A traditional Mole Sauce can be made right in your own kitchen with all the flavors that you typically find at your local Mexican Restaurant! Made with real, simple ingredients, we know you are going to love this tried-and-true mole sauce. Delicious flavors that are a great addition to any authentic Mexican recipes!
The Best Mole Sauce Recipe
When developing this Mexican food sauce that goes with so many different recipes, we wanted it to warm you from the inside with an undertone of chocolate, a hint of cinnamon, and a base of pork broth. It is a labor of love and a decent amount of ingredients but we tried to keep it as simple as possible, while still having all the best flavors that you know and love! If you are looking for a recipe to liven up any special occasions or Cinco de Mayo menu, this is definitely it!
Looking for another delicious homemade sauce recipe? You have to try our Salsa Verde!
What You Will Need
- tomatillos & Roma tomato – these roasted tomatoes are blended to create the tomato base.
- sweet onion & cloves of garlic – classic flavor starters that are perfect in any homemade sauce.
- toasted pecans – adds a wonderful nutty flavor to this sauce recipe.
- chicken stock – pick-up your favorite chicken stock or chicken broth at your local grocery store.
- cocoa powder – a classic mole sauce always has a hint of chocolate! Option to use Mexican chocolate.
- cinnamon sticks – another traditional ingredient to add that little bit of cinnamon to the flavor profile.
- whole dried chiles – perfect way to bring that kick of heat!
- plantain slices – find a whole plantain in the produce section, peel, and cut into thick slices that can be searing on the stovetop.
- brown sugar – added for a touch of sweetness!
- allspice, ground cloves, dried oregano leaves, salt, & pepper – the best combination of spices that bring complex flavors!
- beef broth & pork belly broth – highly recommend making our braised pork belly to use the broth, but feel free to just use beef broth too!
How To Make Mole Sauce
The first steps to making this classic mole sauce are to place the tomatillos, Roma tomato, onion, and garlic on a large baking sheet. Place them under the oven broiler for a few minutes until they turn golden brown. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and put them in a high powered blender or food processor. Blend on high until it reaches a smooth consistency. You could also try using an immersion blender.
Now transfer the blended tomato mixture to a large skillet or large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Add the chiles, pecans, chicken stock, cinnamon stick, and cocoa to the pan. Let it all simmer for about 30 minutes. While this is cooking, sear the slices of plantain in a separate cast iron skillet on all sides with a bit of olive oil.
Next, mash the cooked plantain and add to the sauce along with the spice mixture. Continue simmering on the stovetop and remove the ancho chiles and cinnamon stick after they have cooked for about one hour. It will start to turn a different color and become more of a mole paste at this point.
Pour in the broth, mix, and continue simmering the sauce. It should thicken enough to coat the back of your spoon. Finally, return it to the blender for one more mix. If needed, this can be done in small batches.
Pour the finished product back in the skillet or saucepan and keep warm until serving.
Best Ways To Serve Mole Sauce
There are a variety of different ways to enjoy this easy mole recipe! We love it best with pork belly slices and white rice. It can also be enjoyed with traditional tacos in corn tortillas, enchiladas, or any of your other favorite Mexican foods.
Recipe FAQ
In Mexican cuisine, this is a traditional marinade and sauce that is served in a variety of ways.
This traditional Mexican sauce does have some heat to it but it isn’t super spicy. The end result is more of a warm heat that has so much flavor.
A typically red enchilada sauce has some similar ingredients to the mole sauce ingredients but they do not taste like each other. Enchilada sauce has more sweetness and not as much heat.
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Other Sauce Recipes You Might Like
Mole Sauce
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Mexican-Inspired
Description
Our easy Mole Sauce recipe is a flavorful and delicious homemade mole sauce that you are sure to love! Perfect for any Mexican dish!
Ingredients
- 3 tomatillos, quartered
- 1 roma tomato, quartered
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 small yellow onion, quartered
- 2 tablespoons pecans, toasted
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 2–3 teaspoons 100% cocoa powder
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 3 dried Ancho chiles
- 6 plantain slices
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 2 cups broth from braised pork belly (sub beef broth)
- kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place tomatillos, tomato, garlic, and onion on a baking sheet. Move to the oven to broil until everything starts to brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly at room temperature. Then blend in a food processor or blender until smooth. Run through a sieve twice and place in sauce pan.
- Add toasted pecans, chicken stock, cocoa, cinnamon stick, and Ancho chiles to the saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer for approx. 30 minutes – add additional splashes of chicken broth, as needed, if sauce seems dry.
- In a separate fry pan, add a little oil and bring it to a medium-high heat to fry 6 plantain slices on both sides. Now mash the cooked plantains and add to sauce along with the brown sugar, allspice, ground cloves, oregano, and black pepper.
- Continue simmering sauce over medium heat and remove Ancho chiles & cinnamon stick after they have been in the sauce a total of 1 hour.
- Next, add beef broth and braised pork belly broth and continue to simmer until reduced to the desired consistency – the sauce should be able to coat the back of a spoon.
- Return the sauce to the blender one more time and blend on high for 1 minute, run through a sieve again, and return to pot to keep warm. Serve when ready.
Notes
- Braised Pork Liquid: I love using the leftover braising liquid of the braised pork belly in this recipe – there is so much flavor! Just remember to skim off the fat that will rise to the top before adding to the pan.
- Storage: leftover mole sauce can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 6 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 83
- Sugar: 5.9 g
- Sodium: 195.4 mg
- Fat: 2.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 15.7 g
- Protein: 2.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0.5 mg
Susan E Diaz says
Love authentic Mexican food