away if you see signs of mold growth or smell anything bad.
You can also freeze it for up to a month but the quality and texture of your sauce can be affected.
Since this sauce is pretty easy to make, I recommend you just make a new batch when you need it. It is going to taste better and you’ll have fresh, homemade sauce each time.
If you have leftover sauce and plan to freeze or refrigerate it, make sure to label it with the date when you made the sauce. This will help you keep track of its freshness and let you know if it has been in the fridge for who knows how long.
Wrapping Up
Making your own Panera chipotle sauce is very easy to do and you’ll only need about 5 minutes to make this sauce. You don’t have to go to a Panera near you just to get a taste of the chipotle sauce.
You’ll also have control over the ingredients and you can make it as spicy or as creamy as you want. You can also save money by not buying chipotle mayo sauces and just making a batch whenever you want to dress up your sandwich, burger, salad, or fries!
Related:
– How to Make Panera Green Tea at Home – Quick & Affordable
– How to Make Panera Autumn Squash Soup at Home
