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Craving mole poblano but don’t have all day? This easy vegan mole recipe is made with everyday grocery store ingredients like chile powder, cocoa powder, peanut butter, and a can of Ro-Tel, and it’s ready in about 45 minutes. Spoon it over my vegan sweet potato enchiladas and dinner is done.
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Classic mole poblano may be a labor of love, but with a list of ingredients longer than a holiday packing list and a process that can take a whole day to complete, it’s not exactly weeknight friendly (or a good test of my patience). This shortcut version isn’t traditional, but it’s fast, easy, uses simple, accessible ingredients, and is still packed with flavor. This recipe was originally developed by Stefan Bloom.
Quick Glance
- Recipe Name: Easy Vegan Mole (Quick Mole Poblano)
- Why You’ll Love It: All the rich, sweet, spicy, savory flavor of mole without the all-day process or a special shopping trip.
- Time and Difficulty: 45 minutes total, easy.
- Main Ingredients: Onion, garlic, warm spices, chile powder, cocoa powder, peanut butter, Ro-Tel tomatoes and chiles, raisins.
- Method: Sauté, simmer for 20 minutes, then blend until smooth.
- Texture and Flavor: Smooth and saucy, with warm spice, gentle heat, and a hint of chocolate.
- Quick Tip: Taste at the end and adjust the spices, sugar, and salt to your liking.
What Is Mole Poblano?
Mole poblano is a traditional chile-based sauce that comes from Puebla, Mexico, and it’s often called one of the country’s national dishes (learn more about mole poblano). It’s loved for its rich, sweet, spicy, savory, complex flavor, thanks to a mix of over 20 ingredients. Traditionally, it includes a blend of dried chiles and spices, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and a hint of chocolate, many of them prepared individually before they’re added to the sauce.
This recipe is a shortcut, not a replacement for the real thing, but it brings a lot of those flavors to the table on a busy night. Hope you enjoy!
What Makes This Vegan Mole Recipe So Good
This recipe takes the spirit of mole poblano and makes it doable with what’s already in your pantry.
- Everyday ingredients: No specialty shopping. Everything here is at a regular grocery store, and most of it is probably already in your spice cabinet.
- Ready in 45 minutes: One pot, a 20 minute simmer, and a quick blend.
- Naturally vegan: No lard or chicken broth, which many traditional versions use.
- Easy to customize: Make it milder, spicier, sweeter, or thicker to match your taste.
- So versatile: It’s perfect over quinoa black bean burritos, vegan chilaquiles, and more.
Vegan Mole Ingredients
These are the ingredients that build this quick mole sauce. Refer to the recipe card for exact quantities.
- The base: Onion, garlic, a neutral oil, and salt build the savory foundation, and the warm spice blend (coriander, aniseed, cumin, cinnamon, and cloves) gives it that layered mole flavor.
- Chile powder: This is how you control the heat, so start low if you’re unsure.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: Adds the deep chocolate note mole is known for.
- Peanut butter: Natural is best. It adds richness and body. Finely chopped peanuts work too.
- Ro-Tel tomatoes and chiles: Tomatoes and green chiles in one can, so there’s nothing to roast.
- Raisins and a little sugar: Balance the chile and spices with a touch of sweetness.
- Water or vegetable stock: Stock adds more savory flavor, and either one lets you adjust the thickness.
Shortcut Swaps: How This Mole Uses Pantry Staples
Traditional mole poblano calls for a long list of ingredients that each get toasted, fried, or soaked. Here’s what each pantry ingredient in this version is standing in for.
| Traditional mole ingredient | Pantry shortcut in this recipe |
| Dried chiles (like ancho, mulato, pasilla, and guajillo), fried and soaked | Chile powder |
| Mexican chocolate | Unsweetened cocoa powder |
| Fried nuts and seeds (peanuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds) | Peanut butter |
| Charred tomatoes and fresh chiles | A can of Ro-Tel tomatoes and chiles |
| Whole spices, toasted and ground | Ground spices from your cabinet |
| Dried fruit | Raisins |
Want to go a step closer to traditional? Check out Make This Recipe Your Own below.
How To Make It Step-By-Step
These step-by-step photos are here to help you get the best results. Before you start, peel and chop the onion, then make the garlic paste by peeling the garlic, finely chopping it, and mashing it into a paste with ¾ teaspoon salt. Be sure to check the recipe card below for exact measurements.
Step 1: Sauté the onion and spices. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion until golden, then add the coriander, aniseed, chile powder, cumin, cinnamon, sugar, and cloves, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Step 2: Add everything else. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the cocoa powder, peanut butter, water or stock, tomatoes and chiles, raisins, garlic paste, and salt to taste.
Step 3: Simmer. Let the mole simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
Step 4: Blend until smooth. Use an immersion blender right in the pot, or work in batches and puree the sauce in a blender. Thin with more water or stock as desired, then enjoy!
PRO TIP: For the silkiest mole, press the blended sauce through a strainer before serving.
Common Problems To Avoid
- Too spicy: Chile powder brands vary a lot in heat. Start with the lower amount in the recipe card, taste after simmering, and add more if you want it.
- Flavor tastes flat: Don’t rush the simmer. Like soup, the longer it simmers, the deeper and more developed the flavors become. Then taste and adjust the spices, sugar, and salt.
- Too thick: Stir in a splash of water or vegetable stock until it’s the consistency you like. It also thickens in the fridge, so you may need to thin it again when reheating.
