How Mole Poblano Became Mexico’s Most Iconic Dish (And How to Cook It Yourself)

Mole Poblano is one of Mexico’s most treasured culinary creations, known for its deep, complex flavours and rich cultural history. This traditional sauce originates from Puebla and is often considered the national dish of Mexico. In this recipe guide, you will learn how to make authentic homemade Mole Poblano, allowing you to experience the essence of true Mexican cuisine right in your kitchen.

This beloved sauce combines a unique blend of dried chillies, spices, nuts, seeds, and a touch of Mexican chocolate to create a flavour that is savoury, earthy, slightly sweet, and deeply aromatic. While Mole Poblano is traditionally served over turkey or chicken, it can also be enjoyed with vegetables or rice for a hearty and satisfying meal. Despite its complex ingredient list, with careful preparation and patience, making Mole Poblano at home becomes a rewarding culinary experience.

Mole Poblano is more than just a sauce; it is a celebration dish often served during special occasions, family gatherings, and festive holidays in Mexico. Its rich taste and beautiful presentation make it a standout centrepiece for any meal. Follow this recipe guide to learn each step in creating this iconic dish and share a true taste of Mexican heritage with your family and friends.

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Best Time To Eat

Mole Poblano is best enjoyed as a main dish for lunch or dinner, especially during weekends, family gatherings, or festive celebrations when you want to serve something traditional, rich, and memorable.

Best Dishes To Partner

Serve Mole Poblano with warm corn tortillas, Mexican rice, refried beans, and a fresh avocado salad. For drinks, pair it with agua fresca, horchata, or a cold Mexican beer to complement the robust and complex flavours of the mole sauce.

One of the biggest misconceptions about mole poblano is that it’s just a “chocolate sauce.” This oversimplification—often repeated on cooking shows and menus—misses the entire point. Yes, chocolate is an ingredient, but it’s only one of many, and it’s used for depth, not sweetness. Mole is about balance, not dessert.

Another issue is the growing trend of shortcut mole recipes that cut out core ingredients or rely solely on pre-made pastes. While shortcuts can be practical, they often result in a one-dimensional sauce that lacks the soul of the original. Authentic mole poblano doesn’t come from a jar—it comes from hours of intentional cooking rooted in history.

What’s even more controversial is how mole has been marketed globally—sometimes stripped of its Indigenous roots and presented as a generic “Mexican flavor.” In reality, mole poblano is deeply tied to Puebla’s local traditions, combining pre-Hispanic ingredients with colonial influences. Respecting that complexity is what transforms the sauce from good to unforgettable.

How to Make Mole Poblano

Mole Poblano Recipe Ingredients

For the Mole Sauce:

4 dried ancho chiles, seeds and stems removed
4 dried pasilla chiles, seeds and stems removed
4 dried mulato chiles, seeds and stems removed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup almonds, blanched and peeled
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 tortilla, torn into pieces
1 slice of white bread, torn into pieces
1 ripe plantain or banana, sliced
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground anise seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 ounces Mexican chocolate, chopped (or substitute dark chocolate with a touch of cinnamon)
3-4 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sugar (optional, to taste)
For Serving:

4-6 chicken breasts or thighs, cooked
Cooked white rice
Warm corn tortillas
Additional sesame seeds for garnish

Step By Step How to Make Mole Poblano

Prepare the Chiles

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Toast the dried chiles, turning them frequently, until they are fragrant and slightly puffed, about 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to burn them.

Remove the chiles from the skillet and place them in a bowl. Cover them with hot water and let them soak for about 20-30 minutes until softened. Drain and reserve the soaking liquid.

Cook the Mole Base

In the same skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic, and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they begin to break down and become saucy, about 5 minutes. Transfer the soaked chiles to a blender, along with the onion, garlic, tomatoes, and about 1 cup of the reserved chile soaking liquid. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

Toast and Grind the Spices and Nuts

In a separate dry skillet, toast the almonds, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds until golden and fragrant. Remove and set aside. In the same skillet, toast the torn tortilla pieces and bread slices until lightly browned. Set aside.

Add the toasted nuts, seeds, bread, tortilla, raisins, plantain (or banana), cinnamon, cloves, allspice, anise, thyme, marjoram, and oregano to the blender with the chile mixture. Blend until smooth, adding more broth if necessary to achieve a thick, smooth paste.

Cook the Mole

In a large pot, heat a little more oil over medium heat. Add the blended mole paste and cook, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes.

Gradually add 3-4 cups of chicken broth to the pot, stirring well to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the flavors meld together.

Stir in the chopped Mexican chocolate until melted and fully incorporated. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, and a little sugar if needed to balance the flavors.

Serve the Mole Poblano

While the mole is simmering, cook the chicken by poaching, grilling, or roasting. Once cooked, you can either shred the chicken or leave it in whole pieces.

Serve

Place the cooked chicken on a serving platter or individual plates, and spoon the mole sauce generously over the top. Garnish with additional sesame seeds.

Serve Mole Poblano with warm tortillas, white rice, and a simple salad or steamed vegetables on the side.

Tips To Make Mole Poblano

Mole Poblano is all about balance. Taste as you go, adjusting the sweetness, spiciness, and bitterness until you achieve the desired complex flavor.

Mole sauce benefits from slow, long cooking. The longer it simmers, the more the flavors develop. You can make the mole sauce a day ahead to allow the flavors to deepen.

Traditional Mexican chocolate has a slightly grainy texture and is flavored with cinnamon. If you can’t find it, substitute with high-quality dark chocolate and add a pinch of ground cinnamon. Mole sauce freezes well, so consider making a large batch and freezing portions for later use.

