Mole sauce is one of the greatest foods ever! It’s a Mexican style sauce that traditionally contains many ingredients including chilies and chocolate! Yeah, chocolate! I’m in! This is a relatively quick and easy version that you can make at home and you’ll be licking the sauce pan, the spoon and the plates clean!
Mole is both the name of the sauce and the dishes that use the sauce. There are many kinds of Mole sauce and outside of Mexico it usually refers to mole poblano which traditionally includes chilies, nuts, spices, fruit and chocolate, it has a dark colour and it is often served with chicken and/or turkey.
A good mole recipe contains over 20 ingredients and it takes a lot of time to make, but fear not, for over the years I have streamlined my favourite mole recipe to take a lot less time! It still takes some time but it’s really easy, so lets get started!
You start out by toasting some dried chilies and soaking them in water before pureeing them. Next up is roasting the fresh ingredients: tomatoes, tomatillos, onions and garlic to char them, which adds flavour. There are a bunch of nuts and seeds including sesame seeds, pepitas, peanuts and almonds that are toasted and ground along with spices which are also toasted and ground. The star of the show is the Mexican chocolate along with a touch of sugar for sweetness. Everything is pureed into a sauce which is simmered to bring out the flavours and thicken and you are ready to enjoy it!
Mole sauce is velvety smooth, thick and just packed with layer of flavours! You can use mole sauce like a salsa o or in tacos, quesadillas, burritos, etc and it’s great for braising meats in or just pouring over! No matter what you use it on it is sure to delight! Take a look below the recipe for a few recipe ideas to use the mole sauce in!
What is Mexican Mole?
Mole is both the name of a Mexican style sauce and the dish made with the sauce. There are actually many kinds of mole with the the most common one being Mole poblano which can contain more than 20 ingredients including chilies and chocolate. This is a recipe for Mole poblano that can be make at home!
Mole Sauce
A thick, velvety and tasty chocolate mole sauce that is packed with flavour!
ingredients
- 5 dried ancho chilies, stems and seeds removed
- 5 dried guajillo chilies, stems and seeds removed
- 5 dried pasilla chiles, stems and seeds removed
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 pound plum tomatoes
- 1/2 pound tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
- 1 large onion, cut into wedges
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup pepitas
- 1/4 cup peanuts
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 1 tablespoons oil
- 1 ripe plantain (or banana), peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
- 4 cloves
- 1 star anise
- 1 (1 inch) stick of cinnamon
- 3 allspice berries
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 corn tortilla, torn into small pieces
- 1 (2 ounce) tablet Mexican chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 teaspoon salt
directions
- Lightly toast the chilies in a heavy bottom skillet over medium-high heat, cover in just boiled water, along with the raisins and let soak until tender, about 20-30 minutes, before removing from the water, reserving the water.
- Meanwhile, lightly char the tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, and garlic under the broiler (or in a heavy bottomed killet over medium-high heat, or on the grill or over direct flame) before setting aside.
- Meanwhile, lightly toast the sesame seeds, pepitas, peanuts and almonds and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the plantains and cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side, and set aside.
- Puree the chilies, raisins, tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, garlic, sesame seeds, pepitas, peanuts, almonds, and plantain in a food processor or blender until smooth.
- Lightly toast the cloves, star anise, cinnamon, allspice, cumin, coriander, and peppercorns in a skillet before ginding in a grinder.
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat, add the pureed sauce, ground spices, oregano, tortilla, chocolate, sugar and salt, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the tortilla has disitegrated into the sauce and the sauce thickens a bit, about 10 minutes.
- Optionally, puree in a food processor or blender a second time and strain through a fine mess sieve for a smoother sauce.
Option: Add the reserved chili soaking water or chicken, pork, or vegetable broth to thin the sauce out if too thick.
Oh my, I can’t wait to try this one out.
I love Mexican food and prefer making my own, This is getting bookmarked!
I admit it, the laundry list of ingredients for mole has always freaked me out!! Maybe I'll get some guts one of these days and make it! Your version looks superb!
I still can't imagine what it tastes like. With all the ingredients of making it, it sounds great!
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YUM!! I love Mole sauce a top of stuffed hot peppers!!!! This sounds delishious 🙂
Oh my !!! It looks so damn tasty 🙂
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One question about the recipe- it lists "3 allspice"
Is that tsp or tb?
Three whole allspice. They are round, dried berries slightly larger than an English pea.
