Have you ever had mole (molé) sauce? It’s a rich, dark-colored sauce native to Mexico and one of my favorite dishes to order at any Mexican restaurant. One reason mole is so popular is that, while there are many variations, most of them contain chocolate. Traditional mole varies from town to town in Mexico, containing anywhere from 10 to 50 ingredients. Some recipes call for crushed peanuts, which is all the info I needed to combine my love for Mexican cuisine with peanut butter and create one of the best moles I’ve tasted. I didn’t copy Rachel Ray to create this dish – in fact, I think I came up with the idea first! You may be wondering how difficult it is to make, but I’ve developed methods to make it in a crockpot (slow cooker) or on the stove, with very little effort required. I highly recommend you make this not just because it’s phenomenal, but also because how often do you get to eat chocolate and peanut butter for dinner?
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1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
4 cloves garlic, minced
2T toasted sesame seeds
1T chili powder
1t ground cumin
1t ground cinnamon
1/2t ground coriander
1/8t ground nutmeg
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
1/4 cup peanut butter
1T maple syrup
1T brown sugar
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast (4-6 large breasts)
Instructions:
Crockpot / Slow-Cooker: Place all ingredients except for the chicken in a slow cooker. Stir sauce until mixed, taste, and adjust seasonings to taste. Add chicken and stir to cover the chicken. Place lid on the crockpot and cook on low for 4 hours. If desired, remove chicken, and puree the sauce using an immersion blender or food processor. Serve the chicken breasts and drench in sauce.
Stove top: Preheat a large pot on medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add a teaspoon of olive oil and add the chicken. Cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove chicken and set aside. Spray the pot with cooking spray and cook the onions until softened, about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in all the remaining ingredients except the chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. If you like a smooth creamy sauce, you can puree the sauce with an immersion blender or a regular blender. Add chicken to the sauce and cook, covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until chicken is very tender and falls apart.
Additional Info:
There are thousands of varieties of mole sauce in Mexico and you’ll never have the same one twice. Along the same lines, you can customize this dish to taste, some like it spicy, others like it sweet. Experiment with the chili powder, chipotle peppers and sugar to adjust to your tastes.
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this looks disturbingly tasty
That looks sinful yet hearty!
Heh. Sounds like a sure-fire winner to me. Chocolate and PB in one dish? Mexican? With tortillas? Hell, yeah!
You brought back some good memories with this post. My nana used to make mole on special occasions, and there was nothing I loved more than eating it with a fresh corn tortilla!
I love mole, but I’ve never had it with peanut butter, though one of the (almost 100) original ingredients must be peanuts, right? Lol I really don’t know but it sounds really interesting. You should try it with Mexican rice and homemade corn tortillas. OOOOh, that is heaven! Hehe
Can’t go wrong with peanut butter and Mexican cuisine!
You had me at “chocolate and peanut butter for dinner”.
I’ve never had chicken mole before but I do love Mexican food, and this recipe looks really great! It has been added to my list of recipes to try:)
wow, i pb and choc for dinner! i shall give this a try ;)
I’ve always wanted to try my hand at Mole, but my man’s eloquently raised eyebrows always got in the way. This looks great, Nick! Very clever of you to sneak in the peanut butter :)
So my local Whole Foods just started selling the new Larabar flavors, and one of them is Peanut Butter Cookie – I totally thought of you when I decided to purchase it, haha :0) Have you seen it/tried it yet??
Chocolate, peanut butter and chilies! What a great combination!
That sounds really good. What a combination!
I too am a lover of Mexican cusine. This looks so yummy!
This looks so good!
Yum, I just love mole!
ur so darn inventive…
i’m getting some fresh mole in mexico when i go in a few weeks.
Flutter, Such kind words =)
AForkful, Booyah!
Ari, I hear ya. My girlfriends Nana’s house always has the best food, so simple yet so good.
Ben, I have never made Mexican rice but I imagine it goes beautifully. I did find one Mole recipe that called for peanuts which were then ground up so there’s really no difference here! I suggest you try it!
Veggiegirl, That’s my hope! No I have not tried it yet! I’ll be going this weekend to Whole Foods, I’ll be sure to look for it!
Sagan, Excellent! But if you’re anything like me, that’s a very long list….
Rita, Yup, it’s like a little bowl of heaven.
Dee, Not so much “sneaking” as the soup pot “demanding” it =).
Bren, Bring me back some!
My family makes Peanut Butter Mole with Peter Pan Peanut Butter. Somehow it is better than Jiff but unfortunately, I don’t know how to make Mole but will be trying soon.
Interesting, I wonder how it is with natural pb? Perhaps the difference between the two is the amount of salt or sugar? Either way peanut butter is a definite in mole!
I’ve altered your recipe to make it a bit more authentic and to deepen the flavors. Give it a try.
