The word “mole” translated means a sauce or concoction. Depending on the region, family tradition, or choice of ingredients, mole can be made a million different ways. When I think of mole I think of interesting ingredients that when blended together somehow turn into a beautiful marriage of flavors. I also think of hours spent in the kitchen, a list of ingredients longer than my arm, and I start to feel afraid as I realize that I could never do true justice to the amazing traditional moles I have been honored to eat over the years.
Well, today I put my reservations aside and decided to go for it and make a mole my way (fast, easy, and with not too many ingredients!!) and start a new tradition with my kids who love to help me but wouldn’t last the hours and hours typically spent in the kitchen making a traditional mole. The outcome was well worth blogging about and I hope that you and your family enjoy making and eating this yummy sauce as much as we! Jaden was a huge help picking out the spices that we put into our sauce and I think I have another budding little paleo chef on my hands!
Mexican Mole My Way
1 red onion diced
6-8 garlic cloves, smashed with flat side of your knife blade
7 raw almonds, soaked in water for 30 minutes
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
The juice from 1 orange
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons dried oregano
A big pinch of saffron threads
A small pinch of ground cloves
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon raw organic honey (optional)
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, diced into bite size chunks
In a soup pot, saute the onion and garlic in coconut oil for 5-7 or until the onions start to caramelize. Add the tomatoes, chicken broth and orange juice and bring to a simmer. Add all the dry spices and the honey, mix well and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the sauce to a blender or food processor along with the almonds and blend until smooth. Add the chicken pieces to the pot, pour the mole sauce over and cook for 20 minutes. We ate ours with shredded cabbage, avocado chunks, lime wedges and some hot sauce along with a side of kale sauteed in grass fed butter. Serves 5.
Enjoy!!
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Kelly says
February 27, 2011 at 8:01 pmThis looks fantastic! I have been following the blog for a while and just found your podcasts! Keep up the good work.
Tamra O'Halloran says
February 27, 2011 at 8:24 pmSarah thanks so much for you and your family experimenting and blogging. You help make my job as a coach so much easier when I get asked the question ” how do I eat this way”. Keep up the great work and thanks again.
Stacey says
February 28, 2011 at 7:27 amThis sounds like another winner! We were just talking about trying to make a paleo mole the other day – I am definitely going to try this one out. I like the sound of it – fast & easy, thank you!
Rachel says
February 28, 2011 at 8:06 amLooks yummy! Did you cook the chicken in whole pieces or did you cut it into chunks before cooking? In your picture it looks like chunks =) Thanks!
Sarah says
February 28, 2011 at 8:51 amI diced them into bite size chunks! : )
Shirley @ Sweet Cheeks HQ says
February 28, 2011 at 10:26 amAwesome. I love Mole, Can’t wait to try it!
LauraB says
February 28, 2011 at 11:58 amI’ve got every ingredient in the pantry or in the freezer – excited to try this one. Currently, I’m enjoying my lunch: leftover Asian Beef stir fry inspired by your recent post (I subbed sliced grass fed top sirloin for the ground beef-a bit indulgent, but worth every penny – YUM!). Thanks for keeping things interesting around here! Ugh . . . back to work soon:( Monday, Monday . . . . .
Sarah says
February 28, 2011 at 12:20 pmI know Laura, how can it be Monday again already?? Sounds great with the top sirloin, at least you have yummy leftovers to start the week off! : )
Jillian says
February 28, 2011 at 6:03 pmI made this tonight, omitting the saffron and adding an extra can of fire roasted tomatoes and some chile flake. I served it with roasted cauliflower and quinoa, and it was absolutely delicious. Even my incredibly picky boyfriend loved it. I think this is going to be a new favorite. Thank you!
Sarah says
February 28, 2011 at 9:04 pmSo glad it turned out Jillian, sounds great with the fire roasted tomatoes, yummy!!
Debbie S says
February 28, 2011 at 7:57 pmSo I too had all the ingredients in my cupboard/refer and I made this tonight. Outstanding!!! I poured a ladle of it over a huge bed of mixed greens and baby spinach along with avacado….so so good. thank you for all you do
Sarah says
February 28, 2011 at 9:03 pmThank you Debbie!
