Mole Sauce
User Reviews
5
274 reviews
Excellent
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Prep Time
15 mins
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Cook Time
1 hr 15 mins
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Total Time
1 hr 30 mins
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Servings
8
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Calories
552 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Mexican
Mole Sauce
Report
Mole Sauce is a complex Mexican sauce made by blending toasted dried chilies, seeds, nuts, raisins, spices, bread, plantain, and Mexican chocolate, simmered with chicken broth to build rich, layered flavors. Often served over cooked chicken, it offers a deep, smoky, sweet, and mildly spicy taste with a velvety texture.
Description
This Mole Sauce recipe involves simmering chicken to prepare broth and meat, then toasting sesame seeds, frying opened and deseeded dried chilies lightly before soaking them in water, and individually pan-frying ingredients like nuts, spices, bread, and plantain slices to develop toastiness and flavor depth. These components are blended into a smooth sauce with Mexican chocolate and sweetened with brown sugar, seasoned with spices and bouillon paste.
The sauce combines sweet, smoky, earthy, and spicy notes with a silky consistency that coats the protein it accompanies. Toasting and careful frying prevent bitterness, while gradual blending ensures a uniform texture. The sauce is then reheated with reserved chicken broth to adjust thickness.
Mole is typically served over chicken parts cooked tender in broth, providing a hearty and festive main course. It can be made in advance, refrigerated, or frozen for convenience. Suggested spice adjustments allow control of heat level.
To maintain flavor quality, avoid burning ingredients during toasting and frying. Blend in batches for smoothness. The sauce can be stored refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for 4 months, then reheated with added stock as needed. The recipe notes handlers for consistent spice level and storage.
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Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 chicken cut into pieces (or 4-5 chicken leg quarters, bone in, skin on, whole, raw
- 8 cups water (1.9 liters or half gallon)
- ¼ onion , roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon oregano dried
- 1 Tablespoon chicken bouillon , (powder or paste)
Mole Sauce:
- 6 dried pasilla chile
- 6 dried mulato chile or guajillo chilies
- 5 ancho chile dried
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds (71g), divided
- 1/4 cup almond 36g, raw
- 1/4 cup peanut 36g, raw, shelled
- 1/4 cup raisins (37g)
- ½ cup animal crackers (60g)
- 1 corn tortilla
- 2 lices white bread , French bread or a small bolillo roll cut in half
- 1/2 of a white onion , sliced
- 4 cloves garlic
- 5 clove whole
- 5 black peppercorns whole
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds whole
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds whole
- 1/4 teaspoon aniseed whole
- ¼ -1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes crushed
- 1 plantain peeled, sliced into ½ inch slices, ripe; or banana
- 1 teaspoon oregano dried
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons chicken bouillon paste
- salt to taste
- 2 ounces Mexican chocolate or semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1-4 Tablespoons brown sugar , taste
- broth reserved from cooking the chicken
- 2 Tablespoons oil or lard
- neutral cooking oil for frying, generic cooking oil
Instructions
- Cook Chicken: Add chicken, garlic, onion, bay leaf, chicken bouillon, salt, oregano and water to pot. Bring to a low boil and cook over medium heat until chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate, (reserving the broth) cover to keep it warm and set aside.
For the Mole Sauce:
- Toast sesame seeds in a large dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until toasted. Be careful not to burn them. Set aside.
- Add 2 cups of water to a large saucepan over medium-low heat. (You will transfer toasted ingredients to this post, as you toast them.)
- Toast Chiles: Use scissors to cut a line down all the chilies to open them up flat. Remove veins and seeds. Add a few tablespoons of oil to the skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add chiles in a single layer, frying on both sides for just a few seconds, careful not to burn them. Transfer them to saucepan of water.
- Pan fry ingredients: We will pan fry most of the remaining ingredients, one at a time, so add a little oil between each batch, as needed, to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Fry the peanuts stirring often so they toast but don’t burn, about 45 seconds. Add to the pot. Repeat with almonds, then raisins, then animal crackers, then corn tortilla, and bread slices, adding each to the saucepan and pressing down as much as possible into the water.
- Turn skillet heat to medium-high and add more oil if needed to coat the bottom of the pan. Add onion and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and fry for just a few seconds before spooning the onion and garlic into the pot. Add sliced plantain to the hot oil and fry on both sides, then add to the pot.
- Reduce heat to medium and add peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, anise, and crushed red pepper to hot oil and fry for a few seconds, stirring constantly, then add to the pot.
- To the saucepan with all of the ingredients, stir in 1 teaspoon oregano, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 ½ teaspoons chicken bouillon.
- Blend: Working in batches, add everything from the pot with the chilies to a blender and add enough of the reserved chicken broth to allow the mixture to blend. During one of the blending batches, add ¼ cup of reserved toasted sesame seeds. Blend each batch for several minutes, until completely smooth, adding more chicken broth if needed.
- Heat 2 tablespoons lard or oil to a large saucepan. Once melted, remove from heat and set aside.
- Strain: Pour sauce through a fine mesh strainer (discarding what’s leftover in the strainer) into the pot with the melted lard.
- Melt chocolate: Add the chopped chocolate to a bowl and pour some of the chicken broth into it, to help it melt. Add to pot, along with 1 Tablespoon brown sugar, to start, then more to taste, as needed.
- Cook mole sauce over medium-low heat for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring often. If the mixture is too thick, add more chicken broth (I usually end up using all of the remaining chicken broth). Taste and add salt or sugar, as needed.
- Serve: Place chicken on a plate and ladle a big spoonful of sauce on top. Garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with Mexican rice and warm corn tortillas on the side.
Notes
- Mole sauce can be made up to one week ahead and stored in the refrigerator; reheat on the stove adding chicken stock to adjust consistency.
- Freeze cooled mole sauce in a freezer-safe container for up to four months; thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating with added stock if needed.
- To increase spice, retain some seeds in the dried chilies, add more crushed red pepper, chile de arbol, or chipotle peppers.
- Avoid burning any ingredients during toasting or frying to prevent bitterness that would ruin the sauce flavor.
- Blend the sauce in smaller batches to achieve a smooth puree and consistent texture.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
552kcal
(28%)
Carbohydrates
43g
(14%)
Protein
27g
(54%)
Fat
33g
(51%)
Saturated Fat
7g
(35%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
9g
(53%)
Monounsaturated Fat
14g
(70%)
Trans Fat
0.1g
(5%)
Cholesterol
72mg
(24%)
Sodium
1001mg
(42%)
Potassium
994mg
(21%)
Fiber
12g
(48%)
Sugar
17g
(34%)
Vitamin A
8590IU
(172%)
Vitamin C
12mg
(13%)
Calcium
192mg
(19%)
Iron
6mg
(33%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 8Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 552 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 552kcal | 28% |
| Carbohydrates | 43g | 14% |
| Protein | 27g | 54% |
| Fat | 33g | 51% |
| Saturated Fat | 7g | 35% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 9g | 53% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 14g | 70% |
| Trans Fat | 0.1g | 5% |
| Cholesterol | 72mg | 24% |
| Sodium | 1001mg | 42% |
| Potassium | 994mg | 21% |
| Fiber | 12g | 48% |
| Sugar | 17g | 34% |
| Vitamin A | 8590IU | 172% |
| Vitamin C | 12mg | 13% |
| Calcium | 192mg | 19% |
| Iron | 6mg | 33% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
274 reviews
Excellent
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