🍗What Is Mexican Mole Sauce? Types, Flavor and an Easy Chicken Mole

What is mole?

The word mole comes from the Nahuatl word molli, which simply means sauce. And that's what it is: a thick sauce made by grinding dried chiles with spices, seeds, sometimes nuts, fried tortilla or bread, and in many versions a bit of chocolate or cacao. Mole isn't one single dish but a whole family: there are dark, slightly sweet moles, red and spicy ones, and bright green ones.

In Mexico, mole is celebration food. It's served at weddings, baptisms, birthdays and town festivals, and in many homes it has a place on the Día de Muertos altar. Making it from scratch takes hours and a very long list of ingredients, which is why in many families it's a group effort.

Mole poblano, the best-known version, comes from Puebla. Legends say it was born in a convent kitchen, but its exact origin isn't known. What you can taste in every spoonful is the meeting of two worlds: ingredients from the Americas like chiles, cacao and tomatoes, with almonds, cinnamon, cloves and sesame that arrived from abroad.

What are the different types of mole?

Oaxaca is known as the land of seven moles, and every region of Mexico has its own versions. These are the ones you'll run into most often:

• •Mole poblano: the Puebla classic, dark reddish brown, made with chiles like ancho, mulato and pasilla, warm spices and a touch of chocolate. Sweet, spiced and only mildly hot.
• •Mole negro: from Oaxaca, nearly black, made with deeply toasted chiles and chocolate. Intense and complex.
• •Mole rojo: a deep red mole made with dried red chiles. Depending on the region and the recipe, it can be mild or spicy.
• •Mole verde: fresh and herby, made with tomatillos, green chiles and herbs, and in many versions pumpkin seeds. No chocolate.
• •Mole almendrado: smooth and slightly sweet, with almonds that give it body and a gentler flavor. A good place to start if you don't like much heat.

Does mole have chocolate in it? Is it spicy?

Many moles do include chocolate or cacao, but only a little. Mole is not a chocolate sauce: the chocolate just rounds out the bitterness of the chiles and adds depth. That's why mole poblano tastes sweet, savory, spiced and slightly bitter all at once.

As for heat, mole poblano is usually mild, because its chiles bring more flavor than burn. If you like it spicier, look for a hot red mole, or add a chipotle pepper while it simmers.

One important note: most moles contain peanuts, tree nuts, almonds or sesame. If anyone at your table has a food allergy, check the label carefully.

of chocolate or cacao, to round out the bitterness of the chiles

Just a touch

heat in mole poblano: its chiles bring more flavor than burn

Mild

most moles contain peanuts, tree nuts, almonds or sesame

Allergens

Mole paste, ready-to-serve or from scratch?

Making mole from scratch is a whole ritual: toasting and soaking the chiles, frying the seeds, spices, tortilla and bread, grinding everything and cooking it low and slow. It's worth doing at least once, but in many Mexican homes the everyday mole comes from a jar, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Mole paste already has the chiles, spices and seeds ground and cooked. All you do is dissolve it in broth, simmer it for a few minutes and season it to taste. It goes a long way, and once opened you store it the way the label says.

Ready-to-serve mole is even faster: it comes already thinned, so you just heat it, loosen it with a little broth if you like, and pour it over chicken, enchiladas or eggs. It's perfect for a weeknight dinner.

How do you make chicken mole poblano?

The full recipe, with amounts and steps, is in the recipe card on this page. These tips make mole from a jar taste like party mole:

• •Use homemade broth: the broth you cooked the chicken in, with its onion and garlic, adds far more flavor than water.
• •Wake up the paste: fry it for a minute or two in a little oil over low heat before adding the broth, and watch it closely, because burnt mole turns bitter.
• •Add the broth gradually: one cup at a time, dissolving the paste completely before adding more. That's how you avoid lumps.
• •Follow the ratio on your jar: as a general guide, the paste gets thinned with several parts broth. For a thick mole, stop when it coats a spoon; for a lighter sauce, add more broth.
• •Keep the heat low and stir often: thick mole sticks and splatters. Give it 15 to 20 minutes for the flavors to come together.
• •Adjust at the end: a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of sugar or a small piece of Mexican chocolate if you want it sweeter.

What do you serve with mole?

The classic plate is mole with chicken (or turkey, the traditional party choice), Mexican red rice and warm tortillas, with toasted sesame seeds sprinkled on top. A side of frijoles de la olla never hurts.

And leftover mole stretches into several more meals. Use it for enmoladas (chicken-filled tortillas smothered in mole), mole tamales or eggs topped with mole for the next morning's breakfast.

Where to buy Mexican mole in the U.S.?

Doña María is the jarred mole many Mexican families keep in the pantry, and it comes in a version for every taste: mole poblano with cacao paste, almond mole paste and ready-to-serve red mole, among others. With one jar and a good broth, you've got a celebration meal covered.

MexGoodies carries original Mexican moles, both paste and ready-to-serve, plus dried chiles to give yours a personal touch, and ships anywhere in the U.S. in 3 to 7 days (Canada too).

Frequently asked questions