Homemade Mole Sauce

This homemade mole sauce is rich, smoky, savory, and far easier to make than its long ingredient list suggests. Toasted dried chiles, nuts, seeds, tomatoes, spices, and a little unsweetened chocolate come together into one of Mexico’s most iconic sauces, perfect for chicken, turkey, enchiladas, burritos, vegetables, and more.

The ingredient list may look long, but the process is surprisingly straightforward. You’ll toast, char, soak, blend, and simmer the ingredients in stages, and the result is a deeply flavorful sauce that freezes beautifully for future meals. Try it with my chicken mole enchiladas.

Here’s Why This Mole Sauce Recipe Works

The chiles build the base: I use a mix of ancho or mulato, guajillo, and chipotle chiles so the sauce has depth without relying on one kind of heat. The chiles bring fruitiness, smoke, and color.

Several ingredients create the texture: Bread, tortillas, nuts, and seeds all help thicken the sauce. Using several ingredients instead of relying on just one gives the mole a rich, velvety consistency.

The chocolate goes in at the end: Adding the chocolate after blending keeps it from scorching and lets it melt smoothly into the sauce. It rounds out the flavor; it should not make the mole taste like dessert.

The sauce is easy to adjust: Once the mole is blended and simmered, you can thin it with broth, sweeten it lightly, add more heat, or simmer it longer for a thicker finish.

Ingredient Notes

Dried chiles: Ancho or mulato chiles give the sauce a deep, raisiny flavor, guajillo chiles add brightness and color, and chipotle chiles bring smoke. Remove the stems and seeds before toasting.

Tomatoes and tomatillos: Tomatoes add sweetness and body, while tomatillos add brightness. Charring them first gives the mole a deeper flavor.

Nuts and seeds: Peanuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds help thicken the sauce and give it a rounded, savory finish.

Dried cranberries: They add a little fruitiness and balance the dried chiles. The sauce should taste complex, not sugary.

Unsweetened chocolate: Mole isn’t supposed to taste like chocolate. The chocolate adds richness and softens the bitterness of the chiles without making the sauce sweet.

How to Make Mole Sauce

Start by simmering some of the broth in a large pot. Toast the seeded dried chiles briefly, then move them into the hot broth so they can soften while the rest of the ingredients are prepared.

Working in stages keeps the process manageable. Each batch of toasted or charred ingredients goes into the pot with the soaking chiles before everything is blended together.

Toast the nuts, seeds, and spices just until fragrant. This step matters because mole gets much of its flavor from the browned, toasted edges of the ingredients.

Blend the mixture in batches with enough broth to keep the blender moving. Once smooth, return the puree to the pot, add the chocolate, and simmer until the sauce tastes rounded and the texture is where you want it.

How to Use Mole Sauce

Mole sauce is traditionally served over chicken or turkey, but it’s just as delicious with pork, enchiladas, chicken burritos, tacos, roasted vegetables, beans, or Mexican rice.

Spoon it over slow cooker shredded chicken for an easy chicken mole dinner, use it as the sauce for enchiladas, or drizzle it over roasted vegetables and grain bowls. If the sauce is thicker than you’d like, whisk in a little hot broth until it reaches your preferred consistency.

This recipe makes a generous batch, which is perfect because mole freezes exceptionally well. Portion it into smaller freezer-safe containers so you can thaw only what you need for a quick weeknight meal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Chocolate Mole Sauce

This homemade mole sauce is a project, but the steps are straightforward when you work through the ingredients in groups. Toast, char, blend, simmer, then adjust the sauce until it tastes balanced and pours the way you want it to.

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

4.76 from 25 votes

Mole Sauce

By Pat Nyswonger

This homemade mole sauce is smoky, savory, and deeply flavored with dried chiles, toasted nuts and seeds, warm spices, dried fruit, tomatoes, tomatillos, and a small amount of unsweetened chocolate. The chocolate rounds out the sauce without making it sweet, and the final flavor is easy to adjust with broth, salt, heat, or a touch of sweetness.

If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating and comment.

Servings: 10 cups

SaveSaved Pin Comment Print

Email me this recipe!

Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Email *

Save

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

Chiles and Broth

• ▢ 6 to 7 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 5 to 6 tablespoons butter , or bacon grease, divided
• ▢ 7 to 8 dried ancho or mulato chiles
• ▢ 6 dried guajillo chilies
• ▢ 3 to 4 dried chipotle chiles

Bread

• ▢ 1 slice white bread
• ▢ 2 corn tortillas, or use 1 cup of tortilla chips

Fruit and Vegetables

• ▢ 2 large tomatoes, cut in thick slices
• ▢ 5 fresh tomatillos, cut in half
• ▢ 1 large onion, sliced
• ▢ 6 to 8 garlic cloves, peeled
• ▢ ¾ cup dried cranberries

Nuts and Seeds

• ▢ ¾ cup salted dry-roasted peanuts
• ▢ ½ cup almonds
• ▢ ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
• ▢ 3 tablespoons sesame seeds

Spices and Chocolate

• ▢ 1 tablespoon ground cumin, see the notes if you are using whole spices
• ▢ 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
• ▢ 1½ teaspoons salt
• ▢ 4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, coarsely chopped

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

• Add 3 to 4 cups of the chicken broth to a large pot (save the rest for later when you blend the ingredients). Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer.
• Make sure you use a pot that is large enough to hold all the ingredients since you will add each of the ingredients to the pot after you char them in a skillet.
• While the broth is simmering, cut the stems from the chiles and scrape out the seeds. Heat 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add the dried chiles, stirring constantly until they get slightly charred and release their fragrance. 
• Transfer the chiles to the pot of hot broth. Remove the pot from the heat and let the chiles soak in the broth while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
• Melt some more bacon grease in the same skillet. Add the bread and the tortillas and toast them on both sides over medium-high heat. Tear them into pieces and add them to the pot with the broth and chiles. Push them down into the liquid. 
• Add the tomatoes and tomatillos to the skillet and cook, turning after 4 or 6 minutes until they get soft and have blackened char marks on them. Add them to the pot with the chiles and bread.
• Melt some more bacon grease in the skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion, garlic, and dried cranberries.  Cook, stirring frequently until the onions and garlic are golden and the cranberries are soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the pot with the chiles.
• Add some more bacon grease to the skillet. Add the peanuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds. Toast the nuts and seeds over medium heat, stirring frequently until they get golden brown and fragrant. The sesame seeds will start to “pop” when they get toasted. Add them to the pot. 
• Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium-low. Add the spices to the skillet and stir until they are fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer the spices to the pot and give the mixture a stir.
• Working in batches, transfer the mixture to a blender. Blend until smooth. Add enough additional broth or water to get the blender to puree everything well. 
• Transfer the puree into a large saucepan over medium heat and add the salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. 
• Simmer the sauce for at least 15 minutes or as long as 1 hour. The longer you simmer the sauce, the deeper the flavors will develop. Make sure you stir the sauce frequently from the bottom so it doesn’t burn on the bottom.
• Add additional broth if you want the sauce thinner. For an extra-smooth sauce, strain it through a fine mesh sieve after blending.
• Taste the mixture and season to your liking.
  

Video

Notes

Yield: This recipe makes about 10 cups of thick mole sauce, or 12 to 14 cups if you thin it to a gravy-like consistency. Since mole takes time and a long list of ingredients, it is worth making a generous batch and freezing the extra in smaller portions.

To sweeten the mole: Stir in a little honey or brown sugar at the end, then adjust to taste. For a fruitier sweetness, replace some of the broth with orange juice, or blend in fresh or canned pineapple.

To make it spicier: Add chili powder in ½-teaspoon increments, or add a pinch of cayenne, tasting as you go.

To thin the sauce: Add hot chicken broth a little at a time until it reaches your preferred consistency.

To thicken the sauce: Simmer longer to reduce. Mole is usually gravy-like, but you can thicken it more for a dip or thin it down for a more brothy sauce.

Spices: This recipe uses pre-ground spices to avoid any larger pieces that may not fully break down during blending.

Whole spice option: Use 2½ teaspoons whole cumin seeds, 1 cinnamon stick, 12 to 20 whole cloves, and 10 whole allspice berries. Toast until fragrant, then grind with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder before adding.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 107kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 7mg, Sodium: 1105mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!