Oaxacan mole negro can take three days to make properly: one day for preparation, one for cooking, and one for letting it rest before serving.
That’s how families in Oaxaca build the dish, layer by layer, often across generations of recipe tweaks.
In my version, you will get most in under an hour, and you won’t get the full seven-chile complexity of a traditional black mole.
What you do get is a sauce with the same backbone, smoky chiles, toasted spice, and bitter chocolate balanced against fat and sweetness, built around peanut butter instead of a dozen separately toasted nuts and seeds.
Mole Negro vs. Mole Poblano vs. This Recipe
Mole is a simple sauce, and Oaxaca claims seven distinct moles, ranging in color from deep red to bright green, each with its own chile combination and technique.
Mole negro is the black one, and that color comes from a specific step: dark-toasting the chiles almost to the point of burning, which turns the sauce from reddish-brown to a true bittersweet black.
Mole poblano, the version most people picture when they hear “Mexican chocolate sauce,” comes from Puebla rather than Oaxaca and tends to use a lighter chile toast with a more pronounced chocolate flavor up front.
My recipe sits closer to mole poblano in spirit since I skip the extended dark toasting that defines true mole negro.
Ingredients
Core Ingredients
- 2 dried ancho chiles, for smoky depth without heavy heat
- 1 dried pasilla chile, optional, for more complexity
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, fresh
- 1 ripe Roma tomato, chopped
- 2 tbsp smooth natural peanut butter (unsweetened works best; 365 Organic or Justin’s Classic are good options)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder or 1 oz dark chocolate, 70% cocoa (Ghirardelli, Lindt, or Abuelita all work)
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds, for nuttiness
- 1 corn tortilla, torn into pieces, for thickening
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon, Ceylon if you have it
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves, used sparingly since it dominates quickly
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, low-sodium
- Salt and pepper to taste
Optional Additions
- 1 tsp brown sugar or maple syrup, for extra sweetness
- A pinch of chili flakes, for more heat
- 1 tbsp raisins, for a fruity undertone closer to the traditional versions
How to Make Mole with Peanut Butter and Chocolate
Toast and soak the chiles first:
Remove the stems and seeds, tear the chiles into flat pieces, and toast them in a dry skillet for 20 to 30 seconds per side, just until they release a deep, smoky aroma.
Watch them closely:
Cross the line into burnt, and the whole batch turns bitter in a way you can’t fix later.
Once toasted, soak the pieces in warm water for about 15 minutes until pliable, then drain.
Build a base in the same pan:
Add a little oil and sauté the chopped onion for 4 to 5 minutes until soft.
Stir in the garlic, chopped tomato, and sesame seeds, and cook for another 3 minutes as the tomato starts to break down.
This step is where the sauce picks up its body.
Blend everything smooth:
Transfer the sautéed mixture to a blender along with the softened chiles, peanut butter, chocolate or cocoa powder, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, torn tortilla, and 1 cup of the broth.
Blend until completely smooth, adding more broth if the mixture seizes up or refuses to move.
You’re aiming for something with the texture of a thick cream soup, not a paste.
Simmer to finish:
Pour the blended mole into a saucepan, add the remaining broth, and simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so nothing catches on the bottom.
The sauce thickens and deepens as it cooks.
Taste partway through and adjust salt, pepper, or sweetness as needed. Add broth if it gets too thick, or simmer longer if it stays thin.
Must Follow this Step for Sauce
Toasting the chiles to the right point is a make-or-break step in any mole, and it’s the one place where rushing costs you.
Under-toasted chiles leave the sauce tasting flat and slightly raw.
Over-toasted chiles turn the whole batch bitter in a way no amount of chocolate or sugar can rescue.
So you have less time, under a minute per side, and the chiles should darken and become fragrant without scorching black.
If you smell acrid rather than smoky, pull them immediately; a slightly under-toasted batch is always salvageable with a longer simmer.
Ingredient Substitutes
- Dried chiles: One tablespoon of chipotle in adobo plus a teaspoon of smoked paprika gets you a similar smoky heat, though the flavor leans more straightforwardly smoky than the layered character dried ancho or pasilla brings.
- Corn tortilla for thickening: a slice of bread or a few crushed saltines do the same job.
- Sesame seeds: a teaspoon of tahini is the closest substitute, or just leave them out entirely.
- Making this vegan: Swap in vegetable broth and double-check your chocolate brand, since some contain dairy.
- No blender: An immersion blender or food processor both work, though the result won’t be quite as silky as a full blender gives you.
What to Serve with Peanut Butter Chocolate Mole
Pour it over grilled or roasted chicken thighs, or use up leftover rotisserie chicken, and top with sesame seeds alongside rice or warm tortillas for something close to a classic chicken mole.
If you want a pairing on the side, the beef stew with cocoa powder recipe leans on the same chocolate-meets-savory idea and makes a hearty companion dish.
Spread it inside warm tortillas for enchiladas, filled with beans, mushrooms, or cheese, then bake until everything melts together.
The easy chili with cocoa powder and cinnamon recipe also works well as a side here too if you’re making out a full cocoa-forward Mexican spread.
