Street FoodMedium

Empanadas de Amarillo (Yellow Mole)

Name: Empanadas de Amarillo (Yellow Mole)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 150 g Cebada perla; 2 litres Water; 1 raja Mexican cinnamon; 150 g Sugar; 4 Limes (Juice); 2 cups Hielo para servir; 500 g Corn dough; 300 g Chicken breast cocida y deshebrada; 4 Chillies chilhuacle amarillo; 2 Tomatoes; 0.5 White onion; 2 cloves Garlic; 2 Cloves; 8 Trozos de Banana leaf; 2 leaves Hoja santa; 1 tsp Salt

55 min (30 prep + 25 cook) Medium 8 servings Oaxaca

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 24 Mar 2026 · Updated: 16 Apr 2026

Oaxacan empanadas filled with yellow mole and chicken.

About this recipe

Corn dough empanadas filled with yellow mole and chicken, wrapped in banana leaf and cooked on a griddle. A Oaxacan classic.

History & Origin

Empanadas de amarillo are one of the most beloved Oaxacan snacks, inseparable from the yellow mole that gives them their name. Unlike empanadas from other regions that are fried, Oaxacan empanadas are cooked on a griddle wrapped in banana leaf, a pre-Hispanic technique that gives them an unmistakable aroma. The yellow mole is one of Oaxaca's famous seven moles, prepared with yellow chilhuacle chilli, an endemic chilli found nowhere else in Mexico. The empanadas are prepared by spreading corn dough on banana leaf, placing filling in the centre, and folding into a half-moon. In Oaxaca's Mercado 20 de Noviembre, they are sold by the dozen and considered one of the most satisfying breakfasts.

Estimated cost

£5.00

Total cost

£0.63

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

240

Calories

14g

Protein

30g

Carbohydrates

Fat

Fibre

420mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Prepare the mole amarillo: toast the chillies chilhuacle in a comal (flat griddle) dry. Soak them in hot water 15 minutes.
2
Blend the chillies with tomato, onion, garlic, clavos and a little water. Strain and frand the saltsa 10 minutes. Add leaf santa and salt.
3
Mix the pollo shredded with the mole amarillo. Esta will be the relleno.
4
Pasa the leaves of banana for the flama for suavizarlas. Cut in cuadrados of 20 cm.
5
Place a portion of dough on each leaf of banana, aplana formando a óvalo. Put relleno in the centro and dobla formando half luna. Cierra pressing the bordes.
6
Wrap each empanada with the leaf of banana and cook in a comal (flat griddle) over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side. Serve hots.