How Many Calories Have Mole Poblano

Calories Per Serving: Approximately 600-800 calories per serving (based on 6 servings)

Breakdown:

Mole Sauce: ~300-400 calories per serving (depends on the quantity of chocolate, nuts, and seeds)
Chicken (4 oz): ~150-200 calories per serving
Rice (1/2 cup cooked): ~100 calories per serving
Tortillas: ~100-150 calories per serving (2 small tortillas)

Origin and History

Mole Poblano is one of Mexico’s most celebrated culinary treasures, a dish whose roots extend deep into pre-Hispanic traditions and colonial influence. Before European ingredients arrived, Indigenous cooks prepared complex sauces from chiles, seeds, and cacao. These early preparations became the backbone of what would eventually evolve into mole, a dish that unified local culinary techniques with new ingredients brought by the Spanish.

The city of Puebla became the epicenter of this evolution. According to legend, mole poblano was first created by nuns at the Convent of Santa Rosa in the 17th century. Faced with preparing a dish fit for a visiting archbishop, they improvised by grinding together chiles, nuts, spices, stale bread, and chocolate. The result was a rich, layered sauce unlike anything that existed before. Whether the story is fact or folklore, it reflects the deep Catholic, Indigenous, and mestizo cultural blend that defines Puebla’s identity.

Over time, mole poblano became a symbol of celebration across Mexico. It appears at weddings, holidays, and religious festivals, carrying with it a sense of tradition and pride. Its preparation—slow, deliberate, full of symbolic ingredients—represents not just cooking but cultural storytelling. Each family has its own version, each region adds its own signature touch, and each bite links the modern world to centuries of culinary heritage.

Despite its iconic status, mole poblano is one of the most misunderstood dishes outside Mexico. Many people mistakenly believe it is simply “chocolate sauce,” ignoring the layers of chiles, spices, and seeds that dominate its profile. The chocolate does not make the dish sweet—it provides depth and bitterness. This misconception has given rise to countless inauthentic recipes that lean heavily on sugar and cocoa powder, which flatten the complexity that makes mole poblano so revered.

Another controversy revolves around shortcuts. Traditional mole poblano can include more than 20 ingredients, many of which are roasted, toasted, fried, or ground by hand. Purists argue that using blenders or store-bought pastes compromises its soul. Others insist that adaptation is part of the dish’s long history. The debate between authenticity and accessibility is ongoing, with passionate voices on both sides. But nearly all agree: the heart of mole lies in its balance—heat, sweetness, bitterness, nuttiness, and spice must work together seamlessly.

There is also cultural tension around commercialization. Mole poblano has become a global export, but packaged versions rarely capture the depth of the original. Some Mexicans worry that oversimplified versions dilute its cultural meaning. For many families in Puebla, mole is more than food—it marks life events, honors ancestors, and preserves a sense of identity. Treating it as a novelty dish can feel dismissive of its history. Yet, when prepared with respect and understanding, mole poblano can be shared authentically with the world.

How Long It Takes to Prepare

Mole poblano is famously time-consuming, but the process is part of its artistry. Traditional preparations take anywhere from three to six hours. Each ingredient is treated individually—chiles are toasted and de-seeded, nuts and seeds are fried, spices are lightly warmed to release their oils, and bread or tortillas are crisped to create body. Every step builds flavor, creating layers that can’t be replicated through shortcuts.

Modern kitchens can reduce this time significantly. A blender or food processor can replace stone grinding, and prepping ingredients ahead of time speeds up the workflow. Even with modern conveniences, expect to spend two to three hours making a proper mole poblano from start to finish. It’s not difficult—but it is meticulous. This patience is exactly what makes the final dish so rewarding.

Some families prepare mole in large batches and freeze portions for future meals. This saves time and allows the sauce to deepen in flavor as it rests. Like a good stew, mole poblano becomes more harmonious after a day or two, making it an ideal make-ahead meal for special occasions or weeknight indulgence.

Serving Suggestions

Mole poblano traditionally accompanies turkey, a nod to Mexico’s pre-Hispanic culinary traditions. Today, chicken is the most common pairing, offering a neutral, tender backdrop that allows the sauce to shine. The mole is generously spooned over the meat and topped with toasted sesame seeds for texture and aroma. Rice, especially white rice, is almost always served alongside to absorb the sauce.

Tortillas—particularly fresh corn tortillas—are essential. They provide a subtle sweetness and grounding corn flavor that complements mole perfectly. Many households warm tortillas directly over a flame to achieve a hint of char. The combination of mole, soft meat, and warm tortillas creates a comforting, deeply satisfying bite.

Mole poblano can also be enjoyed in creative ways: drizzled over enchiladas, used in tamales, or served with roasted vegetables for a rich vegetarian meal. Its versatility makes it a centerpiece for both everyday meals and special celebrations. No matter how you serve it, the key is to let the sauce be the star.

Final Thoughts

Mole poblano is not just a recipe—it’s a cultural expression, a culinary ritual, and a reminder of Mexico’s rich heritage. Making it at home invites you to slow down and appreciate the intentionality behind each step. While it may seem intimidating at first, the process becomes almost meditative, and the result is worth every minute spent.

This dish teaches an important culinary lesson: complexity does not come from difficulty but from care. Each ingredient has a purpose, each step has meaning, and the final result is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a dish that encourages connection—between past and present, between cook and ingredients, between the traditions of Puebla and kitchens around the world.

Whether you follow the traditional path or embrace a modern twist, making mole poblano with respect and attention will reward you with one of the most unforgettable flavors you’ll ever experience. It’s not just a sauce—it’s a masterpiece, and now, it can be one that lives in your own kitchen too.