The Best Vegan Mole Poblano
This vegan mole poblano combines ingredients like chiles, nuts, spices, and a touch of chocolate. It's a rich, complex, and intricate sauce that you need to taste to understand!
Equipment
- Skillet
- Stockpot
- Blender
- Fine mesh strainer
Ingredients
Dried chiles
- 7 Ancho chiles
- 7 Mulato chiles
- 7 Pasilla chiles
Thickeners
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- ½ cup almonds
- ⅓ cup Spanish peanuts
- ⅓ cup pumpkin seeds
- ½ bolillo roll, ripped
- 1 corn tortilla, ripped
Spices
- ½ stick cinnamon, broken apart
- 1 pod star anise
- ¼ teaspoon whole coriander seeds
- 4 whole cloves
- 3 Mexican bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon whole peppercorns
Fruits
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ very ripe plantain, peeled
Vegetables
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- ½ medium white onion, roughly sliced
- 2 medium Roma tomatoes, quartered
Miscellaneous
- ½ - ¾ cup neutral oil for frying
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablet (3.1 ounces) Mexican chocolate, chopped
- 2-3 tablespoons cane sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Stem and seed the chiles. Reserve 1 teaspoon of seeds in a small bowl. Tear the chiles into large chunks, then set them aside.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-low, then add in the reserved chile seeds, sesame seeds, broken cinnamon stick, star anise pod, coriander seeds, and cloves. Toast, stirring frequently, until lightly browned and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to a spice grinder or high-speed blender if you have one. Add in the peppercorns, grind into a fine powder, then set aside (transfer into your blender if you've used a spice grinder).
- Heat approximately ½ - ¾ cup of neutral oil in a large stockpot over medium-low until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 350°F. Cooking one type of chile at a time, fry each batch until slightly darkened and fragrant, approximately 60 seconds per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chiles to a paper towel-lined dish.
- Next, fry the almonds until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to the same paper towel-lined dish as the chiles. Continue this process of frying each individual ingredient until golden brown. Fry the peanuts next, then the pumpkin seeds, raisins, bay leaves, corn tortilla, and bolillo bread.
- Next, fry the garlic for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant, then transfer to another paper towel-lined bowl. Fry the onions until lightly golden, about 2-3 minutes, and transfer to the same bowl. Slice the plantain and fry until golden yellow and soft, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl. Lastly, fry the tomatoes until tender, about 2 minutes, then transfer them to the same bowl.
- Working in small batches, add some ingredients from the dish of chiles and nuts to the blender along with the spices and a little vegetable broth. Blend until smooth, adding in small amounts of broth as needed. Discard the extra oil, then strain the mixture back into the pot, pushing through as much sauce as possible. Discard the leftover solids.
- Repeat this blending and straining process with the remaining chile mixture, garlic, onions, plantains, and tomatoes, using more vegetable broth as needed to help the blender along.
- Heat the pot of mole over low-medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to thicken, about 8-10 minutes. Mix in the Mexican chocolate, turn the heat down to low, and simmer (partially covered) for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Lastly, season with salt and sugar to taste. Serve mole poblano with tortillas, rice, vegetables, etc. Happy eating!
Notes
Use fresh spices: Always use fresh, whole spices and grind them yourself if possible. Freshly ground spices provide more potent flavors compared to pre-ground options.
High-speed blender: Use a high-speed blender like a Vitamix for the best texture.
Strain the mixture: Straining mole poblano is crucial for a silky-smooth consistency.
Taste and adjust: Although this recipe is tried and true, it’s important to taste and adjust the sweetness and saltiness at the end of the cooking process.
Rest before serving: Let the mole sit for a few hours, or overnight, before serving. This resting period allows the flavors to deepen further, enhancing the overall taste.
Toasting the chiles and spices releases their essential oils, producing more aromatic sauce. Don't skip this step!
Have the paper towels and dish ready to go before you start frying to make your life easier and the process quicker.
Fry each ingredient separately to ensure everything cooks evenly. Follow the above order, moving from 'cleanest' to 'messiest' ingredients.
Use just enough broth in the blender to keep the ingredients moving. You don’t want the sauce to become too thin.
The longer you can cook the mole, the more complex and developed the flavors become. A slow simmer also helps thicken the sauce perfectly.
Nutritional information is a rough estimate and should not be taken as health advice.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 380kcal | Carbohydrates: 51.8g | Protein: 9.4g | Fat: 19.4g | Saturated Fat: 3.6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8.3g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 1073.7mg | Potassium: 1089.4mg | Fiber: 16.4g | Sugar: 24.6g | Vitamin A: 12798.4IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 80.6mg | Iron: 4.3mg
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