This authentic Mole Poblano is rich, complex, and deeply rooted in tradition. It’s a true celebration of Mexican cuisine. Once you try making it from scratch, you’ll understand why it’s considered one of the most iconic dishes in the world. This article will simplify the complicated process by giving step-by-step instructions/photos so that you can confidently make this authentic Mexican dish!
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Mole is one of the most popular dishes from any cuisine/culture in the world! I knew I wanted to add it to the blog, but it can look like an intimidating dish at first. It is rich, complex, and deeply flavorful. This traditional sauce combines dried chiles, nuts, seeds, spices, chocolate, and aromatics into a velvety, savory-sweet sauce that’s typically served over tender chicken.
Unlike simple Mexican dishes like sincronizadas or Picaditas that can be ready quickly, mole poblano is a dish that is truly special.
I spent hours and hours pouring over Mexican recipes, watching videos of locals making Mole, and researching methods and substitutions. I wanted you to make this recipe knowing that you were making an authentic Mole!
When I finished testing it, I took one bite of that deep, flavorful, sweet, and spicy sauce and knew that you were going to love this recipe.
While this authentic mole poblano recipe may look elaborate, each step builds layers of flavor that make the final dish truly unforgettable. Whether you’re cooking for a special occasion or exploring traditional Mexican cuisine, this dish is well worth the effort.
Serve it up with some Fresas con Crema or Arroz con Leche for dessert and you’ve got a Mexican feast your guests will remember for years to come!
Recipe Origins
Moles, or mullis, are thick sauces made with chiles, tomatoes and seeds in Mexico. Over time nuts, spices and breads have been added to create dozens of regional varieties. The most popular, Mole Poblano, originated in Puebla, Mexico.
It is widely considered one of the national dishes of Mexico and is often served during celebrations, holidays, and special gatherings.
There are many stories about the origin of mole, but one popular legend says it was created by nuns who combined a variety of ingredients like chiles, spices, and chocolate, to prepare a dish for an important guest. Over time, the recipe evolved into the complex, layered sauce we know today.
Mole poblano is known for balancing savory, spicy, and slightly sweet flavors, with chocolate adding depth rather than sweetness. Every family and region has its own variation, making mole a deeply personal and cultural dish.
Why You’ll Love This Mole Poblano Recipe
- Deep, Complex Flavor: This sauce combines chiles, nuts, spices, and chocolate to create a bold, layered flavor unlike anything else.
- A True Culinary Experience: Making homemade mole poblano is time consuming but the process introduces you to traditional techniques and ingredients.
- Perfect for Special Occasions: This dish is often served for holidays and celebrations, making it a memorable centerpiece meal.
Key Ingredients for Mole Poblano
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Bone in, skinless chicken: You can use legs or thighs. The bone adds extra depth of flavor.
- Dried chiles: Mulato, Pasilla and Chipotle provide the foundation of the sauce, adding depth, smokiness, and mild heat. You can buy your dried chiles at a Mexican grocery store or even online!
- Plantain: Make sure to use a plantain that has black or brown spots on it, as this means it is ripening and will be softer and sweeter for your sauce. Green plantains will add a totally different flavor profile and are not recommended.
- Spices: Use whole spices if you can. Pre-ground spices lose a lot of flavor, so using the seeds makes the addition of spices a lot more pungent. In a pinch, you can use ground spices!
- Mexican chocolate: Mexican chocolate is unique in that it is not overly sweet. It adds richness and depth to the sauce. I used Chocolate Ibarra and used one full disk in this recipe.
- Piloncillo: A traditional unrefined sugar that enhances the sauce’s balance of flavors. Add more or less depending on preference.
- Galletas Marias: If you can’t find them, animal crackers are a great substitute and work similarly to thicken the sauce. I have also seen people use bread.
How to Make this Recipe
Step One: Simmer the chicken with onion, garlic and bay leaves until fully cooked.
Step Two: Lightly toast your chiles in a skillet after removing the stems and seeds, then soak them in some water to soften.
Step Three: Toast the cinnamon stick, cloves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, and 1 tsp of the reserved chili seeds until fragrant. Grind your whole spices in a spice grinder.
