Mango Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Sweet and spicy, this Mango Chipotle BBQ sauce is a hit on chicken and pork.

I started making my own BBQ sauce one day when I needed some and didn’t have any in the pantry. That’s when my basic BBQ sauce recipe was born. That recipe only uses three ingredients: ketchup, mustard, and honey. Then you can flavor it with additional ingredients if you want.

What I’ve learned since then is that there are a couple of keys to good homemade BBQ sauce. You need that tomato base. Ketchup is my go-to. Then you need something sweet (honey is in there, but brown sugar or molasses are also great choices). And you need something tangy. That’s what the mustard is for there.

Today’s recipe for Mango Chipotle BBQ sauce has the ketchup, and it has sweetness from brown sugar. But from there it gets a little different.

Mango Chipotle BBQ Sauce

How is it different? It has fresh mango, lime juice, and a blast of chipotle. The mango adds extra sweetness and flavor. The lime is where the required tanginess comes from. The chipotle…mmm. I use a chipotle that comes packed in adobo sauce. The can looks like this. Just open the can and snag one pepper from inside. There will be a dark sauce clinging to it. Do include that clinging sauce because it’s spicy and has a really intense smoky flavor.

The other thing that’s different about this recipe is that it has some melted butter in it. Why? The butter adds richness to counter some of the tang and heat. It basically mellows the BBQ sauce out and brings everything together.

How To Use Mango Chipotle BBQ

This BBQ sauce is sweet, spicy, tangy and mellow all at once. I like it on chicken and pork. But note, because of the sweetness in the sauce, you don’t want to add it until the last few minutes of grilling time or else it could burn. Enjoy!

Christine :-)

Mango Chipotle BBQ Sauce

★★★★★

5 from 1 review

• Author: Christine Pittman
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Sauce
• Cuisine: American

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DESCRIPTION

Sweet and spicy, this Mango Chipotle BBQ sauce is a hit on chicken and pork.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 mango, peeled cored and cubed (or use 1 and 1/2 cups frozen mango, defrosted)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 chipotle pepper (the kind that comes in a can packed with adobo sauce, like this)
• 1 lime
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 Tbsp. melted butter
• 1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt

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Instructions

1. Put the cubed mango, garlic clove, chipotle pepper, and lime juice into a food processor.
2. Process on high until minced.
3. Add ketchup, butter, brown sugar, and salt.
4. Puree until smooth, adding a drizzle of water if needed to make the blender run smoothly.

This post originally appeared in June 2013 and was revised and republished in May 2021.