Quick and Easy Mole Recipe

Mole is a traditional Mexican sauce that generally consists of a combination of chile peppers, nuts, seeds, black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, and a myriad of other ingredients.  Although many people consider mole a “chocolate sauce”, not all mole sauces contain chocolate as an ingredient.  Event though Mole Poblano is possibly the most popular mole sauce in Mexico and the United States, there are several other mole varieties that range from red, green, to yellow hues.

Mexican mole recipes are not only regional, but they vary from town to town and family to family.  Because of the intense labor involved in making these delectable sauces, moles are often reserved for parties, and other celebratory events.  Growing up, we often ate mole on birthdays, holidays, and Sunday dinners.

It is not unusual today to purchase a mole base at a grocery store or a Mexican specialty store.  The paste can easily be transformed by adding ingredients such as peanuts, peanut butter, chocolate, sesames seeds, or chiles to make your mole unique.  I love the simplicity of this mole recipe.  It is not labor-intensive, but it still yields an excellent sauce.

Let’s get to the Quick and Easy Mole Recipe!

Quick and Easy Mole Recipe

Chicken Mole

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Cook Time 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

  

Chicken

• 3 lbs chicken legs and thighs
• ½ yellow onion
• 1 garlic head
• 8-10 cups water
• 2 tbsp kosher salt

Mole

• 8.25 oz Doña María Mole Sauce Original
• 4 tbsp pork drippings, canola, or vegetable oil
• 1 Chile ancho
• 3 Chiles cascabel
• 20 Peanuts unsalted and de-shelled
• 4 Maria Cookies In lieu of Maria Cookies, you can used either one teaspoon of sesame seeds or two toasted corn tortillas.
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 2 garlic cloves
• 6-8 cups chicken stock

Instructions

 

Chicken

• In a stock pot, add 3 lbs of chicken, ½ of an onion, one garlic head, 8-10 cups of water, and 2 tbsp of kosher salt. Cover the stock pot with its lid and cook on medium-high heat. Reduce to medium heat once the stock comes to a boil. The chicken should be fully cooked in approximately 45 minutes. Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove from the heat and reserve the chicken stock for the mole sauce.

Mole

• Place a small pan on medium heat and add two tbsp of pork drippings or oil. Toast both sides of the chile ancho and chiles cascabel until lightly fragrant. Do not burn the chiles.
• In a blender or food processor, blend the toasted chiles, one jar of Doña María Mole Sauce, 20 peanuts, 4 Maria Cookies, ½ tsp of cumin seeds, 2 garlic cloves, and 4 cups of chicken stock. The mixture will be hot, so use precaution while blending. Once the mixture is blended, add 2 more cups of chicken stock and blend.
• Once the sauce is fully blended, take a fine colander and strain the sauce from any ingredients that may not have blended smoothly into the sauce. Discard the residual elements that did not fully blend.
• In a 7 quart pan, heat 2 tbsp of pork drippings or oil and add the strained mole sauce. Sautée for one to two minutes. At this point, evaluate the thickness of the sauce. If needed, add 1- 2 cups of chicken stock. Use caution when adding the stock. As a good measure, a moles thickness should have a consistency closer to yogurt and not to milk or water.
• After achieving the desired thickness of the mole, add the cooked chicken legs and thighs to the mole sauce and coat.
• Simmer both the quick and easy mole and chicken for 10 minutes on low to medium heat. Cover the 7 quart pan with its lid. Once the mole and chicken has simmered, remove from heat. Serve the Chicken and Mole on a bed of Mexican rice with a side of corn tortillas. I hope you enjoy!

Tools used for this Quick and Easy Mole Recipe

Measuring Cups and spoons

1 20-quart stock pot with lid

Serving spoon

Blender

1 large bowl

1 fine mesh colander

Cooking spoon

1 7-quart pan with lid

1 small fry pan

Tongs

Once you make this mole recipe, you might decide to add your own spin on the sauce by either removing or adding more peppers, peanuts, or other ingredients.  If you think mole is reserved only for making chicken mole, think again.  This wonderful mole can also be used as a sauce for enchiladas, chilaquiles, nachos, or huevos rancheros.  The possibilities are endless.

This quick and easy mole recipe is a not only a wonderful meal, but it is also perfect for a special events.  Another beautiful Mexican recipe on my blog is Asado de Boda. To see the recipe for this fantastic wedding stew that hails from San Luis Potosí, Mexico, click here.