Chipotleâ„¢ Vinaigrette

About three times a year, I eat at Chipotle, the burrito subsidiary of chain restaurant formerly partially owned by McDonald’s.  I’m not judging if it’s your favorite “Mexican restaurant,” but I live in a city with amazing Mexican food and only go to the chain if I am in dire need of expeditious eats.  It’s less than a block from my office, and even when the line is a mile long, it only takes 5 minutes to be served.

I order the oft-neglected salad, not because it’s carb-conscious, since I order tortilla chips too, but because of the smoky, tangy tub of chipotle-honey vinaigrette that comes with it.  This stuff must be bad for me, because it tastes so good.  I drizzle a little on the salad, but save most of it to dip my chips.

I’m guessing you could make something similar or better by vigorously shaking up the following:

1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon pureed chipotles in adobo
a pinch of cilantro, minced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

If that’s too tangy, I may swap out some of the lime juice with orange juice, and a little zest from either would be a nice touch.

I’ll give it a try next week and post results as a comment.

6 thoughts on “Chipotleâ„¢ Vinaigrette

  1. McDonald’s divested themselves over 2 years ago! I have eaten there before, and I just know you must avoid the burritos because they are COMPLETELY WRONG.

  2. Why don’t you ever invite me out for burritos? Are we breaking up? Is our bizarre love/hate brother/sister spouse relationship dying?

  3. Thanks, Neil. I fixed it.
    Amanda, you know I’m all yours, but I had literally 10 minutes to get lunch between a faculty meeting and a 5-hour on-call shift that has me chained to my office. Tomorrow?

  4. I’m embarrassed to admit that I lust after the cilantro-lime rice. Fortunately It’s a snap to make.

  5. I’ve never been able to find anything worth eating there. I’m curious to try this chipotle vinaigrette you speak of.

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