Sunday, October 23, 2016

Chipotle's Honey Vinaigrette Dressing




Once we started down the path of the low carbohydrate high fat (LCHF) lifestyle, salads became an important part of or eating program. So much so that we have at least one salad a day for as a meal. This means that we try and make a whole bunch of our own salad dressings. In fact, salad dressings have become one of the condiments I make most often in addition to my own mayonnaise and ketchup.

If you have read my previous article 'Making Your Own Vinaigrettes' then you will know just how quick, easy, and low carbohydrate they can be. Chipotle restaurants has long been a favorite of ours, and now that we are eating LCHF, I have turned in my chicken burritos for their burrito bowl. I have really enjoyed their chipotle honey vinaigrette and decided it was time to try and make my own LCHF at home. In article I will teach you how to make my LCHF version of Chipotle restaurants 'Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette' dressing.

So what exactly is a chipotle pepper? A chipotle pepper is a red jalapeno that has been smoked and canned in a spicy sauce called adobo. The adobo sauce is made with vinegar, tomatoes, paprika, salt, soybean oil, and spices. They can generally be found in most of your local Walmart Supercenter's in the aisle that contains the Hispanic foods. Use whatever brand you can find, I have never noticed any difference in the flavors, I generally purchase La Costina brand which my local Walmart carries.


Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette

The original recipe calls for the use of honey, hence the name 'Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette'. You can go ahead and use 1 tablespoon of honey if you wish for this recipe in place of the Splenda, but it doubles the carbohydrate count from 0.56 grams to 1.25 grams per tablespoon. So if you are trying to follow a strict LCHF diet, then you are better off using Splenda or another low-calorie sweetener of your choice. Using one chipotle chile makes this recipe is somewhat mild, so if you like your dressing to have a little more heat then go for 2 chipotle chilies.

¾ cup canola oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 - 2 chipotle pepper's
2 – 3 teaspoons Splenda
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon adobo sauce
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process to puree chipotle pepper and combine all the ingredients. With the food processor still running drizzle in the oil until the salad dressing becomes an emulsion.

Chef's Note: I actually process all the ingredients in a small 1 ½ cup food processor and once the chipotle pepper is throughly processed, I pour the contents into a 16 ounce Mason jar, add the canola oil, place a lid on the container and shake the contents until an emulsion is formed (about 30 seconds). This recipe has about 1/2 the salt of chipotle's dressing.

Total Recipe (Splenda) – Calories 131, fat 11 grams, protein 0.7 grams, carbohydrates 9 grams
1 Tablespoon (Splenda) – Calories 8.1, fat 0.68 grams, protein 0.04 grams, carbohydrates 0.56 grams

Total Recipe (Honey) – Calorie 189, fat 11 grams, protein 0.7 grams, carbohydrates 17 grams
1 Tablespoon (Honey) – Calorie 11.8, fat 0.68 grams, protein 0.04 grams, carbohydrates 1.25 grams


Your Choice Of Oil

Chipotle restaurant currently uses rice bran oil in all their recipes that require oil. Before making the change to rice bran oil they used soybean oil as their oil of choice. Rice bran oil can be quite expensive and I have found that canola oil is a good substitute for me, however vegetable oil is the closest nutritional option as they are very similar in composition. Below I have included the nutritional values for canola, rice bran, and vegetable oil all which are suitable for this dressing

Canola Oil
1 Cup – Calories 1984, Total fat 224 grams, Sat fat 16 grams, Poly fat 62.4 grams, Mono fat 144 grams
1 Tablespoon – Calories 120, Total fat 14 grams, Sat fat 1 grams, Poly fat 3.9 grams, Mono fat 9 grams

Rice Bran Oil
1 Cup – Calories 1920, Total fat 224 grams, Sat fat 43.2 grams, Poly fat 76.8 grams, Mono fat 80 grams
1 Tablespoon – Calories 120, Total fat 14 grams, Sat fat 2.7 grams, Poly fat 4.8 grams, Mono fat 5 grams

Vegetable Oil
1 Cup – Calories 1984, Total fat 224 grams, Sat fat 32 grams, Poly fat 73.6 grams, Mono fat 112 grams
1 Tablespoon – Calories 124, Total fat 14 grams, Sat fat 2 grams, Poly fat 4.6 grams, Mono fat 7 grams


Conclusion

So there you have it, my version of Chipotle's 'Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette'. I really like this dressing, but I will be honest, I have not brought any of the restaurant's dressing home to compare it with. Maybe I will do this in the future, but I am happy with the flavor and seasoning of this dressing. Making it with one chipotle makes it more wife friendly, as my wife does not care for too much heat, and she thinks Chiptole's version is a little hot. Personally, I like it made either way. That's the great thing about making your own dressings and condiments, it gives you total control to use the type and amount of ingredients you wish. As always, we ask that if you have found this article to be interesting and of use to please share it with your friends. Don't forget to send us a friend request on Facebook, or add us to your circle on Google+ so that you will be notified when new articles have been posted to our blog.


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