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showing how to serve chicken mole by serving with pic de gallo, rice and warm flour tortillas in a bowl
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Mole Sauce with Chicken

This Mole Poblano is a rich, ridiculously flavorful, velvety sauce, layered with earthy, tangy-sweet, spicy, smoky, fruity, bitter notes.  This Mexican staple is complex yet seamlessly balanced, made by toasting dried chili peppers, spices, nuts and sesame seeds, then pureeing with tomatoes, tomatillos, and chocolate.  Mole sauce is a little time consuming to make, but the spectacular end result is definitely worth the effort.  This Mole Poblano can be drizzled on everything from tacos to enchiladas, burritos, nachos, proteins, rice, veggies, beans and more, or combined with chicken and used in all your favorite dishes.  Thankfully, this Mole recipe makes a generous amount – so you can do both!
Course Main Course, Main Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 8 cups

Ingredients

CHICKEN (Optional, see Notes)

  • olive oil for searing
  • 5 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs (may use less, see notes)*
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 8 cups water
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 2 ½ tablespoons chicken bouillon (granulated, cubes or base)
  • 2 bay leaves

SPICES (WHOLE OR GROUND)

  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns (may sub 1 teaspoon ground black pepper)
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds (may sub 1 tsp ground)
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds (may sub 1 tsp ground)
  • 1/2 teaspoon whole anise seeds
  • 4 whole cloves (may sub ¼ teaspoon ground)
  • 1 cinnamon stick smashed/broken (may sub 1/2 teaspoon ground)
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds (not roasted)

SAUCE

FOR SERVING (pick your favs)

Instructions

CHICKEN

  • Pat the chicken dry and season both sides with the salt and pepper.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, sear the chicken on each side until lightly browned, approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a large bowl. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding additional olive oil as needed.
  • Return all of the seared chicken with juices back to the pot. Add the water and orange juice. Cover and bring to a boil, then add the chicken bouillon and bay leaves and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, until the chicken easily shreds with two forks, approximately 20 minutes. (Meanwhile, deseed chilies/start sauce below).
  • Using tongs, transfer tender chicken to a large bowl; pour broth into a separate bowl to use part of later. Shed the chicken when cool enough to handle; set aside.

MOLE SAUCE

  • Working in two batches, add the peppers to a large cast iron skillet over medium heat and dry roast for a minutes or so per side (DON'T BURN); remove from the skillet.
  • Add the WHOLE spices (skip if using powders), almonds and sesame seeds to the now empty skillet. Dry roast over medium heat until toasted, shaking the skillet occasionally. They’re done once they smell super fragrant. Transfer to a bowl or plate; set aside.
  • Once the chicken is done, heat 1 tablespoon oil in the now empty Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until softened, about 7-10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
  • Add the toasted chilies and spices/nuts followed by all the remaining Sauce ingredients EXCEPT chocolate (tomatoes through salt). Add 6 cups of the reserved broth including the bay leaves (or canned reduced sodium chicken broth if skipping chicken). Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the peppers are very soft, stirring occasionally and replacing the lid.
  • Remove from heat; stir in the chocolate and let stand 5 minutes or until melted.
  • Working in batches, transfer the mixture to a high-powered blender and purée until smooth, leaving a corner of the lid open and covered with a paper towel so steam can escape and it doesn’t explode. (NOTE: If you don’t have a high-powered blender, then strain the chili sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl, using rubber spatula to push the mixture through.) Season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and/or sugar to taste. For a thinner sauce, add additional chicken broth.

COMBINE

  • Combine the shredded chicken with about half of the sauce (4 cups), or more or less as desired. Freeze the remaining sauce for a future use. Use in enchiladas, tacos, burritos, quesadillas, etc. or make bowls with rice, flour tortillas, pico de gallo, pickled red onions, sour cream, avocados/guacamole etc.

Video

Notes

Tips and Tricks

  • Quantity: This recipe makes 8 cups mole sauce, half of which will be used in the chicken (optional).  You can freeze the rest for later or use to make Chicken Mole Enchiladas. 
  • If omitting the chicken: You will need 6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth to add to the sauce instead of using the reserved broth from the chicken. 
  • Chicken: You can use as little as one pound of chicken if you like, and reduce the salt/pepper accordingly. Still use the same amount of broth, orange juice, bouillon and bay leaves.
  • Dried Chilies: Dried chilies can be found at any Mexican market as well as many grocery stores (and many super Walmart’s depending on your location) in either the Mexican aisle or produce section. Many produce stores such as Sprouts and Whole Foods also carry packages of dried chilies. If you can’t find them or simply want a one-click option, then you can purchase a three pack here on Amazon or individual packages: or individual packages: pasilla chiles, ancho chiles, guajillo chillies, arbol chiles.
  • Mexican chocolate: Mexican chocolate is earthy, rustic and bitter and very grainy in texture because it’s minimally processed.  My favorite brands are Abuelita and Ibarra, but use whatever you can find.  Note, that the chocolate is often advertised as Mexican Hot Chocolate Drink Tablets.  Just be sure to get the “tablets” or discs (solid chocolate) and not the powder. You may substitute with semi-sweet baking chocolate and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
  • Ways to serve:  See the post for LOTS of ways to serve Mole Sauce and Chicken Mole.  
  • Storage:  Store Mole Sauce and Chicken in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.  

Prep Ahead

You can prepare the entire recipe up to 5 days in advance or prepare individual components of the recipe in advance. 
  • Chicken: can be trimmed and seasoned with salt and pepper and stored in the refrigerator until ready to cook. Or, proceed to cook and shred the chicken up to 3 days in advance. Reserve the broth to use in the sauce.
  • Spices, seeds and nuts: can be toasted and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. 
  • Chilies:  can be deseeded and stored in an airtight container indefinitely, or go one step further and toast the chiles.
  • Mole Sauce: can be prepared in its entirety up to 5 days in advance and refrigerated or frozen for up to 3 months.