Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Marie Overton
Feb 23, 2022
3 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

Chipotle BBQ Sauce is a wonderful BBQ sauce with a slightly smoky and spicy taste of chipotle peppers. Can you say YUMMM? This tasty BBQ sauce is my husband’s favorite. It is delicious on just about anything. Onion burgers are phenomenal with it, as well as, french fries, chicken, and any number of other things.

A spoon spreads red sauce on a burger with grilled onions and cheese on a white plate. A bun and tomatoes are blurred in the background.

Having a good BBQ sauce recipe is a must for every home canner’s recipe collection. This homemade Chipotle BBQ Sauce also makes an amazing gift if you are generous enough to give away your hard work.

Slice of food with red sauce on a white plate, beside a blue-green wooden spreader. Set on a gray wooden surface.

Chipotle BBQ sauce

This recipe makes 7 pints of Chipotle BBQ Sauce.

Sliced tomatoes on a wooden board, a hand holding a knife. Text reads "13 lbs Tomatoes." Gray speckled countertop background.

Person chopping onions on a wooden cutting board. Text reads "2 Onions." Onion skins and diced pieces are visible. Granite countertop background.

Hand chopping celery on wooden board. Text reads "2 Cups Celery." Blue mug nearby, on speckled countertop.

Hand slicing red sweet peppers on wooden board. Text: "1 1/2 cups Sweet Peppers." Colorful bowls on speckled counter.

Chipotle BBQ Sauce Ingredients:

13 pounds quartered Tomatoes
2 chopped Onions
2 c chopped Celery
1.5 c chopped Red Pepper
1 tsp Chipotle Pepper Powder
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 c Brown Sugar
2 tbsp minced Garlic
1 tbsp dry ground Mustard
1 tbsp Paprika
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Liquid Smoke
1 c White Distilled Vinegar

Cooking:

Soften the quartered tomatoes by simmering for about 20 minutes.

Person in apron processes tomato pulp with a grinder, filling a plastic tub. Large pots and a sauce pan are on a speckled countertop.

Process the soft tomatoes through a food mill. Then place the pulp in a strainer (I like my husband’s honey strainer.) or cheesecloth to drain out the juice. Save the juice to be canned later. This step of straining the sauce allows you to skip the reducing down process which usually takes about 3 hours to do. If for some reason the sauce seems too thick you can add some of the juice back in.

A pot filled with chopped tomatoes, celery, and spices on a speckled countertop. Nearby are white bowls and utensils, creating a cooking scene.

Place the strained pulp in a large saucepot and add the rest of the ingredients.

Simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

Blend together in a blender until it is nice and smooth.

Continue to simmer until it is your desired thickness.

Equipment Preparation:

While your sauce is simmering on the stove it is time to prepare your canning equipment.

Fill your boiling water bath canner half full with water and place it on the stove on low to begin heating. Do not let it get too hot, just warm it up.

Gather your ladle, jar lifter, clean cloth, and any other needed supplies for canning.

Filling and Processing Jars:

Jars being filled with orange-brown sauce on a speckled countertop. A funnel and pot are visible, suggesting a food preparation process.

Using a jar funnel, Fill the pint jars leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

Use a chopstick to remove any air bubbles.

If you spilled on the edge or rim of the jar, use a clean cloth to wipe the rim clean.

Place the lid on top of the jar and add the ring. Tighten the ring to fingertip tight.

Process in a boiling water bath canner for 20 minutes if at sea level. Remember to adjust your processing time if you are above 1000 feet in elevation.

Once your jars have completed processing, take off the lid, turn off the heat and allow them to cool for 5 minutes. Then, remove the jars and space them about an inch apart on a heat resistant surface for 24 hours to cool and completely seal.

Jars of orange sauce line a countertop. In front, a red brush rests on a silver tray beside a small bowl of sauce, evoking a homely mood.

If your jar did not seal, then place it in the refrigerator and use it immediately.

Store the sealed jars in your pantry to enjoy for the next 1-3 years. After three years the nutritional value of canned food diminishes. The quality is best during the first year.