The World of Mole: Over 100 Varieties You Might Not Know

More Than Just "Chocolate Sauce"

Ask most British people what mole is and they will say "that Mexican chocolate sauce." This answer is not entirely wrong - some moles do contain chocolate - but it is like saying "wine is that grape drink." It is technically accurate and fundamentally misleading.

Mole (pronounced "MOH-leh," from the Nahuatl word molli, meaning "sauce" or "concoction") is not a single recipe. It is a category of complex, labour-intensive sauces that represent the pinnacle of Mexican culinary art. There are, by various counts, between 100 and 300 distinct varieties of mole made across Mexico, each tied to a specific region, town or family tradition.

Understanding mole is understanding Mexico. These sauces encode centuries of culinary history, blending pre-Hispanic ingredients (chillies, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, chocolate) with ingredients brought by the Spanish (almonds, sesame seeds, cinnamon, cloves, raisins). They are, quite literally, the flavour of cultural fusion.

The Seven Moles of Oaxaca

Oaxaca, Mexico's undisputed gastronomic capital, is famous for its "seven moles" - though in practice, Oaxacan cooks make far more than seven. The canonical seven are:

1. Mole Negro (Black Mole)

The king of moles. Made from chilhuacles negros (a chilli grown only in Oaxaca), mulato chillies, chocolate, plantain, avocado leaves, and up to 30 other ingredients. The chillies are blackened until nearly burnt, giving the sauce its dark colour and complex, slightly bitter, intensely smoky flavour. Making it from scratch takes two days.

2. Mole Rojo (Red Mole)

Lighter and brighter than negro, made primarily with ancho and guajillo chillies, tomatoes, and sesame seeds. Warm, fruity heat and a slightly sweet finish. Served with chicken or pork.

3. Mole Coloradito (Little Red Mole)

Sweeter and milder than rojo, with a beautiful brick-red colour. Made with ancho chillies, chocolate, cinnamon and sugar. The most accessible of the Oaxacan moles for newcomers.

4. Mole Amarillo (Yellow Mole)

A lighter, brothy mole made with chilcostle chillies (yellow), tomatillos, hierba santa (an anise-flavoured herb) and masa (corn dough, used to thicken the sauce). More soup-like than other moles.

5. Mole Verde (Green Mole)

Fresh and herbal, made from green chillies, tomatillos, epazote, hoja santa, pumpkin seeds and fresh herbs. The lightest and most refreshing of the seven moles.

6. Mole Chichilo

A dark, smoky, complex mole thickened with burnt corn tortillas (which add both flavour and body). Made with chilhuacle chillies and avocado leaves. The only one of the seven traditionally paired with beef.

7. Mole Manchamanteles ("Tablecloth Stainer")

A fruity, sweet-savoury mole containing pineapple, banana, apple and other fruits alongside ancho chillies and spices. Its name refers to its tendency to stain everything it touches. Its sweet-savoury-spicy balance is unlike anything in European cooking.

Beyond Oaxaca: Moles Across Mexico

Mole Poblano (Puebla)

The most famous mole outside Mexico. A rich, dark sauce of mulato, ancho and pasilla chillies, chocolate, almonds, raisins, sesame seeds, cinnamon, cloves and Mexican bread. Traditionally served over turkey with sesame seeds. The birthplace of mole poblano is disputed between two convents in the city of Puebla.

Mole de Olla (Central Mexico)

Not a sauce at all but a brothy stew - beef shanks simmered with ancho and pasilla chillies, corn on the cob, courgettes, chayote, green beans and potatoes. It is essentially a chilli-enriched beef stew and one of Mexico's great comfort foods.

Pipian (Pre-Hispanic Mole)

One of the oldest moles, predating the Spanish conquest. Made primarily from pumpkin seeds (pepitas) - either green (pipian verde) or toasted red (pipian rojo) - with chillies, tomatoes or tomatillos, and spices. The pumpkin seeds give the sauce a distinctive nutty, creamy quality.

Clemole (Guerrero/Morelos)

A green, herbal mole made with green tomatoes, fresh chillies, pumpkin seeds and corn dough. Thinner and more soup-like than Oaxacan moles.

Mole de Caderas (Puebla/Oaxaca border)

A seasonal mole made only during the matanza (goat slaughter) season in October-November in the Tehuacan Valley. Goat meat braised in a sauce of dried chillies and herbs unique to the region. Fiercely local and almost impossible to find outside its home territory.

How to Explore Mole in the UK

Making complex moles from scratch in a British kitchen is challenging but not impossible. Here is a practical approach:

1. Start with paste: High-quality mole paste from Oaxaca is available at Mexican shops in the UK. Dissolve 100g of paste in 500ml chicken stock, simmer for 20 minutes, and serve over poached chicken. This is how most Mexican families make mole on a regular Tuesday.
2. Try mole verde at home: Green mole is the easiest to make from scratch in the UK because its ingredients (green chillies, tomatillos, pumpkin seeds, coriander) are relatively available.
3. Visit Mexican restaurants: The best Mexican restaurants in the UK serve house-made moles.
4. Order online: Specialist UK importers now bring in artisan mole pastes from Oaxaca and Puebla.

The Cultural Significance of Mole

Mole is not everyday food. It is celebration food. Making mole is a communal activity - grandmothers, mothers, daughters and aunts gather to toast chillies, grind spices, blend ingredients and tend the simmering pot, which may cook for hours. The making of mole is as much a social ritual as a culinary one, and the recipes are passed down through generations as treasured family inheritance.

When UNESCO inscribed Mexican cuisine on its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2010, mole was one of the key traditions cited. It represents everything that makes Mexican food extraordinary: patience, complexity, generosity, the blending of indigenous and European traditions, and the belief that cooking is an art form worthy of the same respect as painting, music or literature.

For recipes featuring mole and other classic Mexican sauces, explore our recipe collection.