First, a confession: I was never a fan of mole poblano until I started making it myself just recently.
There are many different traditional recipes and variations for mole (pronounced mole-eh in English), so there isn’t any one right-or-wrong official way of making this Mexican sauce with many multiple ingredients. Because of this, it is often considered an intimidating recipe. Some cooks literally take DAYS to make their preferred mole. It can sound very complicated and time-consuming for just a sauce, but it really doesn’t have to be.
My mother told me that my grandmother would make it at home the easy way, adding all of the prepped ingredients together into a blender, which I think is a fine family tradition to continue! 😉
I’ve tried many moles in my life, but I’ve never really watched it being made in one of the many “authentic” ways. I decided I would give it a try with my own spin on the recipe after being inspired by Marcela Valladolid on her TV show, “Mexican Made Easy.” I love her recipes so much because they really are so close to how my mom used to cook for me growing up in Monterrey, with very authentic and familiar flavors.
I am happy to say that my mole turned out really well, with a homemade taste that you simply cannot get in a can at the store. My husband, a chocolate lover, commented that he loved the highlighted chocolate flavor from the Abuelita’s Mexican Hot Chocolate tablet that I added. I used one full tablet, but you can use less if you’re not as into the chocolate flavor or want to highlight the other ingredients more. Enjoy!
- 1/2 cup toasted peanuts
- 1 tablet of Mexican hot chocolate (I used Nestle’s Abuelitas brand)
- 1/2 medium onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 died guajillo chiles seeded and devained
- 2 dried ancho chiles seeded and devained
- 2 corn tortillas
- 21/2 cups of chicken broth (or more if needed) (check notes for more options)
- 1 table spoon of Méxican oregano
- Sea Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a sauce pan. Place the 2 guajillo and 2 ancho chiles in the water until soft.
- Transfer the chiles, onion, garlic, peanuts, tortillas, and chicken broth to the blender and blend until smooth.
- Strain the mixture.
- Transfer it to a pan.
- Add the chocolate and season with the table spoon of Mexican oregano.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat on medium low until the color changes and reduces a little. About 10 minutes with a lid cover.
- Add more chicken broth if necessary. You could make it as thick or as liquid as you like.
