Name: Chicken Mole Enchiladas
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 8 Enchiladas
Ingredients: For the Sauce; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 cup chopped onion; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1 chipotle pepper, chopped; 2 teaspoons ground ancho chile pepper; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ¼ teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from the chipotle pepper can (more if you like a bit more heat!); 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles; ½ teaspoon salt; ⅔ cup almond or peanut butter; ½ cup raisins; 1 tablespoon orange zest (about 1 medium orange); 2 to 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock; 2 ounces bittersweet Mexican chocolate, like Taza brand, finely chopped; Salt and pepper to taste; ⅓ cup vegetable oil, as needed; 8 six-inch tortillas; 3 cups loosely packed shredded cooked chicken or 1 batch of my Instant Pot™ Shredded Chicken; 1 (14 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed; 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes (about 1 large sweet potato, roasted, peeled and mashed); ½ cup crumbled queso fresco; ¾ cup crumbled queso fresco; 2 tablespoons pepitas; ¼ cup finely chopped red onion; 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Mains

Chicken Mole Enchiladas

Author: Mary DiSomma

For those of you unfamiliar with Mexican cuisine, it is not pronounced “mole” like the animal! It’s pronounced like MOH-lay, and in English, it’s often followed by the word “sauce” to eliminate any confusion that may arise. This is my recipe for super simple mole enchiladas, smothered in delicious mole sauce and stuffed with shredded chicken.

Mole sauce causes a lot of debates at my house. Why? Because all mole sauces taste a bit different. You need to stumble upon the one that appeals to you. So if you try this one and don’t love it, don’t fret! There’s a mole sauce out there for you, too. This one was a winner for my family and our guests. In my opinion, it has a perfectly layered balance of spicy, smokey, and earthy-sweet notes.

Most mole sauces have 20 or more ingredients and take several hours to make. My fast and simple mole sauce recipe can be put together in just 35 minutes! Add some shredded chicken, black beans, roasted sweet potatoes, and tortillas, and you’ve got a batch of enchiladas on the way. Who’s hungry?

Instant Pot® Shredded Chicken

Recipe card snippet: All the special equipment you need to make this shredded chicken is an InstantPot and two forks. Let’s get cooking!

Yield: 3 Pounds
Prep Time: 5 minutes 5 min
Cook Time: 14 minutes 14 min
Total Time: 19 minutes 19 min

Ingredients

Instructions

Combine the Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl.
Place the chicken breasts on a baking pan lined with paper towel. Sprinkle the seasoning over the chicken breasts.
Set your InstantPot to sauté. Working in batches, brown the chicken breasts on each side for 2 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, discard the used paper towels and re-line the pan with clean ones.
After browning the chicken breasts, transfer them back to the freshly lined baking pan.
Place a heatproof trivet inside the InstantPot. Arrange the chicken on top of the trivet.
Pour the chicken broth into the pot directly over the chicken.
Seal the InstantPot and set it to high pressure for 12 minutes. When it’s done, open the pressure valve and wait for the pressure to release. Let the chicken rest in the pot for 5 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the pot. When it’s cool enough to handle, use two forks to shred the meat.

Tips

The thickness of the sauce is a matter of preference. Just add more or less stock depending on what you like. You can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken or get out that InstantPot to make my easy shredded chicken recipe.

So what is mole, anyway? Well, mole is basically a Mexican chile sauce with a secret ingredient… chocolate! This richly flavored salsa also happens to be Mexico’s national dish, and probably one of the only opportunities you’ll ever get to incorporate chocolate into a savory dish. Like many recipes, mole sauces are influenced by family traditions and the region they come from. Though some mole recipes do not have chocolate in them, most do.

Different regions tend to use different types of chiles, but most recipes use chile peppers of some variety, along with spices, fruits, and nuts. Most contain chocolate. It’s believed that the origin of mole sauce can be traced all the way back to the Aztecs, who had a lot of uses for cacao in their culture. Mole sauce is usually served over chicken or turkey dishes… and you’ll soon see why!

Yep, it’s the chocolate that gives my easy mole sauce its distinctive flavor. What kind of midwesterner would think that a chile-based sauce would have chocolate in it? Well, I discovered that chocolate has a savory side and mole sauce is one of the best ways to enjoy it. Mole is a true melding of New World and Old World flavors. You will find chocolate, fruit, and spices in my recipe.

Try to find a Mexican stone-ground chocolate, like Taza discs, for your recipe. Stone-ground Mexican chocolate tends to be more on the bitter side and has a slight gritty texture that adds depth to your dish (or your hot chocolate). It’s sold in scored disks that you can break apart, and it’s easy to find in international markets or online.