Peanut Butter Mole
1 pound Chicken Tenders or Chicken Breast, or Pork Tenderloin
2 T Olive Oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
2 jalapenos
1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter w/ salt
2 dried ancho chilies, stemmed and seeded
2 dried anaheim chilies, stemmed and seeded
1 tablespoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup whole peanuts
1 cinnamon stick broken in pieces
2 ounces Mexican chocolate
1T honey
Instructions:
Tear the ancho and anaheim peppers into large pieces and toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat until they change color a bit, about 2 minutes. Put them into a bowl with the raisins and cover them with hot water. Soak until softened, about 30 minutes. In the same skillet over medium heat, add the peanuts, sesame seeds, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, oregano, and thyme. Toast for 2 minutes, grind in a spice grinder, and add the powder to a blender. In the same skillet over medium-high heat add the olive oil, onions, garlic, and jalapenos. Cook until lightly browned, then add the tomatoes. Cook until vegetables are softened, about 10 to 15 minutes, then add to the blender. Add the peanut butter, chocolate, honey, and soaked chiles and raisins to the blender along with some of the chicken broth. Puree, adding more broth as needed, to make a smooth sauce.
Pour 2 cups of the mole into the already oiled pan and simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour the mole into a baking dish. Brown the meat on all sides. Add the chicken breasts or tenders to the mole. If using pork, cut the pork into medallions and add them to the mole. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350.
The unused portion can be frozen for later use.
This is great actually, next time I make it I’ll incorporate some of these changes for sure. I’m always looking to go more authentic as long as it’s not too involved!
Yum yum yum!! :)
I had been eyeing this recipe for a while. I even put it in my ‘YummySoup’ application (an app for Mac users to store recipes, I highly recommend it), where I keep all my favorite, plan-to-make blog recipes. Finally, made it tonight for my mom, dad, and sister (who complained before it was made that she doesn’t like Mole). They all loved and raved about it. :) Even my sister began picking at the leftovers claiming it was too good to stop. It has a great little burn-your-lips heat to it.
Thanks a lot for the recipe.
I’ll have to check out that app, I’ve never heard of it! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it, I actually impressed myself the first time I made it (not to brag of course) because it turned out so well. Thanks for re-living this recipe for me, I’ll be adding it to my “remake list” now!
The first time I tried Mole I was in Monterrey, Mexico and some of the ladies from the church I was at made us mole for lunch with peanut butter, but I did not know the name of the chicken with peanut butter dish. So, I have been looking for a recipe so that I could have it again. I tried it recently at a Mexican restaurant but it was nowhere near the recipe these ladies made for us f(it was way too spicy and could not taste the peanut butter). Thank you for sharing…I will try your recipe.
Ah, you came to the right place Michell =). However, I have since modified this recipe (to be a slow cooker recipe) and I think it came out better, so if I don’t get around to posting the new recipe soon, contact me first for the updated recipe before you make it!
Nick –
You are sooooo creative!!! I’m going to have the pleasure of telling people down the road that I knew you before you got your own cooking show!
Haha, thanks Debbie! Tell you what – if I ever do get my own cooking show, I’ll bring you on as a guest!
*** DEAL !!! ***
This recipe is great. I made the sauce without the meat, and poured it over left-over rotisserie chicken. Thanks for the recipe.
Great idea to liven up leftovers – I like it! Thanks for the idea!
mole is always, though easy to mess up! ;) Nice looking version.
Agreed, it’s usually way too much work. But you won’t miss all that work with a version like this! Happy Holidays Bren!
Mole is something I love and have always wanted to make, but knowing it’s somewhat complex, I’ve always shied away from it. This doesn’t seem too imposing though…I may just have to give it a go. Mmmm, mole.
I was in the same boat. This isn’t imposing at all! The commenter up there quickly whipped up a batch of just the sauce to pour over leftover roasted chicken. It’s easy!
Hi Nick, this mole recipe sounds really good and I want to make it. But… I saw that you said you updated the recipe for slow cooker and it was even better. Could I have that recipe? thanks! Mary
oh gosh am I embarrassed now….never mind
I’m blushing terribly
Hahaha, no worries Mary. I hope you enjoy it =)
Mole made with peanut butter…? That is nothing new … My aunt used a heaping table spoon or two in mole since I can remember…I am 45 years old so you can do the math. I use peantnut butter and finely chopped roast peanuts in my mole recipe .. I cheat tho I purchase a pre made version in a jar and add chicken broth for liquid and then add the peanut butter and peanuts plus a table spoon of coco for a nice taste freshly chopped garlic,bay leaves ,cumin are Added to the broth and brought to a boil for 2-5 minutes prior to added to the mole … Anyhow eat mole if you get a chance you will be very surprised,…. My wife is German and introduced it to her family ..and it is a dish made at family gatherings .. Sister in laws always trying to out do each other
That is what’s so great about mole, everyone does it differently. And since I’ve begun using peanut butter there is just no turning back, especially with some finely chopped peanuts for the sauce and/or to garnish.
I’m making it for Christmas it’s been on slow cooking for three and a half hours and doesnt seem like 4 hours doesn’t seem long enough , but I assembled it last night and refrigerated it overnight I hope it tastes wonderful
How did it come out?? Did everyone enjoy?
4 hours is so the chicken doesn’t fall apart into shreds, you want somewhat-substantial pieces of chicken so it’s not like a stew.