Mexican Mole Sauce Recipe (Chicken Mole)

Mexican Mole Sauce is made with layers of complex and bold flavors, simmered together over a long period of time before being blended until smooth. Learn how to make this delicious chicken mole and serve with warm rice, beans, wrapped in tortillas, or drizzled over your favorite tacos, nachos, and veggies.

Mole Sauce Recipe

Comforting, complex, and extremely versatile, Mole (pronounced moh-lay) is one of my very favorite Mexican cuisine classics. A labor of love to prepare, making your own homemade mole sauce is a million times worth the effort. 

This recipe, while not 100 percent traditional, isn’t exactly fast and easy either. While one may expect to spend at least a day, if not days, to make the most traditional and authentic mole, you can expect to spend approximately 2 to 3 hours to get this awesome chicken mole recipe ready and on the table for you and your family to enjoy.

Aside from chicken, leftover mole sauce tastes fantastic with tostadas, chicken or veggie enchiladas, tacos, and burritos.

What is Mole Sauce?

Mole is a Mexican chile sauce. While the exact origin of mole sauce unknown, some argue that its origins date back to pre-hispanic Mexico to the time of the Aztecs. Others argue that mole sauce originated in Puebla or Oaxaca, Mexico.

Regardless of its origin, over the years mole has been highly influenced by family tradition and local preference. Found in countless versions and varieties, mole sauce ranges in color, ingredient type and amount of ingredients (some have well over 30 ingredients!), and consistency. 

Mole poblano, native to the state of Puebla, is the most well-known of all mole varieties. Considered the national dish of Mexico, it comes packed with approximately 20 ingredients, including chocolate, and is often served over turkey.

Travel to the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, and you’ll find seven different types of mole: negro, colorado, amarillo, verde, chichilo, coloradito, and mancha manteles. 

Regardless of origin, however, most mole sauces contain fruit, chili peppers, nuts, several different spices, and (sometimes) chocolate. And though it is thought that mole was originally made without chocolate, the addition of a rich, dark, Mexican chocolate is the new normal.

How to Make Mole Sauce

Once you’ve gathered all the ingredients, making this mole sauce recipe is actually quite easy. Decide if you want to add chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or even a whole chicken for your meat because the recipe starts by browning and cooking the chicken first.

You can easily do this the day before you make the sauce. Remember, however, that once the chicken is cooked, removed from the pot, and shredded, you want to reserve the leftover broth because it will be added into the mole sauce. 

Once the chicken has been cooked, you’re good to start the sauce. The sauce takes about an hour or so to prepare and cook. There are quite a few ingredients involved so I recommend getting everything together before getting started to prevent any confusion.

You’ll notice that I don’t add any salt to the sauce until the end. You are free to add as you go or add to taste at the end. Entirely up to you. Just keep in mind that this sauce will need some salt to help balance the flavor. How much is up to you and your taste buds.

Also, note that I didn’t include any added sweetener other than orange juice. If you find your mole to taste too spicy or “unbalanced” try adding a couple of tablespoons of honey, maple syrup, or brown sugar – just be careful not to add too much.

Once your sauce has been simmered and pureed, you can use it however you’d like. Drizzle, dip, or completely smother. Add you chicken mole to tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, nachos, and bowls.

How to Serve with Chicken Mole

Whether you choose to shred your chicken and mix it with mole sauce or bake chicken and serve your sauce on the side, there is no wrong way to enjoy this amazingly complex Mexican classic.

Serve with a side of cilantro lime rice, Mexican rice, warm tortillas, and avocado for a simple and delicious anytime dinner (which easily doubles as a week of meal prep).

Add a side of homemade refried beans or drunken beans with poblanos, homemade salsa or pico de gallo, and my irresistible homemade guacamole.

Finally, let’s not forget the cocktails! Classic margaritas are my favorite, but Palomas are just as delicious and hugely refreshing. 

Of course, mole sauce is delicious served with something as simple as a side of fried eggs, roasted vegetables, and corn tortillas.

More Mexican Favorites,

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

Enchilada Sauce Recipe (How to Make Enchilada Sauce)

Refried Beans (How to Make Refried Black Beans)

Mexican Birria Recipe (How to Make Birria)

Caldo de Pollo Recipe (Mexican Chicken Soup)

If you try making this Chicken Mole with Homemade Mole Sauce, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.