Simple rice or quinoa bowl with mole spooned over the top, finished with avocado and pickled onion, turns this into a quick weeknight meal rather than a special-occasion sauce.
Layer it over tortilla chips with beans and cheese for mole nachos, or thin it slightly and use it as a dip for roasted sweet potatoes or crusty bread.
Chocolate-covered popcorn on the side sounds odd on paper but works as a sweet contrast if you’re serving this at a gathering.
Variations You can Try
- For more heat, add a pinch of cayenne or a chopped chipotle pepper, balancing the extra spice with a touch more chocolate or sugar if it gets overwhelming.
- For a sweeter profile that plays well against salty sides, blend in a tablespoon of raisins, which is also closer to what many traditional mole negro recipes do.
- Vegan Version: You need only vegetable broth and a dairy-free dark chocolate like Lindt 70% or Endangered Species 88%, with the label checked carefully since formulations vary.
Tossed with warm pasta and a spoonful or two of mole, this turns into a good weeknight dinner, especially topped with crispy onions.
And for something unexpected, a drizzle over scrambled eggs or avocado toast at breakfast brings the savory-sweet balance into a completely different meal.
Nutrition Info (Approximate, Per Serving – Makes 4 servings)
- Calories: 250–300 kcal
- Fat: 18–20g
- Carbohydrates: 20–25g
- Protein: 5–7g
- Sugar: 4–6g
- Fiber: 4–6g
Note: Calories may vary depending on your add-ons for the mole with peanut butter and chocolate recipe.
For example, if you’re using more peanut butter or dark chocolate.
But the good thing is, it’s rich enough that a little goes a long way.
Storage
Refrigerate leftover mole in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 2 months.
Reheat slowly over low heat rather than blasting it in the microwave, which can cause the peanut butter and chocolate to separate.
Like most mole sauces, this one improves overnight as the spices and chiles continue to meld.
Conclusion
This mole with peanut butter and chocolate recipe won’t replace a three-day Oaxacan mole negro built from a dozen toasted ingredients, and it isn’t trying to.
But you will get a complex, smoky, slightly bitter sauce on a weeknight, using a method that respects where the dish actually comes from rather than inventing a shortcut out of nowhere.
Make a double batch since it freezes well, and let it rest overnight if you can, and the flavor is better the second day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does authentic mole contain peanut butter?
Whole peanuts show up in several traditional Oaxacan mole recipes, particularly mole negro, toasted alongside almonds and sesame seeds as part of the base.
Peanut butter is a modern shortcut for that step, not an invention with no connection to the original dish.
Some home cooks in Oaxaca use peanut butter directly when peanuts aren’t readily available, so it’s closer to tradition than people assume.
What is a chocolate mole called?
In Mexican cooking, the dark chocolate-forward version is most often called mole negro if it comes from Oaxaca, or mole poblano if it comes from Puebla.
Both use chocolate, but they differ in chile selection and how dark the chiles get toasted, which changes the final color and bitterness.
Is mole negro very spicy?
Not typically, despite the intense black color, mole negro leans more toward smoky and bittersweet than aggressively hot.
The heat level depends heavily on which chiles go in and how many seeds are kept versus discarded, so a cook can dial it up or down without losing the core flavor.
Can I use chunky peanut butter instead of smooth?
It works in a pinch, but the texture suffers. Chunky peanut butter leaves small flecks that don’t fully break down even after a long blend, so the sauce loses some of the velvety consistency that makes mole feel special.
If it’s all you have, blend longer and consider straining the finished sauce.
Mole with Peanut Butter and Chocolate Recipe
Ingredients
Core Ingredients
- 2 dried ancho chiles
- 1 dried pasilla chile optional
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tomato chopped
- 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter natural, no sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder or 1 oz dark chocolate 70% cocoa
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 corn tortilla torn into pieces
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth low-sodium
- Salt and pepper to taste
Optional Add-ins
- 1 tsp brown sugar or maple syrup
- A pinch of chili flakes
- 1 tbsp raisins
Instructions
Remove stems and seeds from dried chiles and tear into pieces.
- Toast in a dry skillet for 20 to 30 seconds per side.
- Soak in warm water for 15 minutes, then drain.
- In the same skillet, add a little oil and saute the onion for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, tomato, and sesame seeds, and cook for 3 more minutes.
Transfer the sauteed mixture to a blender:
- Add the soaked chiles, peanut butter, chocolate or cocoa, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, torn tortilla, and 1 cup of broth. Blend until smooth, adding more broth if too thick.
- Pour the blended mole into a saucepan and add the remaining broth. Simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Adjust seasoning and consistency as needed.
Notes
I’m a self-taught home cook who turns everyday ingredients into comforting, café-style recipes. I test everything in my own kitchen (sometimes more than once), tweak flavors how I like them, and share only what I actually enjoy.
Most of my recipes are chocolate-based or have a creative twist, and I keep them preservative-free, beginner-friendly, and fun to make.
If you love cozy drinks, healthier desserts, or bold flavor combos — you’re in the right place. [Read full story]