- A messy food processor: If you puree everything in a food processor, it’ll probably leak. A blender or immersion blender works better for the full batch.
Make This Recipe Your Own
- Adjust the heat: Use the low end of the chile powder range for a milder sauce, or the high end if you like it spicy.
- Add more seasoning: Bay leaves, dried thyme, or marjoram, added to taste.
- Use Mexican chocolate: For extra depth, finely chop vegan Mexican chocolate to replace the cocoa powder. I like Ibarra or Taza.
- Try dried chiles: It adds time and effort, but gives you the base of a more traditional mole poblano. I like buying a dried chile variety pack. Directions are in the FAQs below.
- Add tomatillos: Pan-charred tomatillos add tart flavor and depth.
- Add pan-fried nuts or seeds: Peanuts, almonds, and pumpkin seeds are traditionally used to thicken the sauce while adding flavor.
- Thicken with tortillas or bread: Fry homemade flour tortillas or bolillo bread, then blend them into the sauce.
How To Use Mole Sauce
Mole poblano is a versatile, rich, and complex sauce or marinade. Here are some of my favorite ways to use it:
- Poured over proteins, like this grilled tofu steak recipe
- Over enchiladas and enmoladas
- With vegan tamales, tostadas, and tacos (like easy tofu tacos)
- Spooned over golden garlic rice with a side of frijoles de la olla
- On top of potatoes, like healthy patatas bravas
- With vegan nachos, finished with a drizzle of Mexican avocado crema
- As a dip for vegetables, air fryer tortilla chips, and vegan empanadas
- To give burgers (like this spicy red bean burger) and wraps (like this black bean lettuce wrap) a Mexican-inspired twist
How To Store Leftovers
Store: In an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
Freeze: Spread flat in a zip-top bag or Stasher bag or in a freezer-safe container for 4 to 6 months.
Reheat: In a saucepan or in the microwave in 30-second increments until hot. If it’s too thick, add some water or vegetable broth.
FAQs
Not always. Many traditional mole poblano recipes are made with lard or chicken broth, and the sauce is often served over chicken or turkey, so restaurant and jarred moles aren’t always vegan. This recipe is fully vegan, and it gets its richness from peanut butter, cocoa powder, and vegetable stock instead.
Yes. It will add extra time and effort to the recipe, but it also gives you the base of a more traditional mole poblano. I recommend a combination of ancho, mulato, pasilla, and guajillo chiles. First, remove the ribs and seeds and fry the chiles in oil until fragrant and deeply colored. Then transfer them to boiling water to soak and reconstitute for 20 to 30 minutes.
Traditionally, mole poblano is thickened with pan-fried nuts/seeds and bread (corn tortillas and bolillo) blended into the sauce.
More Vegan Sauces to Consider….
Vegan Dinners
Creamy Vegan Garlic Sauce
Vegan Dinners
Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
Vegan Appetizers
Easy Creamy Avocado Sauce Recipe
Vegan Breakfasts
Easy Vegan Hollandaise Sauce
If you tried this quick mole poblano recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks!
If you’re loving my recipes and would like a more comprehensive resource, check out my cookbooks!
Easy Vegan Mole (Quick Mole Poblano)
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Ingredients
- 2 onions chopped
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped and mashed to a paste with ¾ teaspoon salt (4 ml salt)
- 2 Tablespoons neutral oil (30 ml)
- ½ teaspoon of ground coriander (2.5 ml)
- ½ teaspoon of ground aniseed (2.5 ml)
- 1 ½ to 3 Tablespoons of chile powder (22 to 45 ml)
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin (5 ml)
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon (1 to 2.5 ml)
- 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar (5 to 10 ml)
- ⅛ teaspoon of ground cloves (0.5 ml)
- 2 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder (30 ml)
- 2 Tablespoons peanut butter (natural is best) (30 ml)
- 2 cups of water or vegetable stock (480 ml)
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can Ro-Tel tomatoes & chiles (411 g)
- 2 Tablespoons raisins (30 ml)
- Sesame seeds, sliced radishes, and cilantro sprigs, for garnish
Instructions
- Peel and chop the onion. Finely chop the garlic and mash it into a paste with ¾ teaspoon salt. In a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onion until golden. Add the coriander, aniseed, chile powder, cumin, cinnamon, sugar, and cloves, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the cocoa powder, peanut butter, water or stock, tomatoes and chiles, raisins, garlic paste, and salt to taste. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
- In batches, transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth. Or use an immersion blender right in the pot, or strain out the solids, puree them in a food processor, and stir them back into the liquid. (If you puree everything in a processor, it'll probably leak.) Thin with more water or stock as desired.
- Garnish with sesame seeds, radishes, and cilantro sprigs, and use as a sauce for enchiladas, a simmer sauce, a dip, or any way your heart desires.
Notes
- Taste and adjust: Add more spices, more sugar, and so on to your taste.
- Adjust the thickness: Change how much liquid you add.
- Smoothest sauce: Press it through a strainer for the silkiest mole.
Love how easy this mole poblano is to make!
Looks soo good! Excited for the flavour just by looking at the ingredients
Yesssss. Such a great combo of flavors!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. When I ate meat, Chicken Mole was always my first choice at Mexican restaurants. Thank for you sharing!
This one is a great plant-based option! Let us know what you think 🙂