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Chicken Mole with Homemade Mole Sauce

4.79 from 635 votes

Chef: Jessica Randhawa

Authentic Mexican Mole Sauce is made with layers of complex and bold flavors, simmered together over a long period of time before being blended until smooth. Learn how to make this delicious chicken mole and serve with warm rice, beans, wrapped in tortillas, or drizzled over your favorite tacos, nachos, and veggies.

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 1 hr 30 mins

Total Time 1 hr 50 mins

Course Chicken, Main Course, Sauce

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 10 servings

Calories 491 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

For the Chicken

• ▢ 2 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 5 pounds chicken - boneless skinless chicken breast, chicken thighs, legs, whole chicken, combo, etc)
• ▢ 3 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 3 cups orange juice

For the Sauce

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 2 medium onions - chopped
• ▢ ¼ cup pumpkin seeds - or pepitas, or sesame seeds
• ▢ ⅓ cup sliced almonds
• ▢ 8 cloves garlic - sliced
• ▢ 4 teaspoon cumin seeds
• ▢ 4 teaspoon coriander seeds
• ▢ 1 teaspoon whole anise seeds
• ▢ 4 whole cloves
• ▢ 5 ounces dried pasilla chiles - stem removed, seeded (optional), torn into 1-inch pieces, rinsed
• ▢ 1 ounce dried ancho chiles - stem removed, seeded (optional), torn into 1-inch pieces, rinsed
• ▢ 1 ounce dried chipotle chiles - stem removed, seeded (optional), torn into 1-inch pieces, rinsed
• ▢ 1 cinnamon stick
• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ ½ cup raisins
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ 2 tablespoon tomato paste
• ▢ 3.1 ounces dark Mexican chocolate (or just dark chocolate) - chopped
• ▢ Fresh chopped cilantro - for serving

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Instructions

 

First cook the chicken

• Heat a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pot, swirling to cover the entire surface. Working in batches, sauté the chicken on each side until lightly browned, approximately 3-4 minutes. Transfer chicken to a large bowl. Sauté the remaining chicken breasts, adding additional olive oil to the pot, as needed.
• Return the chicken with its juices back to the pot or Dutch oven. Add the chicken broth and orange juice to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked. Approximately 25 minutes.
• Carefully remove chicken to a clean bowl and set aside. Reserve broth for later use.

Then cook the sauce

• Heat the olive oil in a separate large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and sauté until golden brown and just starting to caramelize, approximately 12 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce medium heat. Add the pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, garlic, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, whole anise seeds, and whole cloves to the saucepan. Sauté for 1-2 minutes, until garlic becomes fragrant, stirring continuously.
• Add the dried chiles to the pot and stir to combine. Sauté for approximately 2-3 minutes or until chiles start to soften.
• Grab the reserved chicken and orange juice broth and carefully pour the liquid into the saucepan with the onion and chiles. Reserve pot for later. Add the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, raisins, marjoram, thyme, and oregano to the saucepan and mix well. Bring to a low boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until chiles are very soft, approximately 30-35 minutes.
• Stir in the tomato paste and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate. Allow sauce to cool for 10 minutes and the chocolate to melt.
• Working in batches, transfer sauce mixture to the bowl of a blender and puree until smooth. Avoid overfilling. Transfer mixture to the reserved pot. Repeat until all sauce is processed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Finally, put it all together

• Shred the cooked chicken and combine it with approximately half of the sauce mixture. Add more sauce, if desired. Reserve the remaining sauce for later use.
• Best served warm with rice or warm tortillas and sprinkled with fresh cilantro and pumpkin seeds.

Jessica's Notes

• This recipe makes a lot of extra sauce. I recommend freezing the remaining sauce in small jars for later use. It tastes fantastic in enchiladas, burritos, rice casseroles, etc. 
• Leftovers will keep for up to 5 days when stored in the refrigerator.
• This mole sauce recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free.

Updated on April 7, 2019, and July 26, 2020

Nutritional Information

Calories: 491kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 53g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 561mg | Potassium: 1414mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 1160IU | Vitamin C: 69.7mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 4.2mg

(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)

Keyword Chicken Mole, Mole Sauce, Mole Sauce Recipe

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