I love making homemade mole sauce. Yes, it is time-consuming, but it is fun to make with a friend.
Mary: That should be 3 whole allspice. You could use a teaspoon of ground though.
If Mexican chocolate is not available, how much dark/unsweetened/semi-sweet (?) chocolate should one use?
Leandre: Go with 2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate or 2 tablespoons cocoa powder. You could also add a bit more cinnamon.
I am curious to know if you have ever tried your chocolate mole sauce with asparagus. I was speculating about it on my blog the other day and looking for a recipe which did just that.
What if I don't have a coffee grinder, what can i use instad? And what kind Of Mexican chocolate? Is it abuelitas?
Dina: A mortar and pestle will work for some of the spices otherwise, although the toasted fresh ground spices will have more flavour, you can go with preground spices. Abuelitas would be perfect!
I’m pretty sure Abuelitas has artificial flavoring, and Ybarra does not.
Yes!!!! Also Ybarra is the real deal.
I tried a version of this today and decided to food process things in this order. 1st roasted dried chilies and dry roasted spices, 2nd roasted nuts and seeds ( I used pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, Hubbard squash seeds, and almonds) 3rd reconstituted dried fruit (I used dried apricots as I had not raisins) and a can of fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies, 4th toasted bread and tortillas 4th sauted garlic and onion. 5th very dark chocolate bar. this gets to a paste that I then mix with chicken broth as needed (made about 4 batches I froze 3) this order with the food processor meant I could just add the next thing I was roasting and I didn't need the coffee grinder for spices and may have been a little faster. I have never made Mole before but it is one of my favorite foods and I have watched a few women prepare it in Oaxaca and other parts of Mexico, while mine was not as good as theirs it was pretty amazing. I did not have some of the whole spices in my cupboard so I just dry roasted the ground spices, it enhanced the flavor. Thanks for the inspiration! I will definitely make it again.
It's simmering right now. Mighty tasty stuff!! My plantains weren't ripe enough so it seemed a bit starchy, added more chicken stock. I'm probably going to give it another rollin the blender and a strain before serving. Thanks!!
Anonymous: I am glad that you like it! If you prefer it smooth the extra go in the blender followed by straining will do the trick nicely!
Look yummy! One of my favorite Mole Sauce, nice to see your recipe, easy to follow, will cook this for family this weekend. Thanks you!
I have wanted to attempt mole for years. This weekend I will be using your recipe in preparation for Cinco de Mayo. I’ll be using the mole to make your Mole Chicken Enchildas! I’ll report back. Thanks!
This is the perfect mole sauce for beginners! If you haven’t tried it before, this is a great place to start. It pairs perfectly with the chicken too. So delicious!
Awesome! Thank you for sharing this! We eat a lot of Mexican food & this would be perfect with so many dishes! I am so excited to try it!
This is the perfect mole sauce for beginners! If you haven’t tried it before, this is a great place to start. It pairs perfectly with the chicken too. So delicious!
Could we break up the recipe by toasting the ingredients on the first day, and then pureeing them and cooking on the second day? I don’t see why not, but wondering if it changes the quality of the sauce if the toasted ingredients get a little soft in the fridge overnight
Yes you can!
I can’t get fresh tomatillos easily. Could I use canned instead ? I can also get tomatillo salsa, would that be another substitute?
Yes you can!
FABULOUS recipe! Sauce was truly authentic with just the right amount of heat and SO much incredible flavor.
This recipe was exactly what i was looking for my mom and i loved it. This was the very first mole i had ever made the video helped big time. i finally got my mole fix.
YUM!! I love Mole sauce
Well ok White Boy, this mole recipe was scrumptious, delicious, off the hook Mole with homemade Mex. rice and tortillas. I just loved your Mole, so did everyone else. Who made this beautiful Mole ? Said I did using Kevin’s recipe. What ! they couldn’t believe a White Boy inspired this. Kevin, I meant this in the best compliment to you , a non Latino was able to make this recipe, pretty close to Grandma’s. With your suggestions and explanations I was able to make this, a little long, a little time consuming but oh what a labor of love, Yes I am familiar with the long drawn out process of making Mole from scratch, so this recipe was the bomb, it had all the flavor of Mexico, my kitchen smelled so-so good. Thanks for sharing, Highly recommended.
Hi! Unfortunately, I don’t have any of the weight measurements for this recipe – sorry! I want to suggest using an online conversion calculator.