Chicken Mole Enchiladas
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Updated Nov 16, 2019
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These Chicken Mole Enchiladas bring together two generations of family cooking. My grandma often relied on Doña Maria mole paste for a delicious shortcut, while my mom added fresh ingredients to create a richer, more homemade flavor. This recipe combines both approaches for a flavorful mole sauce made with dried chiles, Mexican chocolate, and just a little prepared mole paste. Spoon it over chicken-filled corn tortillas for a comforting meal worthy of any family gathering.
Why This Is Muy Bueno
This Chicken Mole Enchiladas recipe brings together two generations of family cooking. My grandma loved the convenience of Doña Maria mole paste, while my mom added fresh ingredients to give the sauce a richer, homemade flavor. It’s a delicious shortcut that doesn’t sacrifice flavor, and one I’ve enjoyed sharing with my own family.
But don’t just take my word for it! Here’s what one reader had to say:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Haven’t found a more authentic tasting mole sauce!”
Christina Coady, Muy Bueno reader
Mole is usually reserved for special occasions in our family. The best part about attending a wedding, quinceañera, or a baby shower is that more often than not mole is going to be served. But not everyone makes mole the same.
Preparing most moles can be very time consuming, labor intensive, and require many ingredients. Some mole recipes contain ten different varieties of chiles alone.
This mole sauce is very easy to make and there is no need to wait for a special occasion. You can add this sauce to shredded chicken for a chicken mole dish or fill lightly fried corn tortillas with shredded chicken and smother them in this delicious mole sauce for chicken mole enchiladas.
This mole is a thick, rich, chocolate-tinged, spicy sauce. This mole recipe is a fusion of my grandma and moms recipes. More often than not my grandma used a jar of Doña Maria mole paste, fresh-boiled chicken, a few spices, and that was it.
My mom on the other hand uses some additional fresh ingredients and only a few tablespoons of mole paste to enhance all the natural flavors and tame the sweetness of the chocolate. This simple flavorful mole recipe gives you the soul of traditional mole without all the hard work.
Make-Ahead and Freezing Tips
Planning ahead for a holiday gathering or family dinner? I recommend making the mole sauce in advance and freezing it separately rather than freezing fully assembled enchiladas. In my experience, corn tortillas don’t freeze and reheat particularly well once they’re covered in sauce. They tend to absorb the mole and become soggy.
The mole sauce freezes beautifully! Let it cool completely, transfer it to a freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and gently reheat, adding a splash of chicken broth if needed to thin the sauce. You can also prepare the shredded chicken ahead of time. For the best texture, assemble and bake the enchiladas just before serving.
How to make Chicken Mole Enchiladas
- Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, bolillo, chiles, tomatillos, tomato, and sauté for 10 minutes, until soft.
- Pour half the broth into a blender and add half the sautéed ingredients. Add peanut butter, chocolate pieces, cocoa powder, mole paste, and salt and blend until very smooth. Transfer the sauce to a large skillet.
- Pour the other half of the broth and sautéed ingredients into blender. Puree and add to the mixture in the large skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring continuously to keep it from sticking to skillet. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread 1 cup of the sauce in an ungreased 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
- Fry tortillas in hot oil just until softened. Drain on paper towels. Lightly dip tortillas in mole sauce to coat and fill with shredded rotisserie chicken, cheese, and onion. Roll tortillas and place seam side down in baking dish side by side.
- Pour some sauce over enchiladas. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake until warm, about 15 to 20 minutes. Garnish with queso fresco and serve with your favorite side dish.
What to Serve With Mole Enchiladas
Some classic Mexican side dishes you can’t go wrong with are:
More Delicious Mole Recipes to Try
These chicken mole enchiladas are a taste of nostalgia in every bite. There’s no better way to celebrate holidays or all year around than with tasty comfort food ingredients (like chocolate, peanut butter, and rich mole sauce) that bring back the best childhood memories.
Ingredients
Mole Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bolillo, substitute small French roll, cut into1-inch pieces
- 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, and diced
- 2 California red chile pods, stemmed, seeded, diced
- 1 large or 2 small tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed, and chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 32-ounce carton chicken broth , (recommend organic low sodium), divided
- 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
- 1.5 ounces Mexican chocolate, recommend Nestle-Abuelita, coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons Dona Maria mole paste
- 2 teaspoons salt
Enchiladas:
- ½ cup canola oil, for frying
- 12 to 18 corn tortillas
- 1 pound shredded store-bought rotisserie chicken
- 1½ cups white shredded cheese, Monterey Jack or Oaxaca
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 1½ cups crumbled queso fresco
Instructions
- Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, bolillo, chiles, tomatillos, tomato, and sauté for 10 minutes, until soft.
- Pour half the broth into a blender and add half the sautéed ingredients. Add peanut butter, chocolate pieces, cocoa powder, mole paste, and salt and blend until very smooth. Transfer the sauce to a large skillet.
- Pour the other half of the broth and sautéed ingredients into blender. Puree and add to the mixture in the large skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring continuously to keep it from sticking to skillet. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread 1 cup of the sauce in an ungreased 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
- Fry tortillas in hot oil just until softened. Drain on paper towels. Lightly dip tortillas in mole sauce to coat and fill with shredded rotisserie chicken, cheese, and onion. Roll tortillas and place seam side down in baking dish side by side.
- Pour some sauce over enchiladas. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake until warm, about 15 to 20 minutes. Garnish with queso fresco and serve with your favorite side dish.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
A special thanks to HERDEZ for sponsoring this recipe.
Hi. I’m just looking for clarification. The recipe says the yield is 4. Four of what? 4 cups (which was my assumption). I want to make about 30 chicken mole tamales and want to appropriately multiply the recipe. Thanks so much!!!
Hi Kelly! I’m so sorry I missed your question! The yield of 4 refers to 4 servings, not 4 cups of mole sauce. The recipe makes approximately 12 to 18 enchiladas, depending on the size of the tortillas. If you’re planning to use the mole sauce for tamales, I would recommend making a larger batch, but the amount you’ll need depends on how much sauce you mix into your chicken filling. Hope this helps!
These look amazing Yvette, thank you so much for sharing! I am trying to put together a mostly do-ahead Christmas Eve dinner and I’m wondering how mole does in the freezer. I have made, frozen and then baked regular enchiladas many times with no issues but I’m not as experienced with mole. Do you think the sauce would separate upon baking and thus the texture be off?
Hi Yvette, I have the exact same question about whether these would be okay to freeze and reheat. They look delicious and would be perfect for a large family gathering during the holidays. Thank you!
Hi Kate! Thank you so much! Personally, I don’t recommend freezing assembled enchiladas because the tortillas tend to get soggy, and they absorb much of the sauce as they sit. For the best flavor and texture, I recommend making the mole sauce ahead of time and freezing it separately. You can also prepare and freeze the shredded chicken separately. Then simply thaw, reheat, and assemble the enchiladas when you’re ready to serve. This is especially helpful when cooking for a large gathering. Hope you enjoy them!