Can you tell we love sauces and dressings over here? Coming at you with another bomb sauce recipe today!
In my house, we are big sauce guys. There’s something about a delicious sauce or dressing for me that just really brings a dish together. In my opinion, the best sauces bring cohesiveness, added nutritional value and ultimate satisfaction.
This raspberry chipotle sauce was born because I was following a recipe that called for a storebought raspberry chipotle sauce, like Fischer & Wieser. After going to 3 stores and still not finding it, I decided to make my own after seeing fresh raspberries on sale.
BOY am I glad I did that little experiment. It turned out AMAZING, so naturally I knew it had to be shared.
Table of Contents
Ingredients for this Raspberry Chipotle Sauce:
- Olive oil
- Jalapeños. If you like a bit of heat, I recommend keeping in the seeds. If you prefer a milder flavor, you can seed only 1 of them or seed both.
- Fresh garlic
- Adobo sauce. I always keep an embarrassing amount of canned chipotles in adobo in my pantry. They are so versatile and pack a ton of flavor. Once I open a can, I transfer the contents to a mason jar and keep in the fridge. It lasts for a solid month. For this recipe, you are going to scoop out some of the adobo sauce from the can, and leave the chipotle peppers.
- Raspberries. I have experimented with using both fresh and frozen, and am happy to tell you that you can use either! If using frozen, just omit the added water in this recipe.
- Apple cider vinegar
- Water
- Kosher salt
- Brown sugar
- White sugar
How to make Raspberry Chipotle Sauce:
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once shimmering, add jalapeños and cook for about 5 minutes or until softened.
- Drop heat to low. Add garlic and adobo sauce and let cook for about 2 minutes.
- Stir raspberries in. Let cook until they are broken down and releasing their juices. This will take about 10 minutes. You can break them up a bit with a spatula if you want, or just let them break down naturally on their own.
- Once the berries are broken down and releasing their juices, add the vinegar, sugars, salt, and water (if using fresh raspberries).
- Let cook over low heat until reduced by about half. You want a gentle simmer the whole time. This will take around 30 minutes or so.
- Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Pour into a food processor or blender. Puree for about 30 seconds.
- Pour sauce into a bowl and let come to room temperature.
Raspberry Chipotle Sauce
Equipment
- skillet
- food processor
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 jalapeños with seeds*, minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 teaspoons adobo sauce from can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 12 oz raspberries
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup water if using fresh berries*
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
Instructions
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once shimmering, add jalapeños and cook for about 5 minutes or until softened.
- Drop heat to low. Add garlic and adobo sauce and let cook for about 2 minutes.
- Stir raspberries in. Let cook until they are broken down and releasing their juices. This will take about 10 minutes. You can break them up a bit with a spatula if you want, or just let them break down naturally on their own.
- Once the berries are broken down and releasing their juices, add the vinegar, sugars, salt, and water (if using fresh raspberries).
- Let cook over low heat until reduced by about half. You want a gentle simmer the whole time. This will take around 30 minutes or so.
- Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Pour into a food processor or blender. Puree for about 30 seconds.
- Pour sauce into a bowl and let come to room temperature.
Notes
FAQ:
Can I use frozen raspberries?
YES! I would recommend omitting the ¼ cup of water, as the frozen berries bring more water content than fresh. The flavor is on point, comparable to the version with fresh raspberries. What a win, right?
Is this a low sugar sauce?
Compared to a storebought raspberry chipotle sauce, this recipe has about half the amount of sugar you find in a storebought version. I did experiment with reducing the sugar even further, but it was a bust. It lacked flavor. Of course, this may vary with the ripeness level of your raspberries. Tasting the sauce periodically as it’s cooking is a good way to see if you’re liking how it’s progressing.
How do you store this sauce?
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Just move it to the refrigerator to thaw before using.
How can I use this sauce?
- As a marinade for pork or chicken. I have marinated and then grilled pork tenderloin with this sauce, and it is amazing.
- Use to spread over salmon or steak
- Use as a sandwich spread, particularly good pairing with a turkey sandwich
- On crackers with a bit of ricotta cheese or cream cheese
If you give this recipe a try, we’d LOVE to hear what you think! Leave us a comment and rating below :)
If you are also a big sauce guy, check out some of our other sauce/dressing recipes!
About the Author: Kelly Wagner, MS, RD, LDN