Rob says
February 28, 2011 at 9:33 pmThat was great! My 10 year old went back for 3rds:) thanks
Sarah says
March 1, 2011 at 7:12 amAwesome Rob!
Heidi says
March 1, 2011 at 3:48 pmI made this last night and it was great!!! Your website is very helpful in the process of feeding my family Paleo. I made this for my family and my parents, everyone loved it, and my dad showed up for lunch asking about the leftovers.
Sarah says
March 3, 2011 at 7:21 pmAwesome Heidi, so glad the site is helpful!
Freddy Edney says
March 1, 2011 at 4:29 pmI just tried it. Tasted good while cooking it. Now I will follow up with what the family thinks….
Freddy
July says
March 1, 2011 at 7:12 pmWow! I just finished shoving the last amazing bite into my Paleo mouth! I grew up on my Grandma’s mole and homemade tortillas. This not only did traditional mole justice but completely took it’s place in my opinion. Definitely your best recipe yet! Thank you for all you do. I have four kids myself and you help make paleo do-able.
Garrett says
March 1, 2011 at 8:21 pmWoW!
This recipe was simply amazing…
-Garrett & Michelle
Angela W says
March 2, 2011 at 6:55 pmI made this tonight, without the saffron. I did add some tumeric. Turned out SOOOOO tasty! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Sarah says
March 3, 2011 at 7:30 pmI like the idea of adding some tumeric, that’s what is so great about a mole, you can make it a million ways and tweak it every time to make new flavors.
Jenny says
March 25, 2011 at 2:52 pmCan this be done without almonds?? And could I use lengemon or lime juice instead of orange?? I am allergic to orange
Jenny says
March 25, 2011 at 2:54 pmthat should be lemon or lime juice?
Sarah says
March 25, 2011 at 3:51 pmHI Jenny, yes you can leave out the almonds and sub lemon or lime for the orange, it just might be a bit more bitter. : )
Sarah says
March 25, 2011 at 3:52 pmYOu could also use apple juice!
Chrissy says
April 10, 2011 at 4:35 pmMole is one of my favorite foods ever! I’m only 3 weeks into eating Paleo and was thrilled to find this recipe (and this whole site… thank you for sharing so much Sarah!!!) Not super spicy, though, I would up the cayenne and possibly add some red pepper flakes next time. There will definitely be a next time for this recipe! Thanks again Sarah!
Taylor says
April 29, 2011 at 8:04 amI made this last night…it was excellent! For the sauce, I reduced the quantity to yield two servings, plus some extra to freeze. Reducing the quantity allowed me to use my mini prep Cuisinart, which is so easy! I omitted the saffron & chicken broth, and I used ground oregano & chives instead of onions (bc that’s what I had on hand). I browned chicken breasts on the stove, topped with the sauce and finished in the oven. I served this with slaw had fresh guac. Yum! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Jen says
May 2, 2011 at 8:36 pmThis was awesome! 🙂
Crystal T. says
May 7, 2011 at 9:07 pmThis was soooo good! We didn’t have the saffron or cayenne, so substituted jalapeno’s and chili powder. Still AMAZING!!
Sophie says
November 16, 2011 at 1:16 pmI’ll be attempting this tonight with ground beef instead of chicken.
Nina says
August 7, 2012 at 5:44 pmThis was so delicious!
Farida says
August 13, 2012 at 11:11 pmI made this for the second time today and it is divine! I love the balance of flavours and the silky smoothness of the sauce. Thanks Sarah! This is a keeper.
Jenn says
October 20, 2012 at 11:47 amWhat about using almond butter instead of almonds? I have the all natural, nothing added almond butter that I’m trying to use up!
Mcszabo says
August 11, 2013 at 8:18 pmFound this recipe last night on foodee.com and had to make it TODAY. Been searching ofr an easy mole that doesn’t take 47 types of chilis to make. I didn’t have all ingredients but like you said, beauty of mole is tweaking as you need/like.
I didn’t have OJ so used lemon juice. Used tomato sauce instead of tomatoes. Forgot the almonds. No saffron. But it was great!
Thanks!