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Mexican

Mole poblano

Non-vegetarian

Puebla's celebrated festive sauce of three dried chiles, toasted nuts and seeds, spices, dried fruit and a little chocolate, ground and simmered into a dark, glossy mole for poached chicken or turkey.

Mole poblano is a Mexican main course from Mexico, ready in about 2 hours 45 minutes and made with chicken pieces, skin-on, dried whole chillies and dark chocolate (70–85%). It serves 8 and is rated advanced to cook.

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A serving of Mole poblano
Photo: hekoer_1 / Pixabay · Pixabay Content License
Prep
45 min
Cook
2 h
Total
2 h 45 min
Serves
8
Level
Advanced
Calories
739

Ingredients

8 servings

To serve

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Poach the chicken with half the onion (opens in a new tab), 2 garlic cloves (opens in a new tab), 1 tsp salt and the water at a gentle simmer until tender. Lift out the chicken and keep the broth.

    Food safety: Chicken must reach 74 °C; refrigerate if not using right away.

  2. Step 2

    Toast the chiles briefly in a dry pan until fragrant and pliable (a few seconds per side — do not burn). Soak in hot broth for 20 minutes.

    Burnt chiles make the whole mole bitter.

  3. Step 3

    In a little of the lard (opens in a new tab), fry separately until golden: the almonds (opens in a new tab) and peanuts (opens in a new tab); the sesame seeds (opens in a new tab); the raisins (opens in a new tab) (just until puffed); the tortilla (opens in a new tab) and bread. Char the tomatoes (opens in a new tab), tomatillos (opens in a new tab), remaining onion (opens in a new tab) and garlic (opens in a new tab) in a dry pan. Toast the whole spices for 30 seconds.

    • 20 min
    • medium heat
    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Blend the chiles with their soaking broth, all the fried and charred ingredients, the spices, oregano (opens in a new tab), thyme (opens in a new tab) and chipotle (opens in a new tab) in batches until very smooth, adding broth as needed. Pass through a sieve.

  5. Step 5

    Heat the rest of the lard (opens in a new tab) in the pot until very hot and pour in the purée — it will splutter. Fry, stirring, for 10 minutes until darker and thick.

    • 10 min
    • medium-high heat

    Food safety: The purée spits when it hits the fat; stand back and use a long spoon.

  6. Step 6

    Add the chocolate (opens in a new tab), sugar, remaining salt and about 1 litre of broth. Simmer gently, stirring often, until glossy and thick enough to coat a spoon, about 40 minutes. Add the chicken to warm through.

    • 40 min
    • low heat

  7. Step 7

    Serve the chicken with plenty of mole, a sprinkle of toasted sesame (opens in a new tab), rice and warm tortillas (opens in a new tab).

    • 2 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Puebla, Mexico · Well documentedMore food from Mexico
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses · Sauces
Cooking method
Simmered, Poached, Toasted, Blended
Taste
rich, smoky, sweet & spicy, aromatic / warmly spiced, earthy
Diet
Dairy-free · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Dairy-free · Egg-free · Alcohol-free · Beef-free · High-protein
With the listed swaps: Pork-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration · Make-ahead · Freezer-friendly · Batch cooking
Cook more with
Chicken pieces, skin-on · Dried whole chillies · Dark chocolate (70–85%) · Onion · Garlic · Lard
Techniques
Toasting · Simmering · Poaching · Spice roasting (dry-roasting) · Wet grinding

Allergens

  • May contain: Milkfrom dark chocolate (70–85%)
  • Contains: Peanutsfrom peanuts, dark chocolate (70–85%)
  • Contains: Tree nutsfrom almonds, dark chocolate (70–85%)
  • Contains: Wheatfrom crusty bread / baguette
  • Contains: Glutenfrom crusty bread / baguette
  • May contain: Soyfrom dark chocolate (70–85%)
  • Contains: Sesamefrom sesame seeds, crusty bread / baguette
  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom raisins

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

739 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 572 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 24%
  • Carbohydrate 16%
  • Fat 60%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy739 kcal129 kcal
Protein44.3 g7.7 g
Carbohydrate30 g5.2 g
Net carbohydrate22.5 g3.9 g
Sugars10.9 g1.9 g
Added sugars——
Fibre7.5 g1.3 g
Fat50 g8.7 g
Saturated fat14.5 g2.5 g
Trans fat0.2 g0 g
Cholesterol157 mg27 mg
Sodium770 mg135 mg
Salt equivalent1.9 g0.3 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1081 mg
Calcium
170 mg
Iron
6.3 mg
Magnesium
136 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
249 µg
Vitamin C
11 mg
Vitamin D
0.6 µg
Vitamin B12
0.6 µg
Folate (DFE)
56 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: chipotles in adobo, long-grain white rice, corn tortilla.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Mole improves after a day in the fridge; many families make it ahead for celebrations.

Common mistakes

  • Scorching the chiles or seeds during toasting, which turns the sauce bitter.

Food safety

  • Poach the chicken to 74 °C.
  • Cool the mole and chicken quickly and refrigerate within 2 hours; reheat to a simmer.

Storage

  • Mole paste or sauce keeps 1 week refrigerated and freezes well for 3 months; chicken in mole keeps 3 days.

Reheating

  • Reheat gently, loosening with broth.

Variations

  • Enmoladas: Fold tortillas around shredded chicken and cover with leftover mole.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Goes with

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

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Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 3, 7

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

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