Step Four: Place 3 cups of reserved chicken broth in a food processor, then begin frying your remaining ingredients one at a time, adding each to the food processor when they are done. Fry the raisins until they puff, then remove them and add them to the food processor. Repeat with the Maria cookies and plantain slices.
Step Five: Doing each nut separately, fry the almonds, peanuts, pecans, and pepitas until lightly browned and fragrant, then place in the food processor. Toast the tortilla in the skillet until crisp and put in the food processor.
Step Six: Lightly char the remaining half onion and place it in the food processor. Lightly fry the remaining 5 garlic cloves until fragrant.
Step Seven: Drain the soaked chiles and add them to the food processor along with the toasted spices, and ¾ of the toasted sesame seeds.
Step Eight: Blend until completely smooth.
Step Nine: Heat about ½ cup vegetable oil of in a large pot, then add the Mole Sauce. Stir constantly over low heat as it begins to thicken. Once the sauce has heated up, add the Mexican chocolate and piloncillo, stirring until they melt completely.
Step Ten: Bring the mole to a gentle simmer and cook for at least 30 minutes. Put your cooked chicken on a plate and cover with mole sauce. Serve with rice and tortillas!
Expert Tips
- Do not burn the chiles. Burnt chiles will make the sauce bitter. Toast just until fragrant and slightly puffed. You can tell they are perfectly toasted when bubbles form on the surface that are the same color that the chili would be if it was un-dried.
- Keep your heat moderate. If your pan is smoking, it’s too hot.
- Fry ingredients in batches. This builds layers of flavor that make the mole rich and complex. Make sure to add more vegetable oil as you go and allow it to warm up before continuing on to the next step!
- Customize your mole. Some variations include ingredients like apples for added sweetness, herbs like yerba buena, or vegetables like carrots or celery in the broth.
Tips for Cooking the Sauce
Getting the right texture and flavor to your mole sauce can be tough. Check out these tips to make sure your mole turns out perfect!
- Stir constantly when cooking the sauce. Mole can bubble and splatter as it thickens and stirring will make it less messy and also less likely to burn.
- Reserve additional chicken broth to add as you cook your sauce to adjust the thickness.
- For a deeper flavor, you can simmer your sauce for up to three hours.
- Blend your sauce until very smooth. For the best texture, use an immersion blender at the end if needed. My food processor blended the mole sauce pretty well, but after simmering it on the stove for a while, I realized it was still kind of grainy. Finishing the process off with an immersion blender before plating helped make my sauce very smooth!
Recipe FAQs
Not exactly. The chocolate adds depth and richness rather than sweetness, balancing the savory and spicy flavors.
It’s important not to rush your sauce. Let it simmer for at least 30 minutes or up to three hours for a deeper, richer flavor.
Absolutely. Mole is a time consuming dish with many steps so it’s a good idea to prep pieces in advance. You can grind your spices ahead of time or make the entire recipe and allow it to rest in the refrigerator overnight. Mole often tastes even better the next day as the flavors continue to develop. Warm it up with a splash of chicken broth to adjust the thickness.
It is also common to make the mole sauce and then freeze it! This recipe makes a lot of sauce, so it would be great to freeze some to have on hand. Put it in an airtight container and leave it in the freeze for up to 3 months.
You can freeze them in individual servings or in one large batch. To thaw, leave it in the fridge overnight until the sauce is pourable then reheat it on the stove with a splash of chicken broth to thin it.
Did you enjoy this recipe for Mole Poblano? If so, check out these other recipes I’ve selected just for you:
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Mole Poblano
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Large Pot
Ingredients
- 8 cups water
- ½ tablespoon salt
- 1 white onion, divided
- 8 garlic cloves, divided
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 –3 lbs bone-in, skin-off chicken
- 5 mulato chiles
- 6 pasilla chiles
- 3 chipotle chiles
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 whole cloves
- ¾ tsp coriander seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp peppercorns
- ¼ cup sesame seeds
- ¼ cup raisins
- 8 galletas Marias
- 1 ripe plantain, sliced
- ¼ cup almonds
- ¼ cup peanuts
- ¼ cup pecans
- 2 tbsp pepitas
- 1 corn tortilla
- 1 Mexican hot chocolate drink tablet, such as Chocolate Ibarra (start with half)
- 2 oz piloncillo, about ¼ cone
- Lard or vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with 8 cups water and bring it to a boil.
- Add ½ tablespoon salt, ½ of the onion, 3 garlic cloves, and 2 bay leaves. Add 2 –3 lbs bone-in chicken and cook for about 25 minutes, or until fully cooked. Skin any foam off the top of the water while the chicken is cooking.
- When the chicken is done cooking, remove the chicken and set aside, reserving the broth.
- Remove the stems and seeds from the 5 mulato chiles, 6 pasilla chiles, and 3 chipotle chiles and reserve the seeds. Heat a skillet over medium heat and lightly toast the chiles for about 10–20 seconds per side until fragrant. Be careful not to burn them.
- Transfer the chiles to a bowl and cover with warm water. Let them soak for 15–20 minutes until softened.
- In the same dry skillet, toast 1 cinnamon stick, 3 whole cloves, ¾ tsp coriander seeds, ½ tsp cumin seeds, ½ tsp peppercorns, and 1 tsp of the reserved chili seeds until fragrant. Remove from the pan.
- Place the whole spices in a spice grinder and blend until they ground.
- Dry toast ¼ cup sesame seeds until lightly golden and remove.
- Add about 3 cups of the reserved chicken broth to a food processor. Set aside, and after you prepare each ingredient, place them in the food processor.
- Add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the skillet over medium heat. Fry ¼ cup raisins until they puff up, then remove them and place in the food processor.
- Fry 8 galletas Marias until lightly toasted, then remove them and place in the food processor.
- Fry 1 ripe plantain slices until lightly caramelized, then remove them and place in the food processor.
- Doing each nut separately, fry ¼ cup almonds, ¼ cup peanuts, ¼ cup pecans, and 2 tbsp pepitas until lightly browned and fragrant, then remove them and place in the food processor.
- Toast 1 corn tortilla in the skillet until crisp and put in the food processor.
- Lightly char the remaining ½ onion and place it in the food processor.
- Lightly fry the remaining 5 garlic cloves until fragrant. Transfer everything to the food processor.
- Drain the soaked chiles and add them to the food processor along with the toasted spices, and ¾ of the toasted sesame seeds. Blend until completely smooth.
- Heat about ½ cup of vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Carefully pour the blended mole sauce into the pot and stir constantly over low heat as it begins to thicken.
- Once the sauce has heated up, add 1 Mexican hot chocolate drink tablet and 2 oz piloncillo, stirring until they melt completely.
- Bring the mole to a gentle simmer and cook for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can add another ½ – 1 cup of chicken broth to the sauce if it gets too thick too quickly. For deeper flavor, it can simmer for up to 2–3 hours. Season with salt to taste.
- Plate the warm, unsauced chicken, and then pour the mole sauce over the top.
- Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve with rice and tortillas. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Bone in, skinless chicken: You can use legs or thighs. The bone adds extra depth of flavor.
- Plantain: Make sure to use a plantain that has black or brown spots on it, as this means it is ripening and will be softer and sweeter for your sauce. Green plantains will add a totally different flavor profile and are not recommended.
- Spices: Use whole spices if you can. Pre-ground spices lose a lot of flavor, so using the seeds makes the addition of spices a lot more pungent. In a pinch, you can use ground spices!
- Mexican chocolate: Mexican chocolate is unique in that it is not overly sweet. It adds richness and depth to the sauce. I used Chocolate Ibarra and used one full disk in this recipe.
- Piloncillo: Add more or less depending on preference.
- Galletas Marias: If you can’t find them, animal crackers are a great substitute and work similarly to thicken the sauce. I have also seen people use bread.
- Do not burn the chiles. Burnt chiles will make the sauce bitter. Toast just until fragrant and slightly puffed. You can tell they are perfectly toasted when bubbles form on the surface that are the same color that the chili would be if it was un-dried.
- Keep your heat moderate. If your pan is smoking, it’s too hot.
- Fry ingredients in batches. This builds layers of flavor that make the mole rich and complex. Make sure to add more vegetable oil as you go and allow it to warm up before continuing on to the next step!
- Customize your mole. Some variations include ingredients like apples for added sweetness, herbs like yerba buena, or vegetables like carrots or celery in the